Do any of these dresses work?

I'm realizing I need a dress to wear to DD the elder's college graduation. I've done a little closet-shopping and am not really feeling inspired. I don't have a lot of dresses -- very, very few, in fact. Do any of these work, or do I have an excuse to get something new?

Please excuse from the neck up -- have not showered since working out. No makeup or hair done. Also, no accessories. Please use your imagination generously.

Pics 1-2: JCrew dress bought on deep clearance in January for work reasons. Not sure about it for graduation.
Pic 3: With Reiss jacket. (Tried mostly to test for work appropriateness, prob not for grad day.)
Pic 4: Lace dress from the Loft, prob 5 years old. Reads too evening?
Pic 5-6: VC tube skirt, thrifted Cloe top. Too casual?
Pic 7: I actually wore this to both daughters' high school graduations. And while I am pleased it still fits, I am cringing at this photo. It's not really doing much for me. Maybe I need to let it go.

That's it. I have no other dresses to try. I have one other very corporate-looking dress and then a couple of sundresses and a couple of cold weather dresses. The end.

Ugh. So uninspired. On the other hand, I will be in DC on Monday for a meeting and will have time alone Monday afternoon and evening before picking up DD the younger Tuesday morning to drive her back from school. I could shop. And I have a wedding in Sept so could potentially get something that does double duty. (Jsloane, how far are you from Chevy Chase???)

Help, friends!!!!

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10 years ago

Anonymous

Love,love,love 5/6. I don't think it's too casual.

Adelfa

Veteran

I think the first dress works, especially if the event is outdoors. Fab shoes!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I love #5. WOW. Killer look. I'm out of touch with the dress code to these types of events so you will know that better than me, Vivian.

NDMom

Active Member

I love #5 too....you will be stunning and stylish at graduation....in a sea of...well, I better not say....

always trying

No to 4 and 7..agree with others about 5.

jackiec

I like 1/2 with those shoes

rabbit

#4 is really lovely but reads evening. I think 5-6 is great! My experience is that college graduation is basically a crowd, so a wide variety of interpretations of 'comfortable day dressy' work.

Thistle

Love #5 & #6! I think this would work well, especially if you are not really interested in buying a new dress. Given how few you have, I would save the fashion dollars for something you will get more wear out of.

In my part of the world, seeing people in jeans for a graduation is not uncommon. You would probably have a better feel for your DDs area.

MsMaven

I quite like the first dress. The question is, what type of school will your daughter graduate from? I imagine in your area it will be more dressy than here in California.

Both my sons graduated from USC--the parent crowd was very well turned out LA style. The ceremonies were on campus. Then they got graduate degrees at San Jose State. The ceremonies were in the stadium and the dress was for a hot day--much more casual. I could have worn the J. Crew dress either place (depending on the fabric) but I would have needed a jacket for the SoCal early morning outside ceremony.

Got to admit the last graduations were in the mid-2000s.

Love the VC skirt but not the top with it. Seems to me the proportions aren't quite right--top needs to be longer or shorter. I'm all for a black top, though.

Glory

Is it a high school graduation ceremony? If yes, then 5-6 would be fabulous in my opinion. I am in the same boat - and own that same skirt so I might just copy it!

catgirl

I actually love 5-6 the best even though it's not a dress!

texstyle

More votes for 5 - you look great!

viva

It's college graduation, North Carolina, Memorial Day weekend. Could be quite warm and will be outside.

I think I will consider the VC skirt outfit as my fallback, and pop into Bloomies on Monday to see if there is anything exciting.

Since I have a big vacation in June and a wedding in September, I have more dress opportunities than usual coming up, so I can justify a purchase if something is really great. (As you can tell, I buy dresses rarely ... might be time for a new one to appear.)

Thanks for all the help. I might post from the stores on Monday.
Vivian

rachylou

#3 for your daughter's college graduation

But personally, I think this is a lovely excuse for a new frock

Joy

The main concern is that whatever you wear will live on in photos and be spread on Facebook. All look ok to me. Just like an outdoor wedding, be sure to wear flat or wedge footwear. If you will be seated on bleachers, consider the climb. We had one outdoor college graduation. I really could have used a hat or even umbrella for sun. It was brutal.

Neel

Another vote for 5! I love those cool shoes and the punch of citron with it is brilliant! You will be one hot mama

dustt

college graduation - I think 1-2 works well and does not come off workish at all!!

JamC

In North Carolina, I would go with a dress and sandals. I know the dress in 1 and think it would be perfect for a graduation, having been to my DD's a few years ago. My second choice would be 5. I wouldn't search for something else, you have 2 great choices already and if you don't wear dresses, why buy more?

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

For a college graduation outside in NC, I like the first dress or the last. The separates while cute seem not quite right for the occasion, IMO.

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