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Post by pmm on Oct 2, 2016 3:22:46 GMT
I have not been to a wedding in close to a decade and it will probably be another decade before I'm invited to another wedding.
One of my coworkers is getting married in a few Saturdays. I have no idea what to wear. I had a rough spring and summer due to health issues and my weight has crept up another 10 pounds. I've also noticed that all the inches I lost when I trained for my half marathon have reappeared. My mid section has become more prominent.
My wardrobe is not very big and I look terrible in black. I'm just too pale to wear dark colors. What do the all wise pea fashionistas recommend?
Details you might want to know:
Venue: swanky country club
Time: 630 pm
Colors: gold, black, blush
First marriage for bride and groom. Bride is an only child.
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Oct 2, 2016 3:27:14 GMT
Well, I would probably wear black dress slacks and then shop around for a nice blouse/top... maybe pop into Nordstrom Rack or something, see what they had.
Out of my closet, if I had to go dress right now, I would wear black dress slacks and I have a top that is like a black lace cutout overlay with red underneath, with a gold and red necklace. (The red in the necklace is just pink enough that I bet it would bridge to blush.)
And MAYBE I'd drag out the single pair of gold slingback heels that I own.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:07:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 3:27:24 GMT
I'd go with something in the "cocktail party" sort of dress. Weddings don't call for black, any color other than white, is fine.
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Post by pmm on Oct 2, 2016 3:32:31 GMT
I'd go with something in the "cocktail party" sort of dress. Weddings don't call for black, any color other than white, is fine. I was thinking "cocktail party" too. I just don't know if I can find anything that will look nice on me and not cost a small fortune. I will probably never wear this dress again. I only own one pair of heels. I wore them last almost two years ago. I just don't have a need to dress up. |
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:07:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 3:35:34 GMT
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Oct 2, 2016 3:36:10 GMT
I'd go with something in the "cocktail party" sort of dress. Weddings don't call for black, any color other than white, is fine. I was thinking "cocktail party" too. I just don't know if I can find anything that will look nice on me and not cost a small fortune. I will probably never wear this dress again. I only own one pair of heels. I wore them last almost two years ago. I just don't have a need to dress up. You can probably buy something deeply discounted at a Department Store.. they all, at leas around here, have the last of the summer stock at like 75% off. I bet you can find a cute dress for a reasonable price. As for shoes if your heels don't work, check out Payless you can find something cute that is cheap. ETA: I love the dress voltagain posted. |
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:07:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 3:37:22 GMT
I'd go with something in the "cocktail party" sort of dress. Weddings don't call for black, any color other than white, is fine. I was thinking "cocktail party" too. I just don't know if I can find anything that will look nice on me and not cost a small fortune. I will probably never wear this dress again. I only own one pair of heels. I wore them last almost two years ago. I just don't have a need to dress up. JCPenny's has a lot of party dresses on sale right now. Not sure what you consider a small fortune but they have lots of options online for under $50 |
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Post by pmm on Oct 2, 2016 3:50:33 GMT
Considering I just had to buy new scrubs for my new job and spent $100 on 3 outfits, $50 for a dress is not bad and very doable.
I probably should have put in my OP that I hate shopping with a fiery passion. I would rather have my eyes poked out than go shopping. Even buying my work clothes I ended up at four different scrub shops before I found anything I liked that fit well.
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Post by bc2ca on Oct 2, 2016 3:50:54 GMT
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Post by pmm on Oct 2, 2016 3:56:00 GMT
I have never heard of them. Thanks for the suggestion! |
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pancakes
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,002 
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Post by pancakes on Oct 2, 2016 4:13:42 GMT
Cocktail attire, for sure. It's more than ok to wear black to weddings. traditionally, it was frowned upon but I haven't been to a wedding in years where people didn't wear black.
I use Rent the Runway all the time. At first I didn't like spending $40-$100 on a dress I was only going to wear once. But they have a huge selection of dresses I could never afford to actually purchase and I usually end up wearing a fancy dress only a couple of times anyway. Just find a dress with reviews from people with the same height/weight or body type. I'd recommend it.
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 20:07:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2016 5:22:57 GMT
Considering I just had to buy new scrubs for my new job and spent $100 on 3 outfits, $50 for a dress is not bad and very doable. I probably should have put in my OP that I hate shopping with a fiery passion. I would rather have my eyes poked out than go shopping. Even buying my work clothes I ended up at four different scrub shops before I found anything I liked that fit well. Generally that is me too! I tend to enjoy "shopping" for others more than for me. I get a little ribbing at work about my "uniform" because if I find a dress or skirt/blouse I like I tend to buy it in every shade of blue, green, black or brown it comes in. So even if I wear a different color every day the look is still uniform. I did respond that no one notices the guys wear gray dress pants, a dress shirt and tie every day as their uniform. |
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Post by pmm on Oct 2, 2016 14:25:25 GMT
Considering I just had to buy new scrubs for my new job and spent $100 on 3 outfits, $50 for a dress is not bad and very doable. I probably should have put in my OP that I hate shopping with a fiery passion. I would rather have my eyes poked out than go shopping. Even buying my work clothes I ended up at four different scrub shops before I found anything I liked that fit well. Generally that is me too! I tend to enjoy "shopping" for others more than for me. I get a little ribbing at work about my "uniform" because if I find a dress or skirt/blouse I like I tend to buy it in every shade of blue, green, black or brown it comes in. So even if I wear a different color every day the look is still uniform. I did respond that no one notices the guys wear gray dress pants, a dress shirt and tie every day as their uniform. I think we are soul sisters! I don't have a problem shopping for others either and I somewhat enjoy it. And yes, when I find something I like that fits well, I buy it in every color that I like too. I have zero fashion sense. I would wear scrubs all the time if I could. At my last job we went to a mandatory hospital chosen color with logo for our uniforms. Pretty much everyone was mad in my department about it. I was one of the few who didn't care. It made it so much easier to get up and get dressed in the morning. Pants, top BOOM! Dressed and ready for work. To bad I wasn't like a guy and could roll out of bed with decent looking hair and be on my way after doing the bare minimum grooming. |
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Post by littlemama on Oct 2, 2016 14:29:14 GMT
At the last wedding we went to in January, the younger people tended to wear cocktail dresses while the "older" people (older than bride and groom) just wore regular nice dresses or pant suits.
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Post by pmm on Oct 2, 2016 14:46:00 GMT
At the last wedding we went to in January, the younger people tended to wear cocktail dresses while the "older" people (older than bride and groom) just wore regular nice dresses or pant suits. There is barely 10 years between my age and the brides age. Honestly, I need to buy a dress, I only own two if you don't count my summer dresses. I own a black dress that I bought to wear to the Lion King. In the store I thought I looked fine in it. But, my friend took pictures of the kids and I dressed up to go and I looked washed out and pale in it. That was when I finally realized that for me the "little black dress" needs to be a different color to be flattering. The other dress is a blue/green pattern and screams "old lady" according to my friends. They told me it isn't even a good date dress (which is why I bought it). I'm not even sure if either dress fits me at this point. |
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Post by monklady123 on Oct 2, 2016 14:47:21 GMT
I also hate shopping. If it were me I'd wear black dress pants (which I already own, but I think every woman should have a pair of black dress pants in her closet) and then I'd go buy something "flowy" for the top. The "flowy" part would cover up the extra pounds that I wanted to hide (I've got those same extras that you described).
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Post by Darcy Collins on Oct 2, 2016 14:51:53 GMT
At the last wedding we went to in January, the younger people tended to wear cocktail dresses while the "older" people (older than bride and groom) just wore regular nice dresses or pant suits. There is barely 10 years between my age and the brides age. Honestly, I need to buy a dress, I only own two if you don't count my summer dresses. I own a black dress that I bought to wear to the Lion King. In the store I thought I looked fine in it. But, my friend took pictures of the kids and I dressed up to go and I looked washed out and pale in it. That was when I finally realized that for me the "little black dress" needs to be a different color to be flattering. The other dress is a blue/green pattern and screams "old lady" according to my friends. They told me it isn't even a good date dress (which is why I bought it). I'm not even sure if either dress fits me at this point. I'm a firm believer that every woman should have at least ONE dress in their closet that they feel good in - it makes these events so much less stressful. I highly recommend the personal shoppers at Nordstrom. They will work within a budget and will narrow down the process of trying on a bunch of unflattering dresses. I've used them several times and really do feel like it makes the process much more enjoyable. |
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Post by mom on Oct 2, 2016 14:54:51 GMT
Because of my DH's job, I wear a ton of cocktail dresses to different events. I almost always will find something on this website. They are quick ship, great return policy, and a ton of choices. I always go by the size chart of the dress, and have only had to return one in the years I have shopped there (that probably 12 or more dresses). I also like that they sort their store by occasion, so if I dont know what I need to wear I can just look at the tabs on the side! Tons of sale dresses as well. Also great from Prom if anyone needs to order online for that. |
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Post by ~summer~ on Oct 2, 2016 14:57:42 GMT
I would wear a black knee length dress - or a dress in dark navy - again usually I wear knee length dresses, sleeveless but I'd bring a wrap or a cashmere cardigan, heels and a clutch.
You can definitely wear black slacks and any sort of silk blouse. There is a huge range of clothing options - just make sure it is night time colors and fabrics (I wouldn't wear pastels or cotton etc)
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Post by pmm on Oct 2, 2016 15:05:43 GMT
Darcy Collins thank you for the suggestion. There is one Nordstrom in my area and they have appointments available this week so I booked one for Thursday. Keep you fingers crossed for me!
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Post by pmm on Oct 2, 2016 15:16:57 GMT
mom thank you for the suggestion. I will check out their dresses. ~summer~ I don't look good in any dark colors. My skin is too pale. I don't even tan in the summer. It sounds like you have many occasions to dress up. When I was married, my husband never wanted to go anywhere that required dressing up and now that I'm single I still rarely go out. All of my friends are married with young children and spend their free time with their families (which is to be expected). I know I will need a new outfit from head to toe as I just don't have any reason to own any dressy clothes. I was surprised that she invited me to her wedding. She did not invite many of us from work, I feel blessed that she is including me in her special day.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Oct 2, 2016 16:05:01 GMT
I went to Nordstrom recently for a cocktail-type dress for a wedding. I not only found the perfect dress, but had a fitting in the bra department as well for all new lingerie. Love Nordstrom! The staff there is extremely helpful.
Post a photo of what you decide on -- we love to see pictures!
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basketdiva
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,699
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Post by basketdiva on Oct 2, 2016 16:17:44 GMT
I'd go with something in the "cocktail party" sort of dress. Weddings don't call for black, any color other than white, is fine. I was thinking "cocktail party" too. I just don't know if I can find anything that will look nice on me and not cost a small fortune. I will probably never wear this dress again. I only own one pair of heels. I wore them last almost two years ago. I just don't have a need to dress up. Check consignment shops in your area-you might find something at a reasonable price. |
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Post by mcscrapper on Oct 2, 2016 19:08:26 GMT
For a country club affair you cannot go wrong with Lily Pulitzer. They have a lot of nice dresses that are very appropriate for a fall, evening wedding.
White House Black Market is also a great option and have some "body conscious choices," too.
m
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Post by annabella on Oct 2, 2016 19:32:19 GMT
I use rent the runway all the time, I would recommend going with them for a dress. link |
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Post by pmm on Oct 3, 2016 0:18:47 GMT
Check consignment shops in your area-you might find something at a reasonable price. I only know of one consignment shop in my area, fortunately they do have high end fashion. But, I loathe shopping and having to sort through racks of clothes would send me over the edge. I use rent the runway all the time, I would recommend going with them for a dress. linkYou're the second person to recommend Rent the Runway. What would you put in for body type to help narrow the dresses down? I'm a 38-40 D bust and I've put on an extra 10 pounds this summer in the mid section. I am very self conscious of how I look in clingy material right now. |
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Post by pmm on Oct 3, 2016 0:21:34 GMT
For a country club affair you cannot go wrong with Lily Pulitzer. They have a lot of nice dresses that are very appropriate for a fall, evening wedding. White House Black Market is also a great option and have some "body conscious choices," too. m I just checked and there is a Lily Pulitzer store in the same mall as Nordstrom. I have an appointment on Thursday to meet with a personal stylist. |
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Oct 3, 2016 0:57:18 GMT
I'd go for black skirt of slacks (whatever you feel comfortable in) and a sparkly, sequin top in taupe or champagne or some neutral color that I looked fabulous in.
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Post by pmm on Oct 5, 2016 1:19:37 GMT
I was so excited to use the Nordstrom stylist. But, today I got an email from them saying that the budget I set is too small. I thought $100 was more than enough for an outfit I will only wear once.
I'm tired from being at work all day. So, I will address it tomorrow.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Oct 5, 2016 2:51:12 GMT
I was so excited to use the Nordstrom stylist. But, today I got an email from them saying that the budget I set is too small. I thought $100 was more than enough for an outfit I will only wear once. I'm tired from being at work all day. So, I will address it tomorrow. I'm sorry! |
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