Gah. Help! Masked ball @ The Dorchester in September

[NomDePlume]

I'm doing my corporate wife bit and I need something to wear.

I'm 28
5' 7"
Size 10-12
Legs good
Bum ok
Booby (32F)
Chin length hair
Brunette with dark eyes
Medium skin tone

I have a small tattoo (50p sized) at the top of my arm so would prefer something with sleeves (cap sleeved fine).

I suit jewel colours.

Budget about £120-£150, £200 if I need shoes.

Come on fashionistas! Come to my rescue!

Do you want something ballgowny or a cocktail dress?

this? looked absolutely shit on me but I did love the colour and style - sexy but stylish.

Should point out I am shorter and fatter than you and have chunky legs

ditto this one

Lots of on-line Venetian mask shops on e-bay

www.SamanthaPeachMasks.com do some gorgeous masks - all handmade in England!

sorry, have been at work so MN access patchy.... will read replies..

I like the orange dress very much and it's a shape that suits me but prob not dressy enough. It is black tie.

not so keen on the fussy pleating on the blue one.

what do you think re the orange one and black tie dress code ?

black tie to me is ball gown stuff - I'd only go short if it was cocktail, esp at the dorchester

what about this

Hmm if it's black tie not sure the orange one would be dressy enough. If you're a 10-12 you could definitely get away with something satiny without ending up looking like Vanessa.

I think the cream dress would suit your colouring.

What about this from Coast? It comes in several colours - you would need a wrap tho' to cover your tat.

hard to find a long b;ack tie dres with sleeves
that doesn't look mumsy - would this hide tatt?

maybe consider a jewelled / sequinned shrug

Thanks all so far, MrsB, that black one would cover it. It really is only small and high up so a cap or off the shoulder style would cover it sufficiently, I think.

I am a fan of that Coast one. I like all of the colours and all would suit my colouring. I would prefer a colour.

Having spoken to DH he has informed me that it is a full on gloves and whatnot type affair. Flipdedoodah. I wonder if I'd be better hiring ? Trouble is that I'm worried that hiring usually ends up means dodgy fitting.

I know it's sleeveless but this is perfection in dress form

it's just a shame the sizing is for the emaciated end of the market

oh yes, and it's £507 over my max budget....

again off piste but I like this, more muted colouring though and more realistic budget

the grey one is lovely
don;t hire if you can help it - ebay a better bet

meanwhile
it's satin, it;s drapey and it comes in green

not quite as slinky - more swooshy in fact but some ace colours

There are some lovely more trad shapes on Ebay from the Chinese dressmakers but I just don't know about the quality and whether it's too much of a gamble. Although tbh, for the sake of £50 or so for a made to measure evening dress I'm wondering if it's worth taking a punt given that I'm looking at at least £150 for a basic high st off the peg number? That way I could buy some really beautiful shoes / bag with the money left in the budget.

I'm quite an experienced ebayer so if I did go for it I would only buy from a seller with excellent and proven feedback and one that I could get fabric swatches from.

MrsB !!! That Watters one in Agave is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

I love

Watters have beautiful dresses in every colour you could want.

would definitely cover tat, but not long

netbook, I like the grecian dress, v nice but not for this doo. I deffo need the full red carpet floor length look.

I really like this too (although not in the colour shown). I like the open back and I think perhaps it's a bit 'younger' than some of the other styles that are out there. Part of the problem I've found is that a lot of the Black Tie stuff I've looked at so far has felt a bit middle-aged for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a muttony dresser (fairly classic really) but I'm also only 28....