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What I Wore & More in Las Vegas

I had never been to Las Vegas until this past weekend. Despite traveling pretty regularly in my 20s and 30s, Vegas was never a priority for me and then I got to the point where I had no desire to visit. But, when U2 announced their UV Achtung Baby tour and it was only going to be in Vegas, I suddenly had a reason to go. U2 is my all-time favorite band and I’ve seen every tour since… Achtung Baby, in 1992. Full circle, right?

Having suffered through the Ticketmaster debacle trying to get Taylor Swift tickets, I wasn’t about to spend days of my life on Ticketmaster again, hoping and praying we’d score tickets (assuredly complete with surge pricing). I saw there was an option to book a package that included concert tickets and hotel stay and when we did the math the package deal wasn’t that much more expensive than it would’ve been if we paid for the two things separately. Our package got us four tickets to the opening night of the tour at the brand-new Sphere, plus a suite for four at the Venetian. Done!

It was a quick trip so we opted to carry on our luggage which meant I would pack lightly and repurpose clothing and shoes to create multiple looks throughout the weekend. I’ll admit that I wasn’t entirely sure what to wear because Vegas has such a reputation and I’d never been so no first-hand experience to go by. That said, at this stage in my life I’m very comfortable with my style and I know what I like and what I don’t like. So I got into my closet and played around with a bunch of different pieces to see what might work together. Not surprisingly, I had more than enough outfits—that I liked and felt comfortable in—to get me through a weekend in Las Vegas. Curious what a 40-something mom wears on a quick weekend trip to Las Vegas?

What I Wore

Travel Days

It was hot in Austin the day we left for Las Vegas, and it was supposed to be warm when we arrived, too, so I opted for a linen-blend trouser, one of my many U2 concert t-shirts, my beloved J. Crew denim jacket and Veja sneakers. I was glad I had the denim jacket because it was chilly on the plane, and once we got to Vegas it was an easy piece to remove. I repurposed most of this outfit for our travel day back to Austin, which is what I often do with travel day outfits. I swapped my U2 tee for a sleeveless sweater and my Veja sneakers for Birkenstocks. For me, it’s all about being comfortable on the plane (I don’t like bare legs on planes regardless of the season), wearing my heaviest shoe to save space in my luggage, and wearing as much of my jewelry as possible so I don’t need to pack it.

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Concert Look

I came up with a few different outfit options for the U2 concert. Initially, I’d planned to wear black trouser shorts, a black top and a black blazer with heeled sandals but I thought my legs might be cold in the venue, so I changed it up and opted for my favorite Madewell jeans and an ivory J. Crew blouse I’ve had for ages (similar to the one below). I’m glad I was convinced to change into sneakers at the last minute because seating at the Sphere, there are a lot of steep steps, not to mention it was a hike from our hotel to the venue (even though a series of sky bridges connect the two). I was also glad I didn’t wear the blazer because getting in and out of the Sphere was so crowded with so many people so it was really hot.

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Daytime Look

We didn’t really have any plans for Saturday so after breakfast we strolled the strip and made our way to the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. The current installation was Enchantment: The Magic of Fall, which was incredible. Endless flowers, pumpkins, fairies and fall foliage. The famous fountains weren’t running (I’m told due to F1 construction) so we didn’t have an opportunity to see that. From there we split into two groups—the gamblers and non-gamblers. Can you guess which group I was in?! Taking a few hours to rest and scroll my phone to read the list of celebrities at the U2 concert the night before was much more appealing than sitting in a smoke-filled casino. Vegas is lost on me. It’s too much and the combination of jet-lag and overstimulation made me want to curl up in bed (side note: why is a two-hour time difference seemingly harder to shake than a six-hour time difference?). Saturday’s daytime look was all about comfort and layers. I wore a black Universal Threads dress that I’ve had forever, sneakers and a denim jacket. It was perfect because I needed the denim jacket most of the morning but stripped it off on our walk from the Bellagio back to our hotel.

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Comedy Show Look

Our second night in Vegas we went to see David Spade, who I have loved since I was a kid watching him on Saturday Night Live (when you’re the youngest of seven kids, you get to do things like watch SNL when you’re in 4th grade). He was at the Venetian Theater which was convenient since we were staying there. As to be expected, he was hilarious. For this show, I styled my Madewell jeans with this fun cheetah top and my LOFT sandals. In hindsight, I could’ve done without the sandals because we did so much walking that sneakers really were best. But, I had them with me so I was determined to wear them!

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Where We Stayed

We stayed at The Venetian simply because it was part of the package that we purchased with the tickets to the U2 concert. Our package included a suite for four people which was really nice and very spacious. I was impressed with how quiet the guestrooms were; we never heard noise from neighbors or passersby in the hallway. Since we were there for such a short time we didn’t have time to take advantage of everything that the hotel had to offer but some in our group took advantage of the casino and we ate at a few of the restaurants.

Where We Ate

Le Thai came highly recommended and we planned to have lunch there on Friday, but due to flight delays, we didn’t get the opportunity. Instead, we grabbed lunch at the first restaurant we could easily get a table at in our hotel.
Din Tai Fung in the ARIA hotel was a standout for us. The shao mai, wontons and string beans were favorites and the chocolate and mochi xiao long bao dessert was perfection. That one bite was the best way to end the meal. Plus, our server was fantastic. We let him know we were headed to a show and he was so on top of things. This is a big, buzzy, loud restaurant and great for groups.
Brunch at Bouchon was our final meal in Las Vegas and it was also also top-notch. We were lucky to sit outside overlooking the beautiful pool garden (and the crisp weather was a welcome change from the Texas heat and humidity that we came from). Our server at Bouchon was also wonderful; he had plenty of helpful suggestions which were spot on. For example, he quickly led us to the crab benedict and let us know that it was so good that once we ate it, we’d never eat another crab benedict that could compare. I haven’t had another crab benedict since then, but I’m pretty sure he’s right! Bouchon is known for its pastries so we also shared the four-piece pastry board and had a really hard time deciding which one was our favorite. All so good!

What We Did

We went to Las Vegas for one reason and one reason alone—to see the U2 | UV Achtung Baby show at the Sphere. I read that when the Sphere was created, they knew U2 had to be the ones to perform there first because they always put on such a show in terms of imagery and special effects and they were right. The photos don’t do this venue justice, and it’s difficult to explain the magnitude of this place but the best way I can think to describe the show is that it felt like we went to several different U2 shows in several different venues at several different times of day—all because of what they were able to do with lights and imagery. Simply incredible.