My stepdaughter is getting married 8/2 in Ashville, NC at the Orange Peel Social Aid and Pleasure Club (it was recently mentioned in Rolling Stone as one of the top small venues in the country, just to give you an idea of the flavor of the event.) Obviously, I won’t (nor do I want to) be in the spotlight, but I would like to find a killer dress to wear. The crowd will generally be funky, stylish thirty-somethings with money (they think they’re hippy/granola children, but they mostly live in gated communities, blah, blah, blah…I’ve nothing against this except the posing that goes on.)
Anyway, I’m looking for a black funky dress and some drool-inducing shoes. I’m 40, 5’2" and 110 (hoping for 105 by then, but let’s be real!) Also, I know, I know…wait ‘til the last minute, much? Why, yes…I usually do; however, I have a good excuse this time. My husband had bypass surgery 7/7, which has taken up most of our time, thoughts and worries! Now that he’s on the mend, we’re allowing ourselves to, slowly, get back into life and hop on the daughter’s wedding train, so to speak! We’ve got him all set…he has his own tux and I went to Mens’ Wearhouse and got a silver tie, a black tie and some cufflinks.
Now…what about me? Any photos, websites, etc. that you think will get me headed in the right direction would be most appreciated. I obviously won’t have time to order online, but I live fairly close to a major mall and am just looking for suggestions that I can run with.
What’s your favorite part to show off? I’m assuming it should be cocktail/evening dress, but short? Low-cut? What are you picturing yourself looking like, in general terms?
You’re my hero! All good suggestions, so far, everyone. I would like to showcase legs, collar bones and cleavage without looking slutty. The dress I’m wearing for the rehearsal dinner is aubergine (her colors are aubergine/silver, in case I forgot to mention…) fairly long and clingy with cap(?) sleeves and sort of a v-neck. It just happened to be something I already had, but I really want something new and cooler for the actual wedding.
I was just shopping yesterday at an Ann Taylor’s at the mall and found a scrumptious “little black dress” that fit perfectly (like everything at Ann Taylor’s), and didn’t break the bank. It was about $120 or something like that. And though I know you said you didn’t want to order online, AT’s stuff is so good that this may change your mind:
Oh, definitely! I have a lot of love for the halter dress. I do have one quite similar to the first one…maybe I’ll give it a go. It’s just that I’ve worn it a lot and it’s kind of lost its glamor for me; however, no one who’s attending the wedding will have seen it on me except my husband and 2 friends…sooo…
I like the ABS halter dress the best of the ones** EJsGirl **linked to. Mostly I popped in to say that The Orange Peel is a great venue. Every time I’ve been, it’s been pretty warm, though. I don’t know how big the reception will be, and presumably, you won’t all be dancing close to the stage, but you should make sure that whatever you wear is cool and comfortable.
A quick question first – are you sure the bride is cool with you wearing black? The no-black-at-weddings is still officially on the books (according to Miss Manners), although lots of people don’t follow it anymore. And, no-black was especially considered the rule for mothers (and step-mothers, I suppose), who might be considered by guests to be ‘mourning’ the wedding.
This won’t be an issue if the bride has already approved your choice of black, or if you live in an area where black is so commonly worn to weddings that no approval is needed. But I thought I’d throw it out there.
Just wanted to say congratulations, and that the Orange Peel is an AWESOME place to have a wedding, and that the goth wedding in Asheville thing? It’s been done. (i’d link to pictures, but I’m not sure my brother would approve).
I wear black to most weddings I’ve gone to and am usually not the only one.
I haven’t made my final choice, yet, but it’s between yesterday’s purchase (Limited Express, strappless dress with flapper fringe all over it and some stacked shoes and a scarf with fringe on each end) or a dress I already have (another Limited creation, black, left shoulder strap, asymmetrical handkerchief hemline.) I may run out for one last panic shopping spree (I do still need to get the shoes, scarf and possibly strapless bra from TJ Maxx.)
I’ve been asked to read a poem. Yikes! My sister-in-law is going to fix my hair for me. I’m absolutely clueless about using product and utensils! Usually I wash my hair every other day and let it dry naturally, but I need all of the extra confidence I can get!
It definitely seems to be a regional thing. I went to a beautiful outdoor May wedding where the bride was from North Carolina and the groom was from New York. It was funny how easily you could tell where the female guests were from. The ones from the South were wearing pastels, and the ones from New York/New Jersey were wearing black.
Good luck with the final preparations, Hazle! I’m sure you’ll look fabulous.
