Well, I survived the wedding and my dress turned out to be perfect for the crowd and venue. I think I only posted it on JTL’s funeral attire thread so here it is. INC on sale $70, and it’s even less now. I’m not a gazelle so it was just above my knees. Wore a longish mixed medal pendant. Flared sleeves are super cute. I actually like this dress and will wear it again

I actually ordered four dresses, all from Macy's. They were all not too bad though I thought two of them made me look more matronly so I'm returning them. I may keep the other one that I liked just as you say to have it on hand if needed. The other one is less formal. Other dress Today I ordered three pairs of shoes to try - two navy and one pewter metallic. I just couldn't bring myself to buy caucasian flesh tone shoes. So maybe by the end of next week I'll have everything and know for sure if I can proceed to buy the blingy hand bag. I have been on an unprecedented shopping spree, starting with my tropical vacation attire. I think it has something to do with my previous post about delaying things you would enjoy when you could just do them before it's too late to enjoy them. When I bought the four dresses I also bought DH seven sport coats - all these things on sale. He wears a sport coat just about every day of his life and hasn't bought a new one in 10-15 years. So it was going to be a shop at home experience for us - try all these things at home and then return the stuff we didn't want to the local Macy's. He kept six of the sport coats - clearly a lifetime supply for a 61 year old. This bizarre purchase apparently triggered the fraud alarms. First I found out my Macy's card had been cancelled for lack of use. Then my Visa card was rejected. Finally I was able to make the purchase with AmEx - a card I only obtained recently. Then the next day I get a call from Macy's that my purchase was on hold until I called - apparently another fraud check. Finally after trying and failing to buy the stuff online, spending thirty minutes buying by phone and then another verification call the next day my shipment was on the way. Still easier than trying to find anything I want in a local store and I don't know if I could even get DH inside a clothing store any more.

So, I bought a dress. at deep discount. Knee length, burgundy lace, with a burgundy liner, with long bell sleeves. The saleswoman told me, that I should wear sheer black pantyhose, with black shoes. I am not sure I agree with that, especially the black hose. The back zipper is a gold exposed one, so I can't wear silver shoes, I was looking online for burgundy satin shoes, but there isn't much to choose from. Any thoughts about shoes and accessories?

Just thought I'd update. The wedding was absolutely gorgeous. I'd say the vast majority of male guests did not wear a tux. The wedding party did, but of the other guests, very few. DH wore a navy suit and was totally appropriate. There were a handful of men not wearing a jacket ( and khaki pants). For the women, I'd say most dressed up but not much black. The vast majority of the women were quite cocktail party appropriate, Most wore long whether floor length or mid calf length, lots of chiffon florals ( ceremony was outside and a really stunning venue) so it looked right. There were a few women who wore nice dresses that would look totally right for an office ( not very party ish) but again, most were dressed up. I think maybe they did say black tie optional to give everyone a bit of a push to err on the side of more. My dress was totally appropriate. My shoes- my shoes- HAD been comfortable the previous maybe 3 times I've worn them. They are low sparkly strappy wedges . I guess it's been too long where I only wear sneakers or sandals but what I used to be able to tolerate, well not so much anymore. I had thought about upgrading my dressy shoes but now I think I will take action on that account.