Garden party dress ideas please

[notreallyintothisbutgottago]

Didn't know where to post this, but hoping for traffic! Can anyone help me find a reasonably priced outfit for a royal garden party?! Am really not that into fashion so not sure where to start but needs to be affordable as I can't see me wearing it again. Says day dress required. Apparently need to wear a hat or fascinator too...annoyingly have recently put on a lot of weight, now size 16, so don't have anything remotely suitable. Dressing up is not my forte, not that keen on shopping for clothes so if anyone can suggest anything they've seen recently, I'd be really grateful!

I think you report your post to hq so you click on the 3 little dots on the right hand side at the end of your post.

Both Hell Bunny and Collectif have some lovely day dresses at the moment. If you have Instagram or FB I highly recommend following @fullerfigurefullerbust - she is a blogger who shares lots of fabulous outfits for all sorts of occasions, and she seems genuinely down to earth and approachable. People often message her FB page with queries such as this and everyone chips in their ideas

I'm sure you could wear black and brighten it up with some colourful accents/accessories if that would feel most comfortable to you (feeling comfortable and confident is the most important thing). Just remember that if you are smart then you won't look out of place, regardless of outfit colour! Have fun! The food is amazing!

Just seen they have it in navy, navy would be ideal garden party colour! Accessorised with cream is very chic!

@ChanandlerBongsNeighbour
Navy not in my size 

This is a plain navy Lindy bop dress I wore to another event last year (same shoes and necklace as the garden party).

Aah what a shame! I didn't check that!

Hi there all,

We're going to move this to Style and Beauty at OP's request.

Ooh lots of overlap with my 'prettiest dress available to humanity' thread!

Following :)

Would be worth having a look on eBay for Lindy bop as there's always some on there!

How did you get on OP? Any outfit luck yet?

@ChanandlerBongsNeighbour
An exciting package arrived from Lindybop this afternoon. But the jury is still out. It is VERY black!!!!! Although I love the Marianne combo I think it might be better suited to a funeral!!!  think I might need to rethink....

Fab! Do you like the fit though? Could be worth trying to track it down in navy if the brighter colours are a bit much for you and the black feels too black! (Although I do think the bright colours are PERFECT for the garden party!)

Can you post a picture?

Definitely comfy shoes. No heels. Do queue for the front entrance rather than the back just for the experience. If you need the loo go early to avoid queues. It's a great experience- enjoy!

@ChanandlerBongsNeighbour
The fit is ok on the waist but too big on the bust. Think I need to go a size down, but I wish the brighter ones weren't so...bright! I looked on ebay but nothing in my size. Funnily enough the ad at the bottom of the Mumsnet page when I got your message had a lovely floaty gey floral dress. Talk about algorithms...3 glasses of wine down on a Friday night, I ordered that instead! Have a funny feeling my cheap outfit is going to turn into loads of cheap outfits = bloody expensive!

I have a cream jacket I could pair it with...

That's lovely! Let us know what it's like!