auntjen, DH (and therefore I) have had to go to a couple of not-particularly-liked co-workers' weddings purely for office politics. He didn't give crap one about the co-workers (and I wouldn't have known them had they stopped me on the street and kicked me in the shins) but had he not shown up things would not have gone very well for him in the office. Some workplaces are just lousy like that, if you don't participate in the "office culture" you're sunk at review time. There were other "unwritten-but-really-required" activities like the bar-hops and expensive restaurant lunches (of course not paid for by the employer) for stuff like birthdays and departures that contributed to his leaving that job. Things like that added up very fast, and DH was the lowest-paid person in the office by a BIG margin - like there were several people in that office making 10x what DH did. At the time I had ONE nice dress, and it was the standard all-occasion, all-season "little black dress" with princess seams and elbow-length sleeves. I wore brightly-colored accessories - shoes, purse, and chunky vintage jewelry from Goodwill ;-) - and didn't get any guff from anyone.

Thanks everyone. Patti you may be right about the cream vs the white. I am a pale-skinned, freckled redhead and even though i do have a lot of white blouses, I really do not look good in white. And I love Steinmart! I think I will stop in there tomorrow and also there is a TJMAXX in the same shopping center. I am 60 yrs old, tall, but 30 pounds overweight (recently lost 35, 30 more to go) and busty, I was thinking a print might make me look fatter. I have a cute new top that is a leopard print, but wondered if it would be too much! My DD tells me I dress too much like an old lady, well I am one. Maybe I will pick up a couple tops and have a pre-party fashion show for DH and DD. I appreciate the great ideas!

I don't generally attend funerals but I did a year or 2 ago at a neighbor's request. I fretted because I simply don't do dressy clothing. So I ended up with dark black jeans and a button down blouse. My blouse was a bright blue but when I got there I wasn't out of place at all. Even the family was dressy casual and there were very few suits to be seen. The women in dresses wore skirts and tops. Nothing very dressy nor overly somber. The same clothes you would see in an office and plenty were in jeans. Dark navy or black, no holes or sagging. Men wore collared shirts with khakis, dark pants or jeans.

Thank you ladies! The TS is very comfortable and I do like it the best. Actually the VC was comfortable too. It had those side gathers (which are supposed to do something to flatter you I guess) but just look like uneven fabric to me. Even though I didn't want to wear black, the gold and silver embroidery really is beautiful on the dress. You can't really see it all that well in the photo. Both are figure-skimming without feeling tight. Any size up would just hang loose on me. I know because I've tried that & there is a big difference in sizing up.