This month in... wedding guest attire
'tis the season
I don’t cry at weddings. I did not cry during my own vows but my god have I cried in a change room trying on dresses for other people’s weddings.
There are seemingly options everywhere from high street to high end, until you need to actually add something to cart or try it on. It’s either too small, too expensive or too… sleeveless. I’ve made somewhat of a name for myself on the internet as someone who hates their arms. We’re all a work in progress, right, and as much progress has been made on that front (personal development and in wardrobe purchases), an event where I might line up with all my other gal pals for a pic, is just unlikely to be an event where I’m going to choose to have my arms out. Before I dive into the three part shopping edit below (that my dm’s appear to be screaming for), I want to debrief on what, to me, makes a wedding guest dress ‘worth it’. They do, after all, tend to be the most expensive but least worn items in anyone’s wardrobe.
My most worn event dress
To give Staud, the designer of this dress credit. When I first tried it on, it conveniently came in a shorter length and also a full length version complete with a train. It was the length options that had me commit to it’s higher-than-I-would-like-purchase-price. I made a TikTok about it (here) if you want a further deep dive into how that went but Cliffs Notes - I ended up getting the full length with the train and cutting it to a midi length. I’ve worn this dress to a farmstead wedding in Austin, TX in October, I’ve worn it on Christmas day in Australia with slides and I’ve worn it to a black tie wedding in Melbourne. It’s earned its’ hanger space in my tiny wardrobe. I have a wedding in Barcelona later this year which I’m thinking I might cut to match it’s sister version so that it can do the rounds of a third wedding, but I’m marinating on the idea. It’s not like once I cut it, it can grow back.
The lesson here is this - I LOVED this dress when I first tried it on. I liked the colour, I liked the fit and obviously I rejoiced in the sleeves. But what I liked the most was that it didn’t limit me in terms of what accessories I could wear with it. It didn’t limit me with how I could wear my hair. Dresses like this don’t come up often so buy them when you see them. Even if it means they collect dust for a little while, you’ll thank yourself (and hopefully me) later.
The breastfeeding wedding guest
Yes, you could just buy a button down dress but it’s hard to find one that also feels formal enough? Or a wrap dress that doesn’t feel too similar to what I swear every head teacher I ever had wore… So I raise you a co-ord. When you’re in between sizes or just not wanting to wear something fitting (probably both due to the baby). I find this is what I shop for, mainly because I always need a bigger size in the bottoms than the top. Plus, I am personally finding just lifting up my top or unbottoning a top, a lot simpler that getting a boob the same size as my head out of a dress. If you have smaller melons or just are more flexible than me, I have also thrown some dresses into the mix.
The pregnant wedding guest
What a horrid combo. I’m sorry you have been asked to be around a bunch of drunk people when all you probably want to do is be horizontal. I’m also sorry you need to do the mental olympics of finding a dress you don’t feel hideous in. When I was pregnant, I was determined to find something I’d wear again because then I knew I was buying it because I actually liked it, not because I was compromising on style, for size.
The young, fun and free wedding guest
If I wasn’t currently re-learning how to use my pelvic floor, I’d wear all of these. I’m also not here to push my own insecurities onto any of you, so a reminder, wear whatever makes you feel like the title of this section. Weddings are long days, be comfy and this feeling will follow.
Well, I’m off to order most of the breastfeeding options for two weddings I’ve been avoiding purchasing anything for as I cannot decide how long to persevere with breastfeeding, but I guess better to be safe than sorry. Plus, in lieu of a corporate job I’ve been looking for a reason to buy a good suit. So back to the land of the teething I go. What did you want to see next?
Miss you, love you. Always up for a chat in the comments xxx
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