Help me figure out what to wear to this wedding.

In My Humble Opinion
1

At the beginning of October, the Wonderland family are attending a wedding.

Now, the bride is a touch bridezilla-ish, but the groom is a dear friend and so we are trying to be accommodating.

To wit: there is a dress code for the wedding - semi-formal, which is no problem; however, there is also a wedding ‘theme’ and the bride expects guests to dress in theme. Now, I’m always a bit irritated by the ‘guests as decorations’ type deal, but whatever, it could be fun.

So, the theme is ‘Blues Brother’. Dunno why - it’s not my wedding, that’s the theme. So Mr. Wonderland is no problem - he has a nice dark suit, a white shirt and we can snag him a skinny tie and a fedora of some sort. Junior is also no problem (and yes, he was specifically invited - his name was on the invite and everything!) We will either buy him a little suit, because that’s hilarious, or figure out something in his closet - the bride did indicate that kids don’t need to be semi-formal.

Now to me - what the heck is semi-formal, blues brothers woman’s outfit? The bride mentioned dresses (no problem) and hats/fascinators (also, no problem) but I’m not even sure what era the movie style is supposed to be from. Do I dress like a flapper? Like a gun moll? In something like this: http://www.kaboodle.com/hi/img/c/0/0/13/d/AAAADO1i6j0AAAAAABPZxA.jpg ?

I’m sort of hoping it’s the latter, because I love that, but I don’t actually know where I’m going to find that, and I’m not sure if it’s appropriate anyway. We have decided to embrace the theme so I want to get it right.

So - all feedback welcome! If you have links to dresses I might actually be able to buy (I’m in Canada) that would be even better. I’m not going to say that money is no object, because that’s dumb and it’s not my wedding, but a slightly pricey dress would be ok.

Thanks!

2

I love the dress you linked to. I really have nothing helpful to offer. There really isn’t much in the way of ladies’ fashion in that movie to go on. You could wear the linked dress, glue on sideburns and wear dark glasses…

3

Well you could dress as Carrie Fischer did in the movie. Bring an M-16 and wear a striped sweater.

4

Yeah, Carrie Fisher and for some reason, Illinois Nazis immediately sprang to mind but neither sounds appropriate for a wedding.

Damn, that’s a tough one. I can’t see why anyone would object to the dress you linked though, that’s very pretty.

5

Dress as a nun (penguine) don’t forget the ruler. I would choose this over dressing as an Illinois Nazi. They hate Illinois Nazis

6

Go with that dress you linked to. It’s adorable and should fit in nicely.

7

That’s such a bizarre set of requirements that I think you can get away with about anything. None of the women will know what to wear, exactly, so it will be a mess.

8

OHOHOH - Junior needs to be dressed as The Penguin! :smiley:

9

I love the dress you linked and since there isn’t a great deal of womens fashion direction from the movie you’ll be fine. Just wear (or carry) a pair of dark sunglasses and you’re golden.

10

Only problem is it’s vintage from about 1952 - I’m not entirely sure where I would find something even similar.

Perhaps I’ll check out the Anthropologie website…

11

Ok, how about this dress?

It seems like a good shape and maybe I could do something with it?

12

Modcloth or a Betty Paige store. Both are internetable.

13

The dress style you linked to is great. I love the dresses at this site as well, especially this number in purple.

Add a few cool accessories and you’re good.

ETA: I found this one, which has a great 50’s silhouette.

14

I agree! What a great dress - if you have the figure for it, enjoy it!!

15

Look, you’ve got some of the smartest, hippest people on the planet (and maybe a few dipsticks)here and they all agree that ‘Blues Brothers’ doesn’t define a female style.

So, I say, get in touch with your friends and ask them what the heck they mean by the theme. Don’t let their imprecision and lack of thought be your problem.

16

Wear your hair like Twiggy did in the movie.

17

Wow, you are a way better sport than I am. I would have just bought a blue dress and called it a day.

18

Outside of Carrie Fisher and the Penguin, I can only think of three places in the movie where you see close-ups of women for a significant amount of time:

– Aretha Franklin and her friends in the Soul Food Cafe. Maybe their attire (waitress uniform on Aretha and hot pants on her friends) would not be appropriate for a wedding.

– The women in Bob’s Country Bunker. But I don’t think what’s worn at a honky-tonk would be appropriate either.

– The women in James Brown’s church. Now here might be something–these women were done up in their Sunday best. I don’t recall that any women’s outfit in that church would be out of place at a wedding. So, put on your Sunday best (regardless of whether you go to church or not); and if anybody asks, tell them that you’re dressed like you attend the Triple Rock Baptist Church, where James Brown preaches.

19

I couldn’t find the picture on-line, but there is a shot of Jane Byrne, the mayor of Chicago who helped get approval for the film shoot, with her daughter Kathy and Belushi and Ackroyd, the ladies tricked out as Jake and Elwood – hats, sunglasses, suits, shirts, and skinny ties.

20

Yes, it feels a little like they haven’t thought their cunning plan all the way through. :slight_smile:

Most of the cast of the 1980 film simply wear clothing of ther period, with Aykroyd and Belushi (and Cab Calloway) deliberately dressed in anachronistic outfits – the suits were inspired by style worn by jazz musicians.

I guess there will be a temptation for all the men attending the wedding to dress like the Blues Brothers themselves… which leave the women with the choice of late-70s (the era of the movie) or matching the Jake & Elwood style by wearing outfits that would fit with a mid-century jazz club.

Personally, since I think of the 70s as “the decade that taste forgot” I’d suggest going the 50s jazz club route. :slight_smile:

Or for the “tldnr” version alice_in_wonderland, I’d suggest something that matches Mr. Wonderland’s suit rather than worrying about the movie costuming. The dresses you linked look great.