Best friends wedding at 50

[zippyswife]

Nearly 50 (I know age shouldn’t matter but…) and have my best friends wedding coming up.

confidence in my appearance is at an all time low- I live in jeans and trainers and am daunted by the thought of a smart wedding outfit.

im 5’8 size 12… menopausal apple (belly) but have cracking legs (if I need to show something).

any ideas? I’m not a frills or fuss person…

Try boden, monsoon, both do nice dressy dresses that you could get more use out of after the wedding too. If don't like too much fuss, you'd find a solid colour with them but I wonder if something like this would suit you?
https://www.boden.com/products/women-nell-kimono-midi-jersey-dress-navy-elegant-blossom-d1495nav
Or,
https://www.monsoon.co.uk/gina-floral-lace-midi-dress-blue-20004740003.html
https://www.monsoon.co.uk/clemence-alise-floral-embellished-mini-dress-black-70017150001.html (this one would show off your legs, and skim past a tum).

Hope you find something and I bet you'll look fab.

This is crazy. I’m not interested in dresses these days and I can only wear trainers or at a push Birkenstocks due to very arthritic toes. I’d always wear a suit plus birkies. I think it looks so much nicer than a dress

OP I'm your age and similar ish shape and height. I have been considering this dress for an event (I know it's over budget but it does have a discount...) . I also like this jumpsuit but I don't like that I can't see the exact fabric composition.

The dress is lovely 😍

My cousin wore a trouser suit to my wedding and looked incredible (she is also tall). I would think that at 5ft 8in and a size 12 you could wear most things and look great - a friend of mine is this height and dress size and also similar in age to you and looks flipping amazing. Just wear whatever you like and feel most confident in.

I definitely would be happy to wear trousers to a wedding. I have a men’s vintage smoking jacket ( green silk ) that I would have worn to my brothers wedding with a cream silk blouse and vintage men’s evening trousers if I’d paid attention to my instincts. I wore a dress for some reason which was fine but I didn’t feel fantastic. I think the budget might be a little tight for your friends wedding so I went to Mango where somewhere like Massimo Dutti might be better quality. Anyway I was struck by this combination but if you find the top a bit theatrical they have a couple of other asymmetric tops in the same colour that you could swap out. There’s a few contrasting colours you could wear with it and I like the gold jewellery option. Shoe wise I like a block heel or there are kitten heels around. I personally can’t stand them or wedges but they do give a boost. An embroidered flat mule or sandal might work with a contrast bag. Dont match it clash it. Hot pink ??

https://shop.mango.com/gb/en/p/women/trousers/straight/straight-mid-rise-trousers_27085844

Seriously get yourself an appointment with a stylist at John Lewis. It’s free. No obligation to buy anything. I was going through a not good time with my body shape after having my son. So nothing really fitted me. I’d lost the baby weight no problem but off the wrong places. In the end in desperation I booked an appointment at John Lewis. The woman couldn’t have been nicer…. No hard sell…. She had a pile of stuff to try on and once she knew my bumpy bits ran off and got new stuff. And she got me amazing shoes to try on as well….. the ones I picked were ballet pumps but beautiful and go with jeans so they’ve had tons of use. And I got given about 10 free samples from the beauty department too. And I felt good on the day. Shoes were 35quid. Dress around 120 quid. And I was treated so well.

I would absolutely wear a trouser suit to a wedding if I had cracking legs! It could look tremendously stylish.

These type of sandals are nice and are comfy if you fancied something fancy!

https://esskashoes.com/collections/block-heel?srsltid=AfmBOoq_J9w_AKAxtBgNCMJCd41_ZihZCdUfm-cAypo7tlm8uU4b9YE4

This is lovely.

You sound exactly like me. I find it incredibly difficult to find a dress that works. However have found that the brand Dress the Population does a fit and flare dress that works well on me. I usually go for a large, however there are a few cuts of the fit and flare dress style, so try a few different ones on first. The Elisa style works best on me. Hits just above my tummy and is very flattering. They are not cheap, but worth it to feel good in my eyes. I now have a couple of versions of this dress! I also have the Catalina style (which also works well).

https://www.dressthepopulation.com/products/ddr424-k196992?variant=44059314126890

You can also get this delivered to the UK from Amazon...

https://a.co/d/0izApQAV

https://www.next.co.uk/style/su765185/w63181
Wrap dresses are great for those with a larger bust. This is linen so would be cool and comfortable.
Could dress it down for other occasions with a denim jacket and Burkies or pumps

https://www.next.co.uk/style/su765185/w63181
Wrap dresses are great for those with a larger bust. This is linen so would be cool and comfortable.
Could dress it down for other occasions with a denim jacket and Burkies or pumpshttps://www.modainpelle.com/sandals-c29/heeled-sandals-c41/phyllis-navy-white-leather-p14575 These look great too

I went to a wedding recently and wore a dress and sandals. I was worried about the bare leg look. A friend recommended the toeless tights from M and S , they were brilliant. So you can wear sandals with tights but bare toes. They have a bit that goes between your toes. Sounds horrible but they are honestly a game changer if you’re like me and never bare your legs

@StasisMomhere’s the Charli jumpsuit being sold from a boutique in Fordingbridge, it says it’s 100% viscose
https://luxurybubble.co.uk/products/molly-printed-jumpsuit-in-ivory-and-red

Good spot @minnowonthesayand thanks! I’ve never been sure if Charli just sells Made in Italy stuff and passes it off as its own, but maybe not.

While the trouser suits are gorgeous, wear a dress if you have good legs.

I don't have good legs and otherwise sound similar to you, so trouser suit or long dresses for me all the way, but if you have an asset like good legs, why not show them off?!

May I suggest these shoes, to go with the pink suit? They are low block heeled and really comfortable
https://www.clarks.com/en-gb/kymber-shine/26187865-p

French connection have sales and beautiful dresses in there sales i have bought lots

Mint Velvet have some boho mini dresses that could work.