That Chiara Boni dress is pretty! Simple and elegant yet unique (seems to go along with your daughter’s clean lined dress?). The color is great too - seems like it would be flattering for all colorings…!
Love both dresses! Chiara Boni would be my preference… these dresses travel well and don’t wrinkle, so great for pictures! (CB is a favorite brand of news anchors and reporters who have to look formal).
I like the last one best also.
One important for me factor! Chiara Boni dresses are WASHABLE! I have one of their dresses dresses without embellishments. I washed my dress on handwash cycle/cold water in the washer. Hang-dried, and it looked like new.
I do like the Chiara dress and will keep looking at variations of it, color and style. It seems they offer exclusive colors to different stores like Saks and Nordstrom. Thank goodness for Nordstrom’s generous return policy. I’m going to keep a couple dresses for a while as I keep looking. Saks is only 30 days so I’m trying hard to go through Nordstrom.
My daughter thinks beading and sequins would be fun for me. She’s coming down here in May so I’ll keep the dress at least long enough for her to see it and weigh in. Some of the beaded dresses were ridiculously heavy. This one is not, but I don’t find it as comfortable as the other two.
I was really surprised that I liked the shirtwaist dress on me. I thought it would look too casual but did not. It also works well with my jewelry. The sequin dress does not - in fact I think jewelry will compete with it. I’ll wait to order the vibrant blue Teri Jon closer to my daughters visit so she can see it. I think there is a short return period on that one.
@BunsenBurner - you’re right about how well it will travel. And it’s going to be very easy to hem since it’s just cutting a raw edge. I love the fabric. The downside to that dress is that the bottom circumference is very small so you have to take tiny steps. I’m not sure how much fun that will be for the whole evening.
Psst… RealReal has a ton of CB dresses under $300. If you see something you tried elsewhere and liked…
At first I liked the Teri Jon but the more I looked at it (and especially in the larger size picture) the more I thought it looked like an elegant robe - like Ginger Rogers would wear in a 30’s movie.
I love all three gowns. One of my finalists for my last MOB outfit was a beaded dress by the same brand as the one you linked. I loved the dress and how it looked on me but decided that ultimately it was very heavy and that might be less comfortable for a long day.
As a hard to find size needing a specific color I had good luck ordering from manufacturers on either their own site or their own stores on Amazon. They had the same dresses as department stores but in a wider variety of colors and sizes.
My class reunion dress was Dress the Population. I did mange to fit into my usual size, but it was close! So, they might run small. Especially in the chest.
But I loved my dress from them!
They do run smaller in the chest! Had to return the one I bought as a MOB dress option.
They are known to run small. I’d recommend sizing up.
I agree that it’s good to keep in mind the bride’s tone for the wedding. When she wants and will wear simple, I’d be inclined to follow suit.
I do try to choose garments that are comfy and not overly revealing—just makes me too self conscious (I don’t want to detract / distract from wedding couple).
Because of my body type, things with low neckline or high slits are off the table for dressy garments.
Good news - my first delivery from Macy arrived with the solid dresses I was most interested in for son’s June outdoor Garden Semiformal wedding/reception.
Bad new - They won’t work. Even hubby hates them both.
As expected, the bright pink dress really is as too-bright in person as the online photo. Also the Petite M size is way too tight. The other colors won’t work, so no need to order next size.
The pretty Alex Evenings dress that most of us here liked (on the model) as feared is too gappy on top and too tight in the hips. Don’t love the color but would have gone with it if fit were better since son has emphasized to wear bright, festive colors.
Sure, you can see photos
I’ll keep looking…. hoping to find a more appropriate style, perhaps tea length or longer.
Hmmm… sounds like you need something with stretchy fabric but not too thin. You can definitely do better than those two dresses! Have you considered A-line or fuller skirt?
You’ll find something. I went through 8-10 online dress orders last year for my son’s wedding before I found something that I thought would work. Not to mention the tons of dresses I looked at online that I didn’t order or the ones I looked at in person. It is tough with online orders. They often just don’t seem to look the same when they arrive or just don’t fit quite right.
Good luck and keep us posted!
I like the idea of A-line or fuller skirt. Haven’t found any yet in solid, but it would be my go to style. Hubby and I both like this old dress that I’ll wear for Easter.
Thanks - I think we’ll be able to get to Dillard’s next week. That’s where I had the best luck when getting MOB dress a few years ago. I was 15+ lb heavier then and was hoping this time would be easier, sigh.
I like that!!!