Party Dress Try-On

And TuesdayTwirl

Over 60s blogger Gail Hanlon searches for the right party dress for a cruise formal night. Nothing too short, too long, too revealing or frumpy.

Dear friends. It's been a few years since I bought a party or occasion dress. I had a few, mostly black, when I was working. But after my retirement, I got rid of them. I just didn't have the occasions to wear formal dresses.

But now I'm going on my first cruise, 6 nights visiting France and Belgium. There's a formal night, so I've been searching for the right dress. I hope that if I like the cruise, there will be many more to come. More formal nights.

You don't have to wear a dress on the formal nights. A smart blouse with trousers is fine. I had a contingency outfit lined up, a gold sequin top and cream trousers. But now I've found my perfect dress, so I can wear both outfits.

Not Too Long, Too Short, Too Revealing or Frumpy

It has not been easy looking for a glamorous frock in autumn / winter. There are dozens in the classic colours of this season: black, burgundy, navy, spruce green, silver. But these are all cool toned colours which don't suit me. Once you've seen yourself in the right colours, you don't want to compromise, particularly for a dress that should make an impact.

My ideal dress would be in a warm red, peach, apricot, gold, lime, turquoise, coral or purple. Cobalt blue is a Spring colour, and I've seen several dresses in it, but they weren't the right style.....

Which brings me to my even bigger challenge.

Regular readers may know I'm fairly petite at 5'3. The most flattering length for me is just below the knee. Midi length tends to swamp me. I prefer neat, fitted styles in solid colours, but nothing too "body con". My style personality is gamine. Think Audrey Hepburn. I don't feel comfortable, or myself, in styles which are boho or involve puffy sleeves. I'm not averse to a few sequins.

What became clear as I searched online is that knee length is currently banished to the hinterland. Very few dresses available. There are lots at mini length, but I feel self conscious in a shorter style, unless it can be worn with opaque tights. This doesn't really apply to cocktail dresses.

Retro 60s?

I also like retro 60s style, and saw a few genuine cocktail dresses on Etsy. Many were sleeveless, which raises another challenge. A cardigan, jacket or stole can easily spoil the streamlined look, and / or look frumpy. But at least they were more adventurous with colour in the 60s.

Eventually I found 3 dresses which more or less met my criteria: two from Adrianna Papell at John Lewis and one by YAS at Asos.

First up is the Asos dress, in chilli red. It's a size M and costs £85. This dress is a lovely red. It's very heavy to the feel. The length is just about fine. I'd prefer it just a couple of centimetres longer.

But the main issue is that it makes me look shapeless.

Plus the back has a three button fastening which is impossible for me to manage without assistance. The cords are tiny and don't stretch very well to accommodate the buttons.

Next up is a brown velvet bell sleeve dress, Arianna Papell. The velvet is very soft and smooth. The dress is a UK 10 and true to size. It features a boat neckline, a fitted silhouette through the body, and tiered three-quarter bell sleeves with organza accents. It costs £149.

For a warm toned woman brown is a good alternative to black. This dress would lend itself to some statement gold jewellery.

If I hadn't been blown away by the 3rd dress, I might have bought this one.

It's a little too long, hitting my calves at the wrong point, but that wouldn't have been a showstopper. I could take it up. I love the shape. It's very flattering. And easy to zip up. But it lost out to this next dress, also by Adrianna Papell.

It's a size 10 Petite, and the perfect length. The colour is described as Apricot Ice, although it doesn't look very apricot to me. It's been reduced in price from £269 to £134.50, and was obviously on sale in the summer.

It's extremely good quality. I love the embellishments and the sleeves. It's a little tricky to zip but I just about managed it without help. I hope you can see how the gold tone lights up my face.

This dress will definitely be coming on the cruise with me.

Do you find it a struggle to find the right cocktail dress, or is it easy? Do let us know in the comments.

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