What should I wear to a London wedding in November?

[SharingMichelle]

I don't live in England. I wear flipflops and tshirts all year round. I have literally no idea where to start.

Do I need a frock and a coat? I haven't owned a coat for years! Or knee boots? Or pumps and opaque tights? A hat? A fascinator? What fabrics? What colours? What exact items of clothing?????

I think the wedding and the reception are in the same place. I imagine there will be dancing after the meal. It's a proper white wedding with a meringue and flower girls.

I'm mum-shaped, size 14. Very ordinary with a bit of a tummy.

I'm fair and look best in strong or bright colours.

I don't want anything remotely frumpy. I'm 36 and tend towards frumpy if left unchecked. I'll be seeing people from school for the first time in 20+ years. They all seem much younger and more stylish than me somehow. they're all getting married and having babies now - I've almost got kids in highschool. They all live in London, I live in the arse end of nowhere.

Sorry for the avalanche of information. I didn't want to leave out anything that might be useful, and I'm excited!

I went to a wedding last November and wore a lace sleeved midi dress from Next with bare legs and heels. Got lots of compliments and felt warm but still appropriately dressed.
If you have a bit of a tummy you could go for a skater style version which are trendy at the moment.

Sounds like a civil service in a hotel, yes? In which case I'd go for...

Long sleeved dress

In a darkish colour (but not black or navy)

With nudge or opaque tights, depending on shoes

Killer heels

Elegant hairpiece

Great bag

This if you have lovely shoulders

This is good if you want to go with darker colours

Ditto

In fact, any of these Damsel In a Dress with long or 3/4 sleeves would be good

Anything look promising?

Omg closer. That first dress is 50 shades of diarrhoea.

Really, burnished? OK...

Its definitely an interesting colour lol

I was thinking of something like this- www.houseoffraser.co.uk/HotSquash+Long+Sleeved+Lace+Dress+With+Thinheat/223416581,default,pd.html

or this-
www.houseoffraser.co.uk/JS+Collections+Long+sleeve+all+over+lace+dress/208397487,default,pd.html

or if you have a bit of a tummy but good legs, this-
www.houseoffraser.co.uk/Wal-G+Long+sleeve+lace+skater+dress/209175341,default,pd.html

I love your advice Closer - but I can only open your first link. Have googled Damsel in a dress and am having a look through.

I quite like a green lace dress gotred (haha, brilliant line, brilliant name :)). Don;t think I could wear the champagne one without looking a bit bridal!

I quite like phase eight dresses.

Omg I utterly adore this but it's sold out except for size six. I told dh and he said "well, you've got a few months to go!" Haha what an optimist.

If you are now abroad, how far ahead of the wedding will you be in London? If you could arrange to have a spare day, how would you feel about booking a personal style appointment in a big, fashionable store, say Selfridges or John Lewis. Get the outfit, then pick up shoes and any accessories you want. get your hair and makeup done at the same time.

I'm not sue I could risk leaving it so late, but it would be a great way to be bang up to date and also to know what the weather is up to. There have been lovely, sunny days and loads of miserable, drizzling and cold days in November.

Enjoy, either way.

I would wait a few months before looking. Winter clothes will start coming into the shops in August and September, and there'll be a lot more choice.

Lace dresses have been around for a few years, now, and I may be wrong, but I think they have had their day.

Remember, too, that if you are coming from somewhere warm, you will probably have a lovely colour, compared to lots of the others there. Hopefully that will make you feel a bit better about yourself!

It will be chilly so you need a good coat. Bugger fascinators they're over & they look very odd in winter anyway.

I would look online wherever you are, as online shops tend to have previous season's stuff on sale/in their outlet.

I would def buy your outfit before you arrive as I think it would be too much of a panic to wait til you get here.

I would wait before looking

I am slightly confused by posters suggesting body con dresses and also the HoF lace - the poster said she had a bit of a tummy which I'm guessing she said because she doesn't want something body con?

I like Phase Eight and they normally have stuff for all shapes.

side point - don't really understand why "skater dresses" are so called.

Please don't buy a Phase Eight tapework dress if you don't want to look frumpy. They are nice dresses, my friend looks great in hers, but they are standard mother of the bride stuff.

I like monsoon for special occasions. I'm a size 14 and look best in jewel colours and monsoon usually deliver. Unless you are staying overnight at the venue I'd still want a coat to wear there and back and maybe if they have photos outside there can be some Hanging about. A plain wool coat would be fine and it doesn't have to be matchy matchy. I like fascinators and think they add to the occasion of a wedding but I seem to be in the minority....

sharingmichelle QUICK!! they have 1 of your dress is in a 14 in House of fraser! here

omg omg but is malmsey right? Are the tapeworm dresses frumpy?

eugh.... tapeworm dresses!
Who cares? Its classic .. and if you love it buy it (you can always send it back )

I personally am not keen on those small fascinators: I like hats, large fascinators (that are essentially small hats but fixed on your head), and hairpieces (combs, slides etc), as I think these make the outfit "wedding" rather than "smart occasion". And I think small fascinators have rather had their day, especially for an OP who is concerned about looking stylish.

IME expensive body con does a great job at holding in wobbly bits

I don't get skater dresses either butterfly.

If it is a smart London wedding, I'd go for a sharp tailored dress, something like the lk Bennett Tina (I have one, it literally takes a stone off me). Team it with a little jacket and heels and you'll look and feel amazing.