Just in case you still looking

Most likely not ass short on you.

You seem to want to wear black which is fine, but for the evening and the graveside, I would think "somber" would cover it, so if you have navy, or gray, they would work too..like a gray skirt with the black jacket. I think you'll be surprised at what people will be wearing. Black seems to no longer be de riguer except for immediate family.

The jackie dress looks very KSWL, but to me, it also looks like the fabric would be hot. If it were me, I'd prefer something out of a jersey to wear in the heat, maybe like this one: https://www.whitehouseblackmarket.com/store/product/matte+jersey+belted+kimono+dress/570349415?color=001&catId=cat210002 (Vneck works well with pearls!)

I think things are a bit more relaxed in my area - at funerals and church both.

My husband and I went to a graveside service earlier this week. It was 90+ degrees. Thank goodness for most of the service we had overcast skies and the cemetery had a good many trees.

I work ankle length wide leg pants in a flowy fabric. Even though they are black, they are fairly light weight and cool. I work a print top and low heel wedges - thank goodness because the ground was quite bumpy/uneven! My husband wore a short sleeve dress shirt and dress pants.

We were "dressed up" more than a few. The only ones in suits were the two son-in-laws and maybe the grandsons. The two daughters (one being a close friend for over 40 years) wore short sleeve black dresses, no hose. TBH, it is rare to see women in hose these days. There was one lady who got over heated during the service and had to go to her car, although of course she could not get her car out of line. There was an older lady near me that worried me to death! Someone was fanning her and she was quite perky. : ) So just be careful with these temperatures. We cool down here a bit in the next week, so hopefully you all do too. There were a few ladies that brought fans, so if you have one for the burial service, that is an idea. So sorry for your loss.

PS - this was in an old cemetery, a very affluent area, just for the info. I'm sure there are more formal funerals, but for the most part, our area seems to have relaxed the attire for funerals.

This topic is timely for me. I've been also looking to have my wardrobe ready for what will eminent.

In some cases, I could wear a sleeveless dress but not all.

Annie, I noticed that when attending wakes, there is a wide variety. But, the funeral itself usually is more black outfits.

I think the first dress might be fine for indoors with a/c. For the second 2, which I assume are on the same day, I agree maybe a black skirt with blouse and a lightweight jacket would be best. Or consider a sleeveless or short-sleeved linen dress and jacket. You can remove the jacket if it gets too hot and still be fine. Most graveside services I have attended, some men even remove their jackets in hot weather.

Wow! I am definitely letting all of you know when I am on need of a stylist! Love all the dresses posted.

In my area and even more so, my family, black and classic style is the standard.

I really like the second Talbots dress and also the Tnuck Jackie dress.

KSWL I think the short sleeve dress from Talbots would be great. I too like the Jackie dress …love the neckline.

Some great dress choices. Glad to know that many still look to dress in a somber, classical look for funerals; my go to look. Very mixed attire in my area, many dress way too casual, like they are dropping by on the way to get groceries. I do not get it.

Just wanted to chime in that I think the houndstooth dress you describe that you own should be fine for visitation. I do think you could probably wear it to a gravesite service too. The key is that obviously you want it to be respectful and somber. Sometimes houndstooth can be "fun" so that would be my only concern.

When dealing with hot temps and humidity, I think a light weight skirt and blouse would be appropriate too.

Because the funeral and interment are in different states, along with heat and humidity, if you wear the same dress to both it probably would need cleaning before you wear it again.

Unless everybody wears all black at each event, I'd go with another mid to dark color.

Tomorrow I am going to try on the first two dresses in person at a Talbots in another town about 45 min away. If neither of those is worth buying I will order the Tuckernuck dress with expedited shipping. I really like that dress in white or light pink, and would rather get it one of those colors instead of black. (FYI, the size medium is 36” measured lying flat on a table.)

In the meantime, my two silk shirts from Quince arrived and both fit. I have an EF pleated black skirt that I can wear the pink blouse to one of the observances, with ”barely there” black stockings and gray and black spectator flats. I can take a black cardigan in case of too much air conditioning, and that will probably be my outfit for the evening visitation.

Will let you know how the Talbots dresses work out. You all are the BEE‘S KNEES! 🐝

Scrolled down to agree with Allison. First thing I thought when I saw the houndstooth was Roll Tide! Might not be looked upon too kindly by the War Eagles.

In the summer, I wear navy to funerals. And the only time I wear panty hose in the summer ever is a funeral…. and it better be someone close who I really really liked!

Lol, BBstx! But I do not wear panty hose, I wear individual stockings. Much cooler.

Allison, houndstooth….did not even cross my radar! All our people are diehard Auburn fans. So you don’t think the first dress looks too fun?

Oh, then houndstooth all the way! That would be hysterical (for you, not the diehard fans.)

The first dress looks dressier, but not in a bad way. That's why I thought for the church.

Okay, tremendously successful shopping trip today! I drove to my daughter’s town to their Talbots as it was Grandparents Day at the kids’ daycare center. I pulled into the parking lot with 45 minutes to shop and still be on time for the ice cream (they know how to lure grandparents, lol). Walked in and went straight to the dresses, salesperson came to assist and I told her what I needed. Everything I tried on fit perfectly and I bought everything I tried on. First the dresses:

Love this, perfect length, incredibly flattering

Cannot believe I am saying this, but this one looks better on me than the model in the picture. (Did I really just say that??) Bracelet sleeves

Not nearly as heavy as it looks, this is lightweight with 3/4 length sleeves

This sweater looks fabulous with all three dresses

Sweater also looks great with these slacks and ribbed, striped mock neck

This beautiful blouse is lined and the top button is really nice…for church w/ dressy pants or skirts

Black pencil skirt to wear with blouse above, striped shirt (and sweater) or many other blouses I already have. Or one of the two turtlenecks in black and ivory I also bought today not pictured here.

rest of the shopping in separate reply at end of page…too many photos for this one.

Thanks for posting this, Kswl. The Fringe Sweater is on the top of my list for this season!

Also got the RL orange shirt today, love it and bought this belt at Talbots for it

And corduroy pants in two colors: brown

And light brown

and a white tennis skort on sale and ribbed tights in black, brown and navy. And I think that is it. Oh yes, and a cream colored ribbed mock tneck like the striped one (looks completely diff from the regular turtlenecks).

adding…. they did not even have the dressier black dress with slightly poufy sleeves and I didn’t miss it!

BBstx, the fringe sweater is a size down situation….for length. The medium fit well but was just an inch too long and looked frumpy, The small is really snug but the length is perfect, and it is not something I would ever button anyway, I will be interested to hear what you think of the sizing. Their sizing is all over the place; I have gotten pretty good at eyeballing instead of going by the tagged size and could tell the sweater was generously cut so I took both an M and S to try.

I'm very impressed that you tried all of that on AND checked out in 45 minutes!

@Kswl I'm glad you had luck at Talbot's today, We had a style show at ours and I thought of you. I did not see the houndstooth dress but the next two dresses were in the show. I think they styled the first one with jackets and scarves as I recall. The leather trimmed one they put this vest over and it was so cute.

It looks like you got a lot of good items. The Talbot's person form Corporate talked about how they were trying to return to classic clothes and it shows.

So sorry for the loss of your Uncle.

Score!! You did really well and everything looks great. I too am often successful at talbots. So glad it worked out. Lots of nice options there.

Dee, it was one of those times when everything went right 😎 When I took the little ones home after my visit I showed it all to DD and tried on the dresses for her. She loved all three…a first in my book. DH also really liked everything and for once he was actually looking at me in them and made many very nice comments.

RN mom, thank you. And I saw that vest and could not think where one would wear it! I’ll bet it would look good over the black turtleneck with the black pants.,,,,

Thank you Annie, I am now spoilt for choice of funeral options and also have some very nice new things for church.

Sounds like a highly successful trip! So happy the shopping trip worked out so well for you.

I’m happy that you were able to shop in person and have such success! I love every item you purchased KSWL.

^^ I was remiss at offering my condolences on your loss. Please accept my sympathies.

Shopping is so much more fun when there are things you like in the store and they fit!! What great finds. I have driven by our Talbots several times lately and your post has inspired/influenced me to stop in.

What a great surprise! You were hoping one of the dresses would work and you found three!

Also love the mock necks-- and the orange belt is going to be fun this fall!

Yes, it was a very pleasant surprise to find three! I have a whole camel brown, tan and orange thing going on for fall also—-pants, skirts, shirts, tees, scarves. It all started as a way to use my H twilly in orange and brown on a brown purse and has mushroomed into many outfits and pieces…..even a burnt orange raincoat!

BTW, the Quince ribbed cashmere midi skirt arrived yesterday and is going back. It is pretty but not the exact color pictured (lighter brown) but rather a very different almost purple brown, something that would look better on someone with darker hair I think. The proportions of the skirt are also slightly off also. I don’t see that brand becoming a goto for me. I like the silk shirts but even they are not consistent; they fabric on each is slightly different both in weight and reflectivity. But I definitely think they are decent value for money.

Glad to see you are feeling better and out and about!

@rnmom I love the color of that vest!

Just ordered the ”fringe tweed cardigan”. Talbot’s has 25% off plus I had a $20 coupon. Woo Hoo!

btw, I would not call that royal blue top a ”vest.” To me it is a shell. The Talbot’s website even shows it with a matching cardigan.

Unless the armholes are huge, I think it would be uncomfortable over another garment. I love how stores try to convince you that a piece is versatile, but in everyday wear, it just wouldn’t work.

Irish, thank you❤️

Nice work. You had me thinking about that pink Quince shirt but maybe not? And I haven't been to a Talbot's in years. I find their quality underwhelming sometimes, but now I will have to check it out.

Talbot's is hit and miss. But when it's a hit it's usually something that stays in my wardrobe for years. I still have a linen sheath black dress from over ten years ago.

Mtn, I agree about the quality if some of the items. The to shirts never work for me.

I have a $20 gift certificate they just sent me. I will see if I can put it toward something.

KSWL now you are set for anything in the future that comes your way.

Sadly we all need to every so often make sure our wardrobe is up date and funeral ready.

I have not been in a Talbots in years so I can't speak to their quality. Based on their website and items shown on this board, I get the impression many of their items lean "business office" and that is not for me. I do like some classic pieces, but I like a good dose of "unique" too without going all boho, although I have a few tops that could probably be considered boho LOL. I love the color on that sweater, but I would never wear a sweater "set".

You are right Eld and not only that, but outfits that can work in different seasons. I managed to pull together an outfit for a graveside service last week, but it was hard finding something appropriate in my closet for 90+ degree weather.

The 25% off sale at Talbots pushed me to stop in and I did come home with a couple of things I think I will keep.

This blazer is a bit out of my comfort zone - color and style - but I actually liked it on and think it will look good with jeans and black pants.

I also bought this sweater in a color I don't really have in my wardrobe:

Many times when I go out of my comfort zone things just sit in my closet. We'll see how it goes with these items.

Ya, I like boho and edgy styles too sometimes-- but I often mix them with classics. That's where Talbots comes in.

Most of my Talbots pieces have worn well-- I still have some that are more than 15 yr old. Classics can hang around that long.

The store I went in had four clearly defined areas. Highter end stuff was in the front on the left, and ”better” sportswear in the right front. The sales counter ran scross the middle of the store dividing front from back. in the back left was sale merchandise, and back right was devoted to a line called T by Talbot, iirc. Shoes were displayed with outfits and i guess you had to ask for them?

I saw the houndstooth dress immediately when I went in and almost everything I bought came from that same section. While I was in the dressing room I asked for brown corduroy pants and she brought them, no idea where they came from. The summer sale merchandise looked much less substantial and more trendy, not in a good way. I guess that was what was left over. The T stuff was activewear in floral patterns and unattractive color combinations. It looks like they are trying to be a mini department store of options…ime that is rarely successful. If they would concentrate on their nicer options I would shop there more; this was the first time I’d been in the store in years. I will say I tried on things I would have passed over on the website and catalog as they were much nicer in person. The black leather (ish) trimmed dress in particular I would never have ordered and I LOVE it. So I guess my takeaway is that I should do more in person shopping.

Rubyclaire I saw that blazer and liked it. If the pink and brown wool suit doesn’t pan out (the store didn’t have it yet) I will buy that blazer to wear with blue and black slacks.

Kswl - the neutral tones of the brown/pink suit are much more my style. I think what made the blue plaid blazer appealing was its light weight. I will be interested in getting your impressions of the wool suit when you get a chance to try it.

I'm so sorry that a loss in your family drew you to Talbots but I'm glad you found such nice options. And I appreciated the nudge to go there in person! I don't need a dress at the moment but saw your black/leather and houndstooth dresses in store and really liked them. The sweater dress was tempting but they did not have it my size and the larger sizes they did have made me look pretty frumpy. :(

Kswl, I too was remiss in not sending my condolences to your family. Also, I missed that you had been ill. Did you get sick after your trip? Sorry I missed that too, but hope it was short. Seems like that happens to a lot of our friends when they travel.

Back to clothing…I just realized that I have been gravitating to dark olive lately, especially pants and one paler olive green skirt. So much so that I’m re-thinking some tops I’ve had in my cart from a couple of places. I really just needed to look thru my closet at what I have, which I did yesterday, and put together some coordinating jackets/sweaters from there. I did order a couple of cashmere crew neck sweaters and a cashmere hoodie from Quince. They were down to $50 from $69 for the sweaters, so I couldn’t let those pass by.

@Kswl I was just zooming in on the pics of your finds and realized the charcoal sweater dress is almost an exact copy of an Eileen Fisher dress I purchased a few years ago. It's really comfy and versatile.

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of luck at Talbots. I stop in every once in a while and buy a few things but usually end up not wearing them. I swear their mirrors are enchanted because things never look as nice at home as they do in the store.

Well, thanks to all this Talbot talk, I did stop in today after my book club, I had my $20 coupon.

Stripes are big so why not. I bought this cardigan.

It is cuter and actually shorter in person. I'm pairing it with an off white scoop neck shell.

And I'll keep it buttoned.

Ruby, push yourself by planning to wear them for a specific activity. Meeting friends, book club etc. Then wear it.

Stripes are everywhere! That’s a cute sweater, Eld.

Speaking of classic clothes, did anyone else get the J. Crew email ad today with Lauren Hutton (79) modeling classic pieces that they are bringing back?

https://www.jcrew.com/feature/icons-only-with-lauren-hutton?&srcCode=email%7Cmarketing%7Csfmc%7C20230910_JC_W_Icons_Campaign_Pt2_US_EMSL18420&rrid=0035Y000047IYsAQAW&utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20230910_JC_W_Icons_Campaign_Pt2_US_EMSL18420&utm_content=marketing

Thank you for sharing that.

Yes I got that today. I love the barn jacket but if I got it I would have to enter a 12 step program for people with an outerwear addiction.

I would call that a very successful shopping trip, Kswl. I am glad that you are feeling better.

I want the barn jacket too and those shoes! I’ve been looking everywhere for tennis shoes with gum soles!!