Wedding invite - I v old - what to wear?

[serialgrannie]

Just received a wedding invite to a (smallish) but lovely wedding. Very pleased and excited to be going. I am an elderly lady (70s) but try to look smart and reasonably up to date. I have a very trendy daughter-in-law who keeps me on my toes. The wedding is in March and no outdoors involved. I am short and a bit overweight. Nothing too fitted. Any suggestions as to what would be suitable/what shops I should look in. I have in the past had some nice things from Hobbs and Phase Eight. Not keen on very bright colours or black/dark navy. Many thanks in advance.

Gosh I wouldn't say 70s was very old. I thought you were going to say you were in your late 80s! Maybe ask Mumsnet if they'll change your thread title from 'v old' to '70s' as there are quite a few posters in your age range who'd possibly have some good fashion advice.

Would you consider a wide leg trouser suit or coordinates? They're pretty contemporary. Fashion-obsessed teen DD wore knit-fabric wide leg trousers and a matching loose fit roll neck sleeveless top from Zara to a formal event last year and looked very elegant, but possibly difficult to pull off if you're not tall and willowy!

Or perhaps a wide legged jumpsuit (my usual go-to!)?

Maybe try Coast, Cos, Nobody's Child, Zara and Karen Millen. Flannels might be worth a look too.

I am an elderly lady (70s) but try to look smart and reasonably up to date.

Why but? My mother is in her 90s and fully expects to look smart and up to date whenever she leaves the house.

Anyway, @serialgrannie, it would be helpful if you could say what clothing size you usually wear, what your height is, and how much you want to spend.

For something with just a touch more pizzazz than the usual places you could take a look here:

Lisou

The back of the Dionne shirt is rather lovely. And the velvet skirts are so gorgeous.

Alternatively, for a quieter look, either this

Loulou jacket

Or the

Loulou top in the same colour.

With the corresponding trousers would be spectacularly chic but understated. (Obviously the trousers could be taken up if necessary.)

I'm 65. If it were me I'd look at Alémais dresses. Harvey Nicks, MyTheresa and Net-a- Porter have them at sale prices. Or Klements.

Depending on budget I would consider this Erdem dress.

Erdem

What's your budget, as usual the "oh look at these expensive outfits are" have piled on. It's not worth spending hundreds if you're only going to wear it once.

You haven't given your size but there are some gorgeous things here, I esp like the black top with white sequined circles

Hmm … I can see why someone planning to wear something only once might buy cheap. But I’m not close to anyone who does that so it’s outside my experience.

I’m in my 60s and only buy clothes that can be incorporated into my wardrobe and that I expect to wear for years to come. I hope that helps you to understand my suggestions, @CharlotteCChapel?

Obviously we don’t know the OP. But she mentions Hobbs, so one might assume she plans to spend north of Hobbs prices for a special occasion. Also - from her user name I’m guessing she has many weddings, christenings and other celebrations to look forward to and dress for.

I never wear an outfit only once. I've never bought a one off item.

If you want cheaper I'd also look at Sister Jane, Pink City Prints and NRBY.

Oh my goodness, those Alémais dresses! I almost never wear a dress but could be tempted with some of those!

They are lovely and Alémais dresses at sale prices are no more expensive than Hobbs.

OK. Thanks for input. More info as requested. Size 14, height 5' 2". Would prefer a dress with sleeves rather than trouser/skirt suit. I wear trousers/jeans and top most of the time. Budget up to around £200. Will now look at your suggestions so far.

I've just bought a knee length dark green velvet dress recommended on another thread, would be very suitable for a winter wedding pared with a jacket for the more formal part of proceedings. Joanie was the brand

Net-a-Porter sale …

Ganni print

Rixo print

DvN bargain.

La Double J bargain. May need shortening.

Sister Jane dress

Have a look at wedding-wedding-guest Debenhams Online for quite a variety of styles.

That links to the 'Wedding Guest' page, but obviously can look just at the 'Womens' too.

I've seen the Ganni dress in real life. It's lovely. There's some real bargains there. None of them are "wear once" dresses. You could wear them any time you want to wear a nice dress.

Oliver Bonas and go careful with the accessories and hair style. This can add years.
Comfort and style.

Hilarious, what do I know? 67, overweight, skint and dumpy.

https://www.johnlewis.com/phase-eight-phillippa-wrap-midi-dress-eau-de-nil/p112917336

Gorgeous colour for a wedding, love the ruffle along the wrap edge, and would look lovely with a quirky headpiece

Thanks for the suggestions. Really like the Phase eight dress. Will explore further.

Many thanks for this thread. DD is getting married this summer and I found a great dress on Net-a-Porter. Both DDs approve so it is ordered!
It’s not a brand I had come across before but they both knew of it. It is the Ganni dress linked to above.
I am 74. 5ft 4ins and have has a double mastectomy with no reconstruction. A miracle to find a dress we all like!
Thank you @SupriseSparDay

I will let you know what I think when it arrives! I do love the look of it!

👍

I slightly prefer the way the dress is shown on the Ganni site - but as usual N-a-P has a better sale price, so you’ve done well, @Trumpton!

I am size 14, 47 years old and I have a dress similar cut to the phase 8 dress and it is really flattering on my with the long balloon sleeves, very neck and the flare below the fitted waist. I get compliments when I wear that dress, and I think it suits a wide range of ages, but is particularly flattering on a 'mature figure' ie, a woman with breasts and hips

I saw another stunning dress recommended on here very similar cut in green and other different colours, but for the life of me can't remember the brand.

Some of the other recommendations here I think could classify as 'granny chic' and would look great on a younger person, like the name Ethel is super cute on a baby, but just old on an old person. You would have to be uber fashionable with wild accessories to pull off granny chic, when you are actually the age of a granny.

If you have $200, sorry I know it's pounds,, my phone and I am abroad, and you never will wear the dress again, what about hiring an $800 dress? I imagine if you go to a hiring agency, the staff may be honest about what really suits you because they have a range of items on offer, and their motivation is a happy potentially repeating customer rather than selling you 1 item from their own store to hit a sales target. More eco concious too.

Not sure if you’ve bought anything in phase 8 before but their standard sizes will be too long at your height. They have the same dress in their petite range in case you haven’t spotted it. Petite.

Other good petite ranges are Whistles and Reiss.

God those are hideous and the price for a small wedding 😂

If you have $200, sorry I know it's pounds,, my phone and I am abroad, and you never will wear the dress again

I can't get my head round the assumption by some posters that it's normal to buy a dress to wear to a wedding as a guest with the intention it will only be worn once.

I'd be happy to wear all the dresses in SurpriseSparDay's post· Yesterday 15:45
to a wedding and then to every possible occasion I could find afterwards- parties/ lunches/dinner/ ballet/ opera whatever. I'd even wear the Dries van Noten dress and the Erdem dress I linked to work in the summer.

I don't like the Whistles dress - one reason being because it's not a dress that could easily be worn anywhere else.