Is this dress too much like a wedding gown?

I very recently go this BCBGMAXAZRIA dress as a hand-me down: <http://www.polyvore.com/bcbgma.....3#>

The fabric and detailing are gorgeous, but I don't know what to do with it.

In order to wear it it would take some tailoring, but it would not be too difficult, definitely under $100 and probably under $50. Possibly, I could even shorten it all the way to a midi skirt, and that might somewhat help mitigate the wedding-gown factor.

It is kind of hard to tell from the pictures, but this is a very, very, full and thus heavy-weight skirt. To me, it looks like a wedding gown, so I am hard pressed to figure out how to wear it. Or just pass it on?

My best thoughts are from that other current thread in a white shorter dress, where people suggested colorful accessories, but I am not sure that would work to offset this amount of dress volume. I think reducing the volume would be too expensive or possibly just an impossible a tailoring job: I'm not sure. Thoughts?

For this post "Yay" means keep it (and tell me what to do with it) and "Nay" means pass it on....

12 years ago

MsMary

Veteran

It doesn't say "wedding gown" to me at all! To me, it says "drinks on the lawn overlooking the lake behind the big summer house." If I were a maxi wearer, which I'm not, I would totally wear it as is for all my summer parties and dinners out.

(website)

It looks like a summer, go have a picnic under a tree on a blanket, dress to me! Add a fun floppy straw hat and sandals and viola.

Ha Mary! I think we saw a similar 'picture' in our heads at the same time lol.

Steph

I saw the same picture Mary and Mo did when I saw the dress. Casual, flat sandals, big straw tote while doing some shopping on vacation, or sitting in the grass with a sunhat. If you feel uncomfortable with the white color and the length, then get it shortened and I bet you'll feel better.

3style

Aha! Lack of appropriate shoes might be the problem. I've never worn a maxi dress in a casual way before, so sandals didn't occur to me.

What do you folks think of these shoes with it? <http://www.google.com/url?sa=t.....Jw>

They do have a high heel, but they seem fairly casual to me. I got this exact pair at Nordstrom Rack a few months ago.

Other than that, everything else I have in the sandal department is either gladiator style, which seems like too much contrast? Or athletic (Merrell, Sketchers). And neither seems at all appropriate.

I don't think I'd do such a dark shoe. I just ordered these floral cork-heeled sandals super-cheap from Payless (thanks, amyreh!) and I think something similar might be fun with your dress: http://www.payless.com/store/p.....ame=Womens.

MaryK,

I really like the style you suggested, and I think you are right about the shoe that I was thinking about being too dark.

The reviews of the Knautical Cork Sandal sound really great, and I would order them, but the 4" heel is giving me pause. Usually, my limit for not walking funny is 3 1/2. Perhaps with the cork I can manage 4." Anybody had experience with cork stilettos? Tried to search for comments on these with posts from amyreh, but didn't get anywhere.

She talks about them in her blog: http://lowcarbhighstyle.wordpress.com/. Scroll down to June 10!

I couldn't help looking into it more. So many online reviews saying this shoe is super comfortable, as does amyreh. And she modeled it with business casual, smart casual, and casual, so that is a lot of versatility. I am going to give them a whirl. Thanks.

Awesome! You and Amy and I are going to be shoe triplets!

Erin

Too funny, I tried buying thoes shoes in store but they were sold out of them.

PS I agree with the others and have set a similar scene in my head for your dress.

Charmian

I bit late to the thread, but I wanted to chime to support Mary, Mo, Steph, and Erin -- totally not a wedding dress vibe for me.

Another direction to go would be casual and bright accessories: I'm seeing a fresh yellow scarf tied over your purse (or the waist of the dress, if you want more color on your body). A long casual turquoise pendant or a coral necklace would bring you right into this season's colors, too.

Charmain,

Thanks. Actually I think I will blend your ideas together. I have a yellow necklace from India with the right boho vibe. It was a $5 street fair purchase and I probably would never have thought to put it together with such an expensive piece as the dress, but I think it will be great.

I will think about scarf as sash idea. All my scarves are more muted and more wintry, but maybe I should expand my horizons on that front too.... That will probably be down the road a bit, as I have a fair number of scarves: because for some unknown reason my mother keeps showering me with them....

I guess when I get the straps lengthened and the hem shortened a bit so I won't trip on it, I will have to put everything together and put out a picture.... My phone to computer connection is not behaving at the moment or I would supply actual photos now.

Thanks everyone.

MaryK and Amy:

Comfortable 4-inch stilettos! And cheap! I never thought I would find such a thing.

Thanks so much for the Payless.com recommendation. I actually bought two other pairs from them in my order, which are great too. I had no idea they carried anything of this quality. Everything is well shaped and well-cushioned for shock and properly skid-proofed. I will endeavor to be shopping online there again in the future.

For the time being, I have my tailor hemming and taking in some other nice white (and black) items which I feel confident that I will wear. I also received from my friend items such as white dressy flared jeans and a white asymmetrical bottom midi skirt. I think both will go great with the new heels. After I get those back and start wearing them with the new heels, I will decide if I want the project of altering that dress, as I have realized it is more complicated to do than I had initially thought: it needs to look just like the mannequin, where it shows the shoes, as opposed to floor length as it is now on me. That will involve removing half a horizontal panel and then creating a waistband and then perhaps also adding a panel horizontally, if the strap alteration isn't sufficient. All in all a big project, so I will pay for the more frequently used items to be tailored first.... I am slowly endeavoring to get into doing alterations myself, but I know fixing this dress would be beyond me for a good long time to come.

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