<p>I saw a pic of Susan Sarandon from the back in a sleeveless dress, I think from an award show.
She looked great from the front I’m sure, but her elbows were all red and wrinkly.</p>
<p>Many of the dresses I find are sleeveless, but I always get a jacket or a sweater to wear with it.
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No politics- but wasn’t Michelle Obamas dress great. I definitely think it fit the Dressing Young definition.
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The Tracy Reese dress?
I agree it looked great. I love it!</p>
<p>Agree on Michelle’s dress–loved it. Really liked the colors and the fit. </p>
<p>This sounds crazy but I had a peel (like one used in facials) on my elbows because they just looked ugly–dried skin/wrinkly. (I know–as my D says–I’ve got too much time on my hands now that I’m not working.) Peel worked like a charm–elbows look good.</p>
<p>I just looked up other Tracy Reece dresses online. Nice. Fairly reasonably priced and some that would look good on a mature figure.</p>
<p>JCrew is one of my “go to” stores for work and casual. I love the blazers and colored jeans. I just bought some red skinny jeans there that are really comfortable and look good with a lot of things. Right now Limited has some really nice work clothes and I got free pants or skirt with each jacket I bought over Labor Day weekend.</p>
<p>I thought Obama’s dress looked great - very flattering style on her. Actually I think it would be even prettier with cap sleeves, but she might as well show off her arms. </p>
<p>What I don’t think is fair is that most venues are air conditioned for the men in suits so if I go sleeveless I am freezing.</p>
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<p>That was me, pre-menopause. But is so UNFAIR. Now that I’m often warm enough to go sleeveless, gravity is weighing heavily on my upper arms.</p>
<p>Oh great, Bromfield, now I have to go upstairs and look at my elbows in a mirror. Sheesh.</p>
<p>Michelle Obama is really a pretty woman with a great figure. And she should flaunt it! However, imo it seems as if she wears many similar style dresses, all sleeveless to show off her great arms…which she should…but, I’d love to see a bit of variety there!</p>
<p>The styles are classic, but it would be nice to see a sleeveless with a cardigan, or a three-quarter sleeve or a flutter or cap sleeve…maybe she does wear them all and I’m just not paying attention…</p>
<p>She wears lots of cardigans. Remember that whole cardigan-with-a-belt-around-the-waist look she introduced a few years ago? Unfortunately that only works for long-waisted people. I look ridiculous when I try it. Don’t mind me, I’m just jealous.</p>
<p>I have some friends who have great arms and wear the same cut of dress as Michelle Obama. What I like on Michelle is that she has learned what style looks best on her body type. She is muscular and lean in her upper body but has more of a bottom and she has found clothes that look flatter her.
I just went to J Crew today with one of my dearest friends. She is my personal stylist, she gets me to try on things that I would not have thought would look good but she also knows what I will and won’t wear. I bought the cords in the Matchstick version in Navy. I tried the bootcut which also worked. I tried a pair of twill colored jeans in toothpick but I looked like a sausage. I used to always wear clothes that were too big for me.
Note to self- exfoliate the elbows!</p>
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<p>Can you imagine living in a world where, although you had the money, you couldn’t just drop by the mall or your favorite store and see what was new, try on stuff with no one watching, etc? I can totally understand if First Ladies arrive at a couple of flattering styles and then keep buying basically the same thing over and over again.</p>
<p>^^Missypie:</p>
<p>One of my most exciting memories when I was a kid was of an awesome shopping experience I had. My mom had a friend who was a fashion buyer for a boutique in my small, average middle class town. Back then they actual had mom & pop shops! 
I miss individual mom & pop shops.</p>
<p>Anyway, I had lost some weight as a teenager and as a birthday present and for graduating college, my mom arranged to have this store buyer “clothe me”. My mom gave her my measurements and dress size. </p>
<p>I had an appointment to buy some new clothes from her since I was now a college graduate and needed some work attire. I walked into this really large dressing room and hanging inside was all kinds of clothes in my size and “color.” Remember “Color charts”?</p>
<p>I felt like a princess, trying on clothes, outfits, and this woman would bring in accessories and scarves, etc. to complete the outfit. I walked out of there with a bunch of new outfits for work & casual. I thought that was so much fun!</p>
<p>My whole point of the story is that Michelle Obama doesn’t have to go to a mall! She has designers coming to her! She can pick whatever she wants! She is a bit obsessed with her arms…did you hear her comment the other day that some guy that was interviewing her could sign her biceps?! She exercises, works hard and enjoys some gorgeous arms, but I really do believe she could wear something other than sleeveless! Well, I suppose we won’t see sleeveless in the winter…or will we?;)</p>
<p>That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! 
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<p>chocchip, I DO remember ‘color charts’ and they were right! I always look best when I wear Autumn colors! (Doesn’t make me avoid colors from other seasons, but the lady who did my colors was spot on!) Isn’t it good to know some of the things we did ‘back in the day’ weren’t meaningless wastes of money?!</p>
<p>Not political!..Did you notice that Michelle Obama’s dress at the DNC last night had short sleeves? …appeared to be a lovely gray frock… </p>
<p>Also really liked the necklace worn by Sandra Fluke during her speech last night. I’ll try to find a picture to link, but it was an attractive short necklace consisting of circles. Somebody on this thread will probably know it’s origin. I’m guessing sterling silver,but not sure on that.</p>
<p>Found it!
<a href=“http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/sandra-fluke-gives-voice-to-women-shut-out-and-silenced/[/url]”>http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/sandra-fluke-gives-voice-to-women-shut-out-and-silenced/</a></p>
<p>Michelle O’s arms are to die for. I think she’s spot on to showcase them but I think sometimes she wears to full of skirts that flare out from the waist and don’t flatter her lower half too well. I also don’t think the little J Crew cardigans work that well on her whole body, they draw the eye to her torso and shoulders but accentuate the big difference with her lower half. I think her sense of color and fabric texture is fantastic.</p>
<p>Hmmm . . . comfortable work shoes, a longterm obsession for me. If you have an arched foot then Dansko’s can be pretty wonderful and with a little bit of an Age of Aquarius vibe that might appeal to a Birkenstock girl. I just had lunch with an old friend from twenty years ago. She’s still single and has always been stylish and distinctive. She was wearing a black narrow skirt that came to just above the ankle, black Dansko’s with no socks and a linen, sleeveless yellow blouse, and an awesome watch and purse. She was truly chic. I could not get over how well she worked in the trusty Dansko’s!</p>
<p>Still in the throes of daughter separation anguish here but it’s starting to subside. :)</p>
<p>Had to laugh, Bromfield! I have said for years that the one place I would like to have cosmetic surgery is on my elbows. As I get older, those elbows look worse. Yes, I would like to just have some skin snipped off and then let those darn bony things work their way through. I figure that would give me another ten years and by then I will be resigned to wearing all long sleeve.</p>
<p>I finally remembered to check out my elbows in a mirror just now. Egads! There are little turkey wattles hanging over each one - more so on the left arm. I had thought I was okay in long short sleeves but apparently I need to go for 3/4 lengths. On the bright side, the elbows are soft as a baby’s behind - no callouses. Grasping at straws here.</p>
<p>I really love this thread and have fun learning from the fashion mavens who post here. Many thanks. And for once, I feel pretty darn good about myself. Yes, I’m still quite short and my hair is not what it once was. But my elbows! Ladies, I’ve got the elbows of a 30 year old. Who knew? lol. Now if only my upper arms were presentable to the world. It is to sigh. ;)</p>
<p>madbean - I’m with you. Good elbows! Not sure what to attribute this to but I’m going with it - going to flaunt my elbows henceforth. 
My knees our lousy, btw.</p>
<p>Hahahahahaha. Elbow pride. Go you!</p>
<p>This is such a happy thread. Great chit chat among friends!</p>