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Original poster

Ideas for a flattering London summer wedding dress after a split

169 replies

PithyBeaker · 20/04/2026 13:02

I would LOVE some ideas for gorgeous dresses that might work for a London summer wedding. Context is that I just split from partner I was expecting to go to the wedding with so I’d like to look smashing and like I DNGAF. I’m not much of one for dressing up and have nothing to wear. The couple are old friends from uni and there will be many old faces there. I’m almost 5,10 (so most dresses in shops are too short) and a size 10. Don’t want to wear heels. Thanks in advance!!!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
34
Allseeingallknowing · 22/04/2026 19:43

Tuhafeni · 22/04/2026 16:01

At the risk of sounding like Chat GPT, that update changes things.

I think slightly more conservative if it’s a church wedding, and more so if it’s catholic/orthodox, but even at an Anglican church wedding, I would tend to have covered shoulders (is this is just me being old-fashioned?) And churches can be cool, even on hot days. But I think you can still lean into a bit of glamour. I like this and would wear it to a church wedding, perhaps with a cover-up for the ceremony. Then as it is for the reception (my only frame of reference for Inns of Court is Oxbridge College weddings which in my experience are pretty much anything goes after the chapel ceremony.)

uk.rails.com/products/odella-dress-atlantic?variant=54895129395587&www.rails.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMax+-+BRD+-+Women%27s+-+UK&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21001971037&gbraid=0AAAAApRNwjwqFoQFK8cQNlPD6Ui46VJKA&gclid=CjwKCAjw46HPBhAMEiwASZpLRNb9heKg8aIm6C641zibvHpB50vqHN4NpfycmQOGFP94o8NTvf09exoCseEQAvD_BwE

Very Victorian Beckham !

gentlysnoringpooch · 22/04/2026 19:43

PithyBeaker · 22/04/2026 16:07

🤣 def not trying to suggest I DNGAF about the bride, that vibe wouldn’t fly. I meant more just I want to look really good and not like I wish I had a date.

Show quote history

That's what I assumed too. As the wedding is going to take place in two very formal settings, then I can see it's not suitable. All the London weddings I've been to have been multicultural and full of bright colours, where the bride definitely wouldn't be offended by the dress I suggested, so I was basing my suggestion on that experience.

Original poster
PithyBeaker · 22/04/2026 20:22

MandyMotherOfBrian · 22/04/2026 18:52

Ooh love this 😍

OP posts:
Eucatastrophilia · 22/04/2026 20:36

Ahem …

Why would you assume an Inns of Court wedding couldn’t be ‘multicultural’, @gentlysnoringpooch?

gentlysnoringpooch · 22/04/2026 20:43

Eucatastrophilia · 22/04/2026 20:36

Ahem …

Why would you assume an Inns of Court wedding couldn’t be ‘multicultural’, @gentlysnoringpooch?

I didn't make that assumption, just that it would be more formal, so the dress I suggested wouldn't be suitable. I was explaining my choice to Backawayfromthesausage who said 'Would you really front up at someone’s wedding wearing that?'

Backawayfromthesausage · 22/04/2026 20:54

PithyBeaker · 22/04/2026 16:07

🤣 def not trying to suggest I DNGAF about the bride, that vibe wouldn’t fly. I meant more just I want to look really good and not like I wish I had a date.

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You’d look like you were desperately trying to pull in the green dress. 😂

cantgardenintherain · 22/04/2026 21:39

I like the me and em green dress.

Jellycatspyjamas · 22/04/2026 22:30

EleanorMc67 · 20/04/2026 18:04

Comes in several other colours! It's a fabulous dress. I like that it says in the product details "May cause compliments"!!!

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The copper colour is stunning, and a nice move away from brown or black.

EleanorMc67 · 22/04/2026 23:56

Chocolateteabag · 22/04/2026 23:21

I am considering this Me+Em dress for my summer 50th - it looks pretty striking (in my head at least!)

It is striking - I have a fondness for a bit of ruching, always have! I like the shoes too.

somburd · 22/04/2026 23:58

PithyBeaker · 22/04/2026 20:22

Ooh love this 😍

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Peacocks are unlucky .

EleanorMc67 · 23/04/2026 00:14

PithyBeaker · 22/04/2026 20:22

Ooh love this 😍

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I've stopped myself from posting that very dress - as I've done so before, so many times, that I'm boring myself! But I'm not bored of the dress, I still think it's a beauty!!

You might also like this one, @PithyBeaker , which is new in at Liberty - it would also be good with your colouring?

As to whether it counts as a DGAF dress - that's for you to decide! To me, it would mean that I feel bloody great in it - whatever it might be. So if it's this, or the Farm Rio dress, or something else - then you're 90% there!

Oh, & I'd probably trust your fashionable Paris-dwelling sister on what looks nonchalantly fabulous on you, more than anyone on MN (including me)!!!

https://www.libertylondon.com/uk/carline-rose-midnight-maxi-dress%C2%A0-000872660.html

Ideas for a flattering London summer wedding dress after a split
EleanorMc67 · 23/04/2026 00:25

somburd · 22/04/2026 23:58

Peacocks are unlucky .

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No they're not. Some people think peacock feathers are bad luck. But it's a superstition. Lots of cultures actually believe they bring prosperity & happiness, & even have healing properties.

EleanorMc67 · 23/04/2026 02:17

Eucatastrophilia · 22/04/2026 06:51

The Karolina Ozolinsiute site is so very frustrating, though. There’s almost never anything new, and most pieces seem to have been sold out for years. (It always makes me feel there’s a secret to getting them that I’m not in on.)

She also sells via Wolf & Badger, though I'm not sure that there's a huge amount more available.

EleanorMc67 · 23/04/2026 03:01

LiquidSquid · 22/04/2026 08:33

I think that people are just offering suggestions. I know that my thoughts process is along the lines of 'OP asked for ideas, Maybe something like one of these?' & if OP then comes back & says 'Those are way too glam' then fair enoughGrin

I apologize if I've misread your tone but it comes across a bit like 'I know London weddings, & Irish ones, so I'm allowed to post. Others that haven't been to one, not so much'.

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Yes, I think everyone was just giving suggestions of what their own ideas on DGAF dresses might be - as, without more detail from the OP, it's all that's possible really. It helped that the OP did come back with more context.

I think I mightn't have worded my post very well if that's how I came across - sorry! My point was in a way opposite to what you read it as. It related more to several other recent posts, where people have made sweeping generalisations about what you should wear to a London wedding - or an Irish one, or a French one, or whatever - when it's just their view based on the weddings they've been to? And in actual fact, there'll be a whole range of types of London wedding (as with weddings in any other city or country/nationality).

So my observation was that people generalising about what ALL London* weddings are like - in terms of how people dress/how fashionable or not it is, etc - is a bit pointless, as we can only speak from our own experience based on the weddings we've been to?

*Insert location as appropriate!!!

LiquidSquid · 23/04/2026 09:30

EleanorMc67 · 23/04/2026 03:01

Yes, I think everyone was just giving suggestions of what their own ideas on DGAF dresses might be - as, without more detail from the OP, it's all that's possible really. It helped that the OP did come back with more context.

I think I mightn't have worded my post very well if that's how I came across - sorry! My point was in a way opposite to what you read it as. It related more to several other recent posts, where people have made sweeping generalisations about what you should wear to a London wedding - or an Irish one, or a French one, or whatever - when it's just their view based on the weddings they've been to? And in actual fact, there'll be a whole range of types of London wedding (as with weddings in any other city or country/nationality).

So my observation was that people generalising about what ALL London* weddings are like - in terms of how people dress/how fashionable or not it is, etc - is a bit pointless, as we can only speak from our own experience based on the weddings we've been to?

*Insert location as appropriate!!!

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Aah it's fine, honestly. I appreciate you coming back to explainGrin

I havn't been to a wedding for 20 years so it's all guesswork for me, so I was probably taking it personally when it wasn't!

As an aside, I came across this dress on Coast yesterday. Very lovely but possibly too dark for a summer (hopefully!) wedding.

Ideas for a flattering London summer wedding dress after a split
Ideas for a flattering London summer wedding dress after a split
Italiangreyhound · 23/04/2026 09:41

OP we have to know what you pick!

I habe two weddings this year. My first in most a decade.

But my budget is smaller and I am bigger, so I am looking more pastel shades and £70 mark!

Eucatastrophilia · 23/04/2026 09:56

Vinted, supermarket or rental, @Italiangreyhound?

somburd · 23/04/2026 10:58

EleanorMc67 · 23/04/2026 00:25

No they're not. Some people think peacock feathers are bad luck. But it's a superstition. Lots of cultures actually believe they bring prosperity & happiness, & even have healing properties.

Show quote history

Some say yay some say nay 🤷‍♀️

Italiangreyhound · 23/04/2026 14:04

Eucatastrophilia
"Vinted, supermarket or rental"
None of the above! Shops. Maybe online. Have never used Bonyed or rented.

TemporarilyCantDoMyself · 23/04/2026 14:33

@Italiangreyhound maybe start another thread? Or your request will get lost on OP's thread.
Start a thread and tell us size, height, budget, style, colours etc. 💚 Can't have too many dress threads IMHO.

Donsyb · 23/04/2026 16:47

LiquidSquid · 23/04/2026 09:30

Aah it's fine, honestly. I appreciate you coming back to explainGrin

I havn't been to a wedding for 20 years so it's all guesswork for me, so I was probably taking it personally when it wasn't!

As an aside, I came across this dress on Coast yesterday. Very lovely but possibly too dark for a summer (hopefully!) wedding.

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Just beware the customer service is terrible and they charge for returns now they are part of Boo Hoo/ Debenhams

LiquidSquid · 23/04/2026 16:49

Donsyb Oh really? Thanks for the warning! I've never bought anything from their (over budget for me) I do like their dresses though so am looking on eBay.

Goditsmemargaret · 23/04/2026 21:29

Op if uour purchase that red number please come back and tell us what it's like ideally with photos.

Original poster
PithyBeaker · 23/04/2026 22:28

Goditsmemargaret · 23/04/2026 21:29

Op if uour purchase that red number please come back and tell us what it's like ideally with photos.

I will. Won’t know until after next weekend as depends whether I find anything in Paris

OP posts:
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