May Have Found a Dress - Need HELP!

[AmberGretchen]

Hi ladies - all of you were so lovely and helpful a while back when I was trying to find a dress to wear to a friend''s wedding in June (in Providence, RI) (original thread here) that I thought I''d share with you guys the current front runner and get your input. I''ve attached some pics - its a DVF, strapless, pure silk. None of these pics really fully capture the color, but it absolutely fantastic. I''m thinking deep bronze strappy shoes and a clutch, and some kind of light-colored shawl or wrap or sweater. Since the dress was so pricey, if I decide to keep it, I''ll need to find all the accessories for cheap, so I''d really love some input/help on that, and on the dress itself. Looking forward to hearing everyone''s thoughts!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Don''t know why I look so angry in that last shot...maybe because I had just finished a very large dinner and so I''m feeling a bit "squished" into the dress...Anyway, here''s a side shot that shows one of my major concerns about the dress - I think it kind of mashes down the "girls" in a weird way. I have a fantastic, sculpting strapless bra, but I think it might be too much under this dress, if that makes sense - so something really smooth and seamless and minimizing might be better. Does anyone have any suggestions for that?

 

[AmberGretchen]

Here''s another side issue picture

 

[AmberGretchen]

Here''s a closer shot of the front, so you can see the fun detail

 

[AmberGretchen]

And here''s another closeup shot.

 

[AmberGretchen]

And finally, here''s another larger shot for scale. None of these pics are terribly flattering, but hopefully enough to get a good sense

 

[AmberGretchen]

BTW, I think the last pic captures the true color and fit the most accurately. FYI.

 

[iheartscience]

Oooh, I think it looks FANTASTIC! Very flattering and the color is to die for. I LOVE DVF dresses-they''re so high quality and beautiful. I don''t know what to tell you about the girls since I''m not familiar with them, but I think they look fine!

Now for accessories...it''s hard to say since I don''t have the color in front of me in real life, but a metallic strappy shoe is definitely the right answer. I''m not sure about deep bronze, though-I was thinking regular gold or silver right off the bat. But you have in in person so you obviously have a better idea than I would!

Let me see if I can find any suitable shoes...

 

[iheartscience]

Maybe something like this: it''s some brand called rsvp-it''s the Jory-and they''re only $60.

 

[iheartscience]

I''d go for something simple like that and probably a shoe with straight straps to match the straightness of the bottom of the skirt...just my two cents!

 

[iheartscience]

These are cool-the Bandolino Rayonna 3 for $64. Looks like a darker gold than the others.

 

[iheartscience]

I think those are my faves in that price range. Of course there are tons of great Stuart Weitzman gold high heel sandals, but those are definitely not cheap!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks thing2of2 - I really like the 2nd pair of shoes. I think I worry about pure gold because it seems it might be too flashy, if that makes sense. I''m generally more of a silver girl, but again it seemed too bright with this dress, which is why I thought the bronze might be smashing.

I''m so glad you think its flattering - I''m kind of self-conscious about the fact that its strapless AND bright pink AND form-fitting - I''ve spent such a long time hiding in dark, loose clothing that it feels very foreign to put something like this on.

 

[EMPTorres]

You look great in the dress, I am envious. I wish I could pull something like that off..

I think a silver strappy sandal would look great with the dress.. Here is the same one thing posted but in silver.. https://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/edit.asp?mode=reply&pageNo=1&num=30&type=reply&catID=3&forumID=25&topicID=86295&replyID=1242433&quote=0

 

[EMPTorres]

I think these would look really great too..

http://www.piperlime.com/browse/product.do?cid=4016&pid=566187&scid=566187012

 

[EMPTorres]

This is a totally different option however I think they would add a bit of fun and sassiness to the dress..
http://www.piperlime.com/browse/product.do?cid=19908&pid=564441&scid=564441022

 

[mercoledi]

Hmm, it's a very striking color, but I think the first dress you had was more appropriate and more flattering to your figure. This one screams DRESS while the other one screamed AMBER. Just my $0.02. Either would be lovely; you should wear what you feel best in.

 

[EMPTorres]

Not that my opinion matters, now that I see the two dresses on you together I like the navy and white one best. You could still do a metallic shoe with it or even add a punch of color with a red or green color shoe.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Everyone''s opinion matters! Unfortunately, the navy and white dress had some irregularities that I didn''t notice until after I had taken those pictures, and it has since been returned (they had no others in my size when I returned it). I do have store credit now at Ann Taylor, so if there''s something else there that you guys like, I can look into that instead.

I have to say though, my DH is normally not so big on strapless dresses on me AT ALL, and he just went nuts over this one - he absolutely loved it, and insisted that I get it if I liked it despite the hefty price tag. In person it is definitely more flattering than in the photos, but I''m really fascinated that everyone likes the earlier dress better when DH, who usually has really good taste about these things (hence why I ask for his opinion at all hehe) felt so strongly the other way. Perhaps I will take another look at Ann Taylor and see if they have anything that looks promising.

 

[EMPTorres]

What about something like this?? It is from Ann Taylor and is the same style dress as the navy and white except for the neckline.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I do think it is doing something weird to the girls and I also think it shortens you. It is lovely, But I suspect you can do better.

 

[mercoledi]

Weellll, in that case, I think I''m seeing two totally overcomeable issues with the pink dress. One, in all the photos you''re standing with your hands on your hips, which I think is artificially broadening your shoulders. Probably in real life you look more like you do in the AT dress.

Two, I think the girls could use some oomph to accentuate your figure. Jazz it up with some fun accessories and shoes, and you should be good to go! You can probably do almost any metallic with that pink, so pick whatever best compliments your skin tone.

p.s., Congrats on the major weight loss! That''s no mean feat!

 

[AmberGretchen]

hmmm...EMPtorres - I think that dress has too loud/large of a print for me. I like large prints but have found that since losing weight, they almost uniformly look like they are wearing me rather than the other way around...but I may have a chance to go by AT sometime this coming weekend, and if I do, I would definitely try it on, since I love the neckline and overall shape.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 5/28/2008 12:22:36 PM
Author: mercoledi
Weellll, in that case, I think I''m seeing two totally overcomeable issues with the pink dress. One, in all the photos you''re standing with your hands on your hips, which I think is artificially broadening your shoulders. Probably in real life you look more like you do in the AT dress.


Two, I think the girls could use some oomph to accentuate your figure. Jazz it up with some fun accessories and shoes, and you should be good to go! You can probably do almost any metallic with that pink, so pick whatever best compliments your skin tone.


p.s., Congrats on the major weight loss! That''s no mean feat!

I totally agree on the girls - that''s a definitely sticking point for me on most dresses. I''m usually a 2 or a 4 on the bottom in most of the major brands, but more of a 6 up top, because I wear a 32DD. So that makes accommodating the girls a challenge in most dresses. But I do have a fabulous lady at Nordstrom who works wonders, so she may be able to find something that would work under that dress.

The shoulders actually are kind of a separate issue - I think the hands on hips probably accentuates it, but I don''t have dainty shoulders (I never have) - they are pretty broad, no matter what. So that may or may not be made better by standing differently, hard to know...

Thanks for the congrats - it was definitely not easy, but so very worthwhile

 

[mercoledi]

I hear ya, I have the same thing, fairly broad shoulders and a 32C chest. I think undergarments would help. Also if you got the dress at Saks or Nordies, it might be worth bringing it into their tailor to get the top fitted *perfectly* to you after you''ve found the right support. A little bit of tailoring can make a huge difference, and if this is an investment piece for you, it''ll be worth it.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

You know what I think it is....the fuller skirt. I am short and cannot do those. It just makes short girls look shorter.

 

[Cind11]

Well, I''m going to agree with SanDiegoLady. I like the Ann Taylor dress that you returned better. I think it was more flattering to your figure. The DVF looks like a similar style to my daughter''s last couple Homecoming/Prom dresses. You have a nice figure, and I feel as though the DVF isn''t doing it justice. I was in Ann Taylor just the other day, and I saw dresses that I thought might be nice for a wedding. Whatever you decide, congrats on your weight loss!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Tacori - I''ve actually always liked fuller skirts because I felt like they accentuated a smaller waist, but you may be right about it making me look shorter - definitely not what I was going for

SDL - I totally feel your pain on the gapping/big bust thing. Its been an ongoing problem for me for as long as I can remember. I was hoping that they would get smaller once I lost weight, but they really didn''t by much - I went from a 36D to a 32DD, 50 lbs later

If anything, it actually makes it harder - when I was more of a size 12-14 all over, there wasn''t as much of an issue with stuff fitting up top, but now that I''m more of a 4 all over, its actually MORE difficult. Go figure

 

[AmberGretchen]

Cind11 - you''re very sweet to say such nice things about my figure and the weight loss

I definitely appreciate the comments - I for sure don''t want to look like I am going to prom - I already get questions about my age all the time and the last thing I want to do is make myself look younger - people will think my poor hubby is cradle-robbing or something

OK, off to look at the Ann Taylor website and see what promising options I can come up with. I''m hoping to go by there this weekend, and possibly one or two other stores.

 

[mercoledi]

It looks like AT has the same dress in a different print, though I'd prefer the leafy print. Or this one, same shape but in black and white. If you can pull off that green in accessories, it would be awesome.

This shape is really beautiful on a lot of figures. There are similar dresses here, and here.

Another option might be the J Crew Sophia dress. They have an unexpected amount of room in the chest and a nice slim along the rib cage. If you're at the mall, it might be worth a shot. These look sooo much better on than they do on the skinny-mini models or on the hanger.
This is another like the J Crew sophia.

You have a great figure; do it justice!