Style Over 50: Slacks and the Evening Wedding

Recently, a Flattering50 reader emailed me and wrote: “I'm going to a NY spring evening wedding. And my legs are pale, fat and blotchy. Are there fancy pants that would be appropriate? Can I still wear tights?” Thanks for the great questions! Since the first question focuses on “fancy pants,” I’m going to assume the upcoming wedding is a relatively formal affair and not, say, a clam bake wedding at the beach. And since the words "black tie optional" weren't used, I'll assume the wedding isn't one of those. With that in mind, my short answer is: Yes, you can wear fancy pants to an evening wedding.

These days, I wouldn’t say “anything goes” at an evening wedding, but there is a lot of style “wiggle room.” You’ll find guests at evening weddings in New York dressed in a wide variety of cocktail dresses, both skirt suits and pant suits, and, yes, even slacks. For a few ideas about wearing pants to a wedding, click “Read More” below. And scroll down for a thought or two on wearing tights to a wedding.
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FOF: 5 Best Looks Over 50 in Glitter, Sequins & Metallics

Not surprisingly, this fall's love fest with the shiny stuff—glitter, sequins, metallics—has reached a feverish pitch during the holiday season. Glittery garments have been making the scene at night as well as during the day (gasp!). On a recent afternoon, I saw a young woman strolling the beach in a solid sliver sequin top. It was a bit blinding, needless to say. Personally, I prefer the twinkle of glitter and sequins by candlelight or moonlight--at night, that is. A sparkly garment, like the Sequin Skirt (Brown, Size SM) (was $129, now $59) above, can rescue me from the winter doldrums, energizing me for a night on the town. (I'm ga-ga for those chocolate brown sequins!) So for this week's Favorites Over Fifty (FOF), I've assembled my favorite looks in glitter, sequins and metallics for over 50 women.

Whether you’re thinking about adding a little twinkle to your New Year’s Eve look or for an upcoming 'black tie optional' wedding or to just wipe away the winter doldrums, click "Read More" below to see my favorite glittery options. I've included current marked downs where applicable and the text hyperlinks, so you can learn more about the garments or shop.
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Holiday Gift Ideas: Japanese Kimono Necklaces

Over the weekend, I had brunch with a long-time friend. She’d moved away from New York City several years, but was back in the area making a presentation at a quilters’ conference. My friend, Susan Faeder, has an expertise in Japanese fabrics and leads shopping/cultural tours of Japan. I admired the necklace (above) she was wearing when we met. She told me it was a handmade Japanese Vintage Kimono Silk necklace. She’d fallen in love with the necklace during a recent trip to Japan and brought a bunch of the necklaces in different color schemes back home to sell online. With the holidays nearing, I thought the unique necklace would make a nice gift. Click “read more” to learn more about this necklace.
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Wedding Style: What to Wear to “Black Tie Optional”?

A Flattering50 reader recently emailed and wrote: "I’m going to a wedding in December and the invitation says ‘black tie optional.' How should I dress?” There's no getting around it: ‘Black tie optional’ signals that a formal affair is planned and that family, friends and honored guests are encouraged to dress up. For women, appropriate formal attire consists of either an evening gown or a fancy cocktail-length dress or glamorous suit. If you occasionally attend black tie affairs, such as fund raisers, you may have an evening gown or two already in your closet. For the rest of us, a dressy suit or cocktail dress may be the more reasonable choice.

Still, the question remains: How do you know if your outfit is “dressy” enough for a black tie optional or BTO affair? Lucky for me, an over 50 girlfriend recently attended a 'BTO' wedding and agreed to let me share the dress (above) and accessories she wore with Flattering50 readers.  Click "Read More" to continue...
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Glittery Shoes Say "Special Occasion"

Last weekend I attended a wedding at an elegant old mansion-turned-conference center. It was an evening affair and just about every female guest, regardless of age, was "dressed to the nines" in a beautiful cocktail dress. It was a warm autumn night, so I wore my favorite sleeveless LBD with black sequins and strappy black heels. As it turned out, I was one of the few women over 50 who wasn't wearing glittery, silver shoes. I hadn't "gotten the memo," as they say. I wish I had.

Glittery shoes are perfect for an evening wedding because they say "Special Occasion." What's more, they look lovely with most cocktail dresses--regardless of style or color. At the wedding I attended, no two pairs of glittery silver shoes were alike. The women over 50 wore flats, kitten heels and low heels. And every girl under 30 was elevated in 6" glittery heels--naturally. I don't have any other weddings coming up, but I'm looking for a pair of glittery shoes for holiday parties in December. When I went online the other day, I was happy to find a nice selection of styles, like the EVITA SILVER BABY GLITTER ($89) above. Click "read more" for other styles in photos and weblinks.
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Where Did You Get That Wedding Hat?

I was looking forward to seeing the hats at the royal wedding last Friday and I wasn’t disappointed. If you missed the wedding, you can view a few hats in a slide show at the National Examiner.

I’ve always loved the British devotion to wedding hats. It signals that the occasion is really special. Unfortunately, you have to go back to the Jackie O. era and earlier to find many hats (other than at the beach) on American women. Occasionally, I spot a woman in stylish chapeau on the street or at a wedding. And now and then, a very sweet, highly creative millinery shop will open in one of the New York City’s trendy neighborhoods, only to fold a year or so later. Today, the closest we come to a truly hat-inspired event is the Kentucky Derby. Yesterday, I was wondering what sort of hats were available online. Not surprisingly, I found several hat sites with large collections. I've listed them below.

While most of my over 50 friends and I love the idea of hats, we never seem to wear them. About 20 years ago, my husband and I threw a black and white dance party (paying homage to Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball at the Plaza in 1966) for good friends who were recently engaged. I wore a black cocktail dress and black heart-shaped hat. That was the last time I wore a hat other than the floppy straw kind on the beach.

Still… I’d love to see American women embrace the British tradition of hats at weddings. We've embraced their tea, literature and music, why not their hats? Fedoras for women was a hot trend this winter. With the prediction of more menswear-inspired fashions for Fall 2011, I suspect the fedora trend may continue. (If you want some examples, check out the Fedora collages at Polyvore.) Maybe other hat styles will catch on, too.

Personally, I can’t picture myself in a fedora, but I am thinking I might try a few hats on before the wedding I'm going to in July. One thing I noticed about the royal wedding, a lot of the women--the Queen, HRH Camilla, Mrs. Middleton--wore beautiful fitted coats over matching dresses. I love the fitted coat for spring weddings. And the coats looked great with hats. Finding the right hat for a particular dress might be a little tricky. I’ll keep you posted.

HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS
There are many hat makers online, some with a large inventory of unique hats. Here’s where to find them:

Hats.com

Village Hat Shop

Hats in the Belfry has a page for Kentucky Derby hats

Maggie Mae

Wedding Guest Accessories: The Perfect Pairing

Did you watch William and Catherine (apparently, we're not supposed to call her Kate anymore) get married today? In the words of so many British spectators interviewed by the BBC, "It was absolutely lovely." I particularly loved Catherine's wedding gown with its lace sleeves. At every wedding I've been to in the past few years, the bride, bridesmaids, and many of the young female guests have all worn strapless dresses. And you know what that means? Throughout the receptions, they were constantly yanking at the fabric under their arms, in a desperate attempt to keep the ever-sliding strapless dresses in place. Pretty ridiculous. Fortunately for us 50+ women, we don't have to be slaves to strapless dresses or any other wedding dress style. In my post, Here Comes the Wedding Guest, All Dressing in...?, I offered some thoughts and examples of flattering dresses for women over 50. In this post, I offer some ideas on accessories--shoes and handbags--for the dress.

For example, the Anne Klein Fall Floral Jersey Dress, Ships 9/15 (Brown) ($119) at the top of this post would look fabulous with the Anne Klein Peri Dress Detailed Pumps (Brown) below.



One of my favorite color combos is black and brown. So I would pair the dress and shoes with a trendy ruffled clutch like this . Furmani Chiffon clutch Black - Clutch from eBags.com.




CHOOSING YOUR SHOES & HANDBAG
I always feel a great sense of relief after I've chosen a dress for a wedding or other special event. It seems like the hardest part is over. But that's a complete fallacy, isn't it? As we all know, shoes can make or break a lovely outfit. (Dorothy's ruby slipper certainly jazzed up her outfit, don't you think?) When accessorizing a wedding guest dress or suit, I look for shoes and a handbag that:

• Compliment the outfit without being strictly coordinated. Matching necklace and earrings set or matching shoes and purse are old-fashion concepts. Today's styling is all about being adventurous, taking chances. However, I'm going to leave super-contrasting combinations to the 20-something set. My goal is to find pretty accessories that work together, but don't necessarily match. If I'm going to wear a navy dress with navy spectator shoes, I'm not going to choose a navy bag.
  
• Are Good Quality. It's a special occasion, so the wedding accessories should be the best quality you can afford.
• Exude Fun. Shoes are a great way to show off your personal style and spirit. A recent New York Magazine article, entitled Chunky Spring Shoes featured some far-out footwear for spring. What I found interesting was that the shoes were the only “out there” part of outfits. The women were dressed conservatively otherwise. I'd think twice about shoes as chunky and sky scraping as the ones shown in the magazine, but women over 50 should have fun with accessories.
• Are Appropriate. Make sure you know what kind of affair is planned and dress for it. True story: About 10 years ago, my husband and I were invited to one of his work colleague's wedding. The invitation said the service was going to be held at a state park, followed by a restaurant reception. I assumed the ceremony would be accessible in party heels (silly me!). As it turned out, the ceremony was held at the top a waterfall. Guests had to climb roughly 60 railroad tie steps to get to the top. I had to cinch up my form-fitting sheath dress (I was younger then) so that my legs could straddle each high step. At the top of the stairs, my heels sunk into the moist, moss-covered ground. The moral: If the ceremony and/or receptions are planned for somewhere other than a church, restaurant, hotel or catering venue, be sure to ask a few questions.
  

DRESS + SHOES + HANDBAG
The 2011 trend of styling contrasting patterns, colors and materials is all over the magazines. As an over 50 woman, I want to be a little adventurous, but you probably won't see me wearing a striped dress with floral print shoes, or floral print blouse with a plaid skirt. I do, however, love having the option of wearing a pattern shoe, like the Anne Klein Jalyna Dress Pump (Black) ($79 with 3" heels). They 're perfect for a bright solid color dress like the one below.



Jones New York Crushed Floral Side Drape Dress ($118)






Marc by Marc Jacobs Snake On a Wire Clutch ($158)



A solid color dress, like this Jones New York Pleated Neck Sheath Dress, ($129), gives you a lot of options when it comes to choosing your accessories. You might choose a festive shoe with a few bobbles and a textured clutch.








Anne Klein Marla casual flat (Black) ($79, now $49)






Lauren Merkin Handbags Ava Weathered Croco Clutch ($295)


Texture is all the rage right now. In fact, designers are challenging women to mix textures whenever possible. For, instance, you might try a dress like this Anne Klein Textured Draped Sheath Dress, Ships 9/15 (Red) ($550), plus a shoe with patent leather and a studded purse. It's eye-catching without being glaring--if you know what I mean.









Easy Spirit Urmine Comfortable shoes for women (Black)







House of Harlow 1960 Tilly Clutch ($250)


Black and white dresses are also very versatile when it comes to choosing accessories. You can pair them just about any colors--red, turquoise, yellow, purple--with them. Here are some more ideas.



Jones New York Black And White V-Neck Floral Dress - Pattern ($128)



Anne Klein Pipa Dress Detailed (Grey) ($49)




Free Endearment Dana Teal - Leather Handbags





Jones New York Floral Black and White Belted Sheath Dress (Pattern) ($128)



Easy Spirit Bashful, Ships 5/16 Comfortable shoes for women (Black), Wide Width ($69)



Inge Christopher Theda B Oversized Clutch Blue - Clutch