I suppose this day had to come eventually. I've been invited to a wedding, a great friend, and *gasp* I have to get dressed up. *gulp* For thirty four years I've avoided these situations or been terribly underdressed but this time I can't. Dressed up for me is anything more than jeans. The friends family is very well to do and I know her friends are very much the dressy up type - somehow she has me as her only daggy friend.

The reception is "lounge suit" attire. What the heck does that mean??? My friend, having known me for so long, said I can wear whatever I like but I really do want to make an effort and not be the one standing out in the crowd. It's on in Sydney so there should be much to choose from but do formal hire places only do mens formal gear or do they dresses also? And what about hair and makeup??? Do such places exist that do hair and makeup on a Saturday morning for tomboy grown up women who avoided all the girly things in life?

Help me! Please!

I would help if I could, Copago, but I'm afraid I'm exactly the same. Heck, I didn't even get dressed up for my own wedding!

Perhaps the bride could help? If I do think of anything I'll let you know, but hopefully there are some non-tomboy grown up women around here who'll give you something actually helpful to go on. I wish you luck!

I don't know about hiring a dress as I have never done it. However, you might consider buying one at an op-shop. A friend of mine was recently in the same situation as you. She went to her local op-shop and got the most exquisite dress to wear for just a few dollars. It is amazing some of the lovely things they have sometimes! Hiring or op-shopping is a good option if you don't wish to spend a lot of money for something you will be unlikely to wear again.

Jill, not sure if this will help you, but you may be able to look at hire dress shops online to get a feel for what you want before you head for Sydney...maybe you can call some of them from this List and seek out their advice...after all they are in the business to help women dress for different occasions...couldn't hurt to look into it.

Also, here is a List of beauty salons in Sydney.

Hope the lists help you somewhat Jill.


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Agnes (JTJ)

Jill I am like you I don't like to get dressed up but on the oddtimes I have had to I went and bought myself a really nice three piece Pant suit affair.
Pair that with some nice jewelry and you will be all set to go.
Call around and see what the rates are for a makeup and hair do session plus nails etc.

How long do you have till the wedding as if you need to buy shoes I advise you trying to get those soon so they will be broken in by the time the wedding comes.

I am sure you will do great. Just make sure you take pictures so we can all see the "Princess for a Evening."


If she is a Good friend she just wants you there to share her special day with her and won't care what others think.And neither should you.
Go have fun and share in your friends Joy.

Let us know how the hunt is going.
PF

Yes yes to what Purple Fan said! Your friend will help you if you let her know you are serious and really want to do her proud. The hire shops also will have advice. But! The only thing that really matters about getting dressed up is that your feet will be killing you if you normally wear comfortable shoes. Either get some sort of pants affair so that you can get away with a flat not too tight shoe, or get your high heels now, and start breaking them in.
A have a few classic dresses from years ago that I can dress up in, but the shoes get me every time.

Want to borrow a hat?

In my experience if the men are in lounge suits then the women will be wearing smart dresses, but not 'evening' type dresses - unless the Aussies are different. Don't you know someone roughly your size who can lend you a dress?

I am assuming that 'Op ' Shop means something like 'resale' does up here...some of my very favorite things are from such stores and like Mothergoose, I can't see paying real money for something you may or may not use again. But I really think a trip to several really up scale thrift stores and resale shops might be your best option. You often find beautiful things for next to nothing.

Yes, kt, 'Op' as in 'Opportunity'.

Actually, last time I had a 'formal' do to go to I went to the local St Vincent de Paul and picked up a really nice tail-coat and wore it with semi-girly black pants. I was still the only woman in the place who wasn't wearing a dress or skirt, but I was better dressed than half the men!

I'll bet you looked delightful, Ing...and Sue's idea about the hat is great. I always envy British women their freedom to wear hats. Even though I own several nice ones [ no, not cowboy hats, either ] Everybody stares so hard that I seldom wear one anymore. It's a pity most American women have so little sense of what looks good.

You're all such a fountain of ideas. I never thought of the opshops (Kt - they're second hand shops usually run by charities - is that a resale shop? ). Was talking to another friend today who was saying about the ones in the more up market areas of Sydney and how good the stuff was there. That could be a plan!

Shoes and nails - I never even thought of those! I own a skirt that has gone to every function in the last ten years, is a long flowing moleskin one and I can get away with boots underneath it cause noone can see. LMAO.

Her hens night is this weekend whcih I won't be able to get to so we aer having a hens day the Thursday before the wedding, maybe get some shopping in then. Lost count of the times she told me not to panic about it but her and her family have been so good to me over the years that I don't want them all to roll their eyes and think "she's wearing THAT skirt again?!?"

Thanks for the list JTJ! Now bookmarked.

Ing - what did you wear to your wedding??? I always thought I never get married because I wouldn't be able to stand being done up for the day and being centre of attention - unless it was on the hill at Leichhardt Oval at half time in a football game ....

I do so agree with you Kate... about British women and hats. You only have to look in the FT scrapbook for the most elegant shot of my best Canadian number.
I will lend you that , Jill, but only lend.
Thrift shops are a good idea,but in UK now you really have to look hard to find something elegant. I hope you have good luck in Sydney.

Let me throw in a little testerone here .

I had a gig a while ago (yikes, I think I've dabbled in everything!) as a Thrift Store Manager in the Southern US. It was a reveletory experience. At first the place looked like a huge July garage sale [junk everywhere] but upon digging around a bit I couldn't believe what treasures were hidden. I found a silk 3-piece suit once, store tags still attached. It fit me perfectly and cost a whole $7.50! Never mind that I looked like a pimp wearing it but it was brand new and quite snazzy. Got me through many an occasion.

I don't know much about dresses, etc. (the ones I try on seem to ride up on me lol...just kidding), but our store stold actual bridal gowns! Certainly worn once but the ladies would try them on and, I swear, one would have never guessed it wasn't fitted in many or most cases. Most of the rest just needed a little tailoring. I will say that our shoppers more than likely bought them out of affordability as opposed to personal preferences in attire but I had to give them points for being sensible. Why spend big bucks on something used for a few hours and then relegated to the closet to turn yellow for decades? I don't know the global availability of such stores. Even here in the US many thrift stores are disgusting places. Not a good sign when there are more moths than customers in the place. But with patience and some footwork decent ones can be found.

One last "male" thing: nothing more appealing than a woman in a hat!

Have fun at the wedding, Copago! I'll shut up now !

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One last "male" thing: nothing more appealing than a woman in a hat!

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Want to borrow a hat?

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I think I just might ...