Dress Advice - 50s style maybe

[50ShadesOfMaybe]

Help!

I've got a family party coming up in the next few weeks and I need a dress! I like to think my style is a bit "different" and "funky", so I thought I'd go for a 1950s style look - with petticoats and all. I ordered a couple (like this) but when I tried them on they were a lot longer that I imagined and I felt very frumpy. So they're going back!

I could try a shorter one like this - the kind of thing I'd happily wear on a night out, but I think it might be a bit too short for a family do. Would a petticoat give it more coverage? How long would it need to be? Does anyone have experience of trying these things?

Should I abandon the whole idea and go in trousers instead?

My mother has offered to take me shopping and will give her "advice". Could be difficult - she never approves of what I wear!

I'm 5'5", size 10 and 40-ish.

What about these?

www.vivienofholloway.com/en/category/50s%20Halterneck%20Luxury%20Dress/

Oh and go as you, dont wear trousers for everyone else

50Shades, First dress cute but agreed not good if too long. The second TM dress you linked to looks like it would stop mid-thigh (surely not? If it was mid thigh it would look a bit ummm tarty/muttony?).

I am same height & age as you and I have found the Vivien dresses to be very long indeed. I've got several 40s style tea dresses and one of their polkadot circle skirt ones. The hems were mid-calf on me (which is more authentic, I'm sure) but which looks extremely frumpy on me, so I had them all altered (not cheap) so the hem stops just at the top of the kneecap. A much more flattering look. However, shortening them means that the petticoats sold to match the dress length are now too long, so they need alterting too (altogether now: "arrrgh").

Possible alternatives - Collectif (at least you can try on instore) or "hourglass dresses" off Ebay - their dresses come to the lower part of the kneecap on me, but their 'wiggle' dresses (which are the straight-skirt ones, not petticoat-flufffy) have a split to show a bit more leg without being tarty. I think that length is a lot better. The dresses are only about £30 and are quite lightly made (not lined) but at least they wouldn't be as likely to need altering as the other brands.

Definitely not trousers for a party though, a pretty dress is way more fun and you should be able to wear it all spring/summer.

Bumping.

Thanks, Claudia, I think you've got my dilemma perfectly. I really want something that's just above or on the knee. I'll investigate places I can go and try them on.