Our internet friend Elizabeth writes:
I am going to MC the staff awards dinner at my place of work in a couple of
weeks, and of course I want to look fantabulous. I have, after much
searching, found what I think is the perfect dress for this evening
occasion, the Maggie London Beaded Chiffon Dress in regal from Nordstroms.
I can’t figure out the shoes though, time is running out and I’m getting frantic. It will be November, so I’d like to wear stockings. Gold seems like the obvious choice of color, but the gold shoes I’ve found seem to fall into two categories: sandal (not a fan of the sandal and stocking look) and grandmother of the bride. To further complicate things, there will very likely be a Billy Crystal style song and dance number – so teetery spike heels seem like an invitation to disaster.
Any help you can give me would be a life saver!
P.S. I am a 5’9″ 14/16W chesty big girl with long legs and size 9 medium feet if that is a help to know.
Francesca says: Ah, how jealous I am of Pears, who can wear the gorgeous details across the upper tummy without looking like an Oompa Loompa. And to lack the serious lumpy-squishies on the upper arms! Elizabeth is indeed inshopping heaven! Francesca could never get a way with this dress, but she is happy to help find appropriate shoes.
Indeed it is much easier to find shoes which will exactly (or almost exactly) match the gold trim, rather than to find shoes in the exact same shade of purple, but since we cannot see the exact shade of gold needed (every computer monitor is different), here are two nice options which Elizabeth can try, to see which shoes match both the gold tone and the “look” which Elizabeth wishes to create:
“Rachel” by RSVP:
Francesca also wishes to remind Elizabeth that now might be a good time to buy a superfantastic new bra. A chesty MC in a dress which is unforgiving up top must look ultra-confident, ultra-sexy, and ultra-supported. Do not risk a wardrobe malfunction!
Have a wonderful time at the award dinner. Please let us know how it goes.
xoxo, Francesca
I have to say I would forsake the stockings and go for a sandal with this dress. A gold sandal would look lovely and if you are afraid of being too chilly, you could wear some spanx under the dress that would cover the thighs. Otherwise, there are really sheer stockings that you might be able to get away with (yes they cost more and are hard to find in larger plus sizes, but as a 14-16 you should be able to buy the larger of the regularly sized ones. Even though the shoes shown here are super cute, I just don’t think they fit with that dress. A sleeveless dress deserves a good strappy sandal or at least a gorgeous peep toe.
My picks would be:
http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/31807904/c/82220.html
http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/31826775/c/385.html
http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/31813610/c/21181.html
Comment by kimocean — October 31, 2007 @ 5:40 am
Kimocean has hit on something that was bothering Francesca, but Francesca did not know yet how to put it into words: If Elizabeth is so averse to feeling cold that she must wear stockings, why is she choosing a sleeveless, low-cut dress?
Francesca agrees that this dress is better without stockings. However, Elizabeth set parameters and Francesca tried to work within them. Thank you for Kimocean for verbalizing that the parameters should be broken.
Comment by Francesca — October 31, 2007 @ 4:34 pm
Hmmm. First of all, I must thank the Francesca for finding me such super fantastic shoes within my parameters. I love this blog and was floored that she chose to answer my cry for help.
I must say that I didn’t start out looking for a sleeveless dress, but sleeves seem to be an endangered species in evening wear and I was thrilled to find a non black, non synthetic dress in my favorite color and size with a decent cut for my figure. I suppose, as for the stockings question, it is more complicated than merely the coldness (I was thinking of the long cold walk to the car for which I will be wearing a coat, but not a floor length one. And the chilly “offstage” area for which I have a stunning wrap. Up front, though, while I am MC ing, it will be hot and i will be nervous and therefore even warmer – reinforcing the sleevelessness-is ok thought. Then there is the dance number with the sassy high kicks – I like to think I am a confident big girl, but I don’t know if I am “hello, this is my girdle” confident – sheer control top stockings seemed somehow safer to me (this isn’t really logical, it’s just a feeling thing). Finally, I often (as in never) can seem to find cute sandals that fit – I have high arches and though they’ll fit in my toes and heels the sides of my foot spill over in a not nice way, I have much better luck with regular shoes and have many very sexy pairs – but couldn’t find them in gold – so that is what I asked Francesca for. But that seemed like a lot to add to an already very long email! Thanks again Francesca.
Comment by Elizabeth — October 31, 2007 @ 8:46 pm
I have this blog find from Google. Great article. I have this bookmarked. Thanks and best regards
Comment by Kfz Versicherung — December 5, 2008 @ 3:51 am