How would you accessorise this dress for a party??

[dreamingoaholiday]

A reasonably posh do.

I'm clueless, I need help!

Also, do I really have to get my toes out?! I'd rather not. What other kind of shoes could I wear that would feel dressy?

Congrats on the rugby!

Breaking my vow, I've been shopping for Ms Willendorf I think she'd look good in one of these knot-front dresses (one of the few styles that look better on women of substance than skinny minnies). It might be a bit long, though?

She might protect her upper arms with a shrug, maybe like this

And I dunno about shoes, but these are kind of interesting.

I'm sorry if I touched a nerve - I didn't mean to sound patronising. You & I have a lot in common from what you've said.

You've mentioned several times that other women at your work are polished - how do you feel about getting a dress that's OK, and then getting your hair done? Last week I had the same kind of work do as yours sounds like. I'm also in my 50s and with the same body type. I wore a cheap dress from TK Maxx (I live in the States, here they have up to size XXXL in stock), and got my hair done for $20. Loads of people said how great I looked (and they could have just said it was nice to see me) and I'd only had an hour between work and going out, so I couldn't have looked all that amazing - I was just having a GOOD hair evening, and that seemed to swing it.

I'm not trying to give a glib answer - I get all the points you make - it's just that somehow you need to find your way towards looking/feeling good about the event. I have similar issues to you, and these are things that have helped me.

fwiw - I think the knot-front dress, shrug and wedge heels could look classy & elegant in an understated way.