Can anyone help an elderly hippo?

[elderlyhippo]

I need help with clothes!

I'm normally a scruffy/hippy type. But that's not a typo in the title: although fairly tall (5ft 8) I'm also overweight - huge boobs, carry most of the rest in a pot belly; though bum, thighs and upper arms are all fairly "solid" too.

I have three occasions I need to dress up for on the horizon. A family wedding, a formal dinner and a daytime work-related formal reception.

Can anyone help me with what I could wear and not frighten the other guests? I wouldn't want to wear white or near-white to the wedding, nor black, but I rarely wear black anyway as it makes me look washed out.

Sorry, that's "wear to each" - I'm not looking for one outfit to cover all three!

I'm not in the habit of spending much on clothes, but would do so for something really good. Inspiration in any price bracket welcome!

How formal is your formal work event, would something like this be smart enough? Or when you say formal, do you mean properly formal?

To be honest, I'm not too sure what it would look like as its not pictured on an actual person, but I thought from the customer reviews and the fact that it has sleeves (which so many dresses don't), it might tick some of the boxes for you.

Thank you!

Sorry it's taken a while to get back to you.

I like the dress very much - but am not sure it's formal enough for work, unless anyone can recommend a jacket that looks as if it definitely belongs to it. I want to get away from the classic navy suit if I can though.

Might it work for the wedding?

My thanks again to treaclesoda.

I have realised from this that my figure must be totally undressable, and have resigned myself to wearing the dated navy suit to all events, as I had feared all along would be my only option.

It may bbe undress able but it's unlikely! What size are you? If you are actually plus sized, have you tried joe brown at simply be? They have hippyish stuff?

Nobody's figure is totally undressable, but you're being lazy OP. You've given a vague description of how you look and now you expect other posters to trawl the internet for clothes! Come on, make a bit of effort and do some research yourself. Failing that, make an appointment at a big department store with a personal dresser who can select things that might suit you and go and try some things on.

Have you looked in whistles? They have great work stuff. Or house of Fraser on eBay, they have great outlet prices. Hope that helps

How old are you?

Begin by NOT referring to yourself as an elderly hippo.
And 'elderly'?
My mother at 75 is elderly.
I hope to god you're not in your 30's or 40's!

And nobody is undressable, surely?
Please pleeeease have more faith in yourself. More info would help concerning clothes though, what size you are, etc. Plus size is not undressable.

Have you looked at Ann Harvey? I get a lot from them and find their cut is good for disguising any lumps and bumps.

I was feeling very down yesterday. My thanks to posters who have made suggestions of places to look. I shall follow them up.

But I shall not trouble this forum again, as I did not realise it was a breach of good posting here to ask for help for 3 items simultaneously. I really had no idea where to begin - even a few names of likely places to narrow my own googling would have helped enormously.

My thanks for the three suggestions of vendors. I will look and see if anything leaps out. But as I am still totally clueless on what cut/silhouette might be at all suitable for my shape, then it still feels like a task with no starting point - though I now know my difficulties with this are all self-inflicted laziness.

Have you been to any shops and had a look at what is on offer or tried anything on? If you are totally clueless then I would recommend what juneau says about going to see a personal shopper at John Lewis or Debenhams, for example, as they will know what shapes and colours to look for. You don't have to buy anything if you don't want to.
I think the reason not many people have posted is that you have given very little information about what you want and you can't really expect people to look for clothes for you if you can't be bothered to try yourself, as it takes time to look for clothes and then write a post linking to them.

Cheer up. The starting point is surely finding a few things about yourself that you do like - have you got a decent cleavage? A graceful neck? Small/elegant hands? Nice hair? Good skin? You're tall, which is a great start; you haven't really said much more about yourself for anyone to go on. Being bigger doesn't mean you can't look stylish or fabulous, it just means finding the right clothes to emphasise the best parts of yourself.

I'd second the recommendation about booking an appointment with a style advisor in a department store like John Lewis, which has a wide range of brands and prices. You need someone experienced in dressing different shapes to bring you lots of clothes in one go, and, crucially, take away anything that doesn't suit you before you've had time to stare at it balefully and blame yourself for it not working. This is what happens when I order lots of stuff from the internet and nothing fits. It also helps to have someone with zero vested interest other than finding you an outfit that you really like. You honestly don't have to buy everything they show you. Once you've found out what shapes and colours suit you, you can then find more of the same online without the painful trial and error process.

...alternatively, you could try ordering things online, so you can try them in the peace and quiet of your bedroom.

Have you thought about something along the lines of Vivienne westwood/anglomania? She designs for curves. Google her, and google Nigella lawson who often wears her dresses. the anglomania dresses aren't cheap but they are versatile and very flattering. You could probably use the same dress for the dinner and the wedding. Also think about black again - maybe with a pashmina in a colour?

Hope you find something!