Apologies to Angie, I have to disagree. All dresses look much better on the hanger than they do on me! I tried the ones below with a 100% fail rate. I guess they are not quite what I was looking for anyway...I want a "ready for the serious occasion where last minute shopping would be awful" dress, and these are more party than what I really need. Still, if one of them had been great I would have kept it happily. They weren't.

1) This is where I actually learned something, so that's good. I really liked the shirt dress type look of the top part, and that is something I hadn't considered before. The fail was the elastic waistband not hitting me in the right place and puffing out the fabric above the waist like a parachute. It might be worth trying petite instead, but I don't think I will re-order.
2) I just don't like the fabric. It isn't soft and drapey lace like it appears, it is about as stiff as cardboard.
3) Sorry Angie, but no. I found this very clingy in the rear view, not for me.
4) This one has potential, but it did that thing I asked about last week, where it is quite tight in the bust but sticks out under the arms. That still doesn't make a lot of sense to me but I might consider trying a larger size and then tailoring...I think I saw this one in the store. This one comes the closest to the "pass for serious" vibe I'm looking for. It does have one big issue...the fabric is very heavy and yet it is sleeveless. Too hot for summer and too sleeveless for cooler weather. It would always need a topper to get any wear in my climate.

Yes, I am the worst, most picky hard to please shopper alive. Angie would fire me I'm sure. I bet I would be her first fail.