<p>My best friend’s son is getting married in mid-May. The wedding is 1 pm at a “museum events space” in southeastern Massachusetts. I believe it is indoors, but there is also an outdoor patio space.</p>
<p>I never ever wear dresses, but feel a dress is the correct attire for this event. Nothing hanging in my closet is a remote possibility. One of the reasons that I don’t do dresses, is that then I have to worry about legs and shoes. I won’t wear black to this wedding.</p>
<p>I have three possibilities: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>a knee length, lovely v neck blue/green floral lined cotton dress, sort of a retro fit-flare cut. Worries: what do I put on my legs? Is it going to look OK with flats or low heels? </p></li>
<li><p>A maxi length diagonal stripe in navy/white. It’s not incredibly flattering on. It’s a knit, not too clingy, but just not the most flattering thing I have ever had.</p></li>
<li><p>A maxi length tulip hem empire waist dress in bright blue. Haven’t received yet.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Neither of the maxi dresses will approach “gown” status, but are quite a bit above “sundress” status. All three are sleeveless.</p>
<p>My legs cannot go bare – but I am getting the impression that no one wears hose anymore, therefore I was considering the maxi dresses. And when I say “cannot go bare” I mean I can’t do spray tan because they still won’t look ok!</p>
<p>Oh yeah – I am 5’10 with a size 12 foot and wearing a plus size dress. I think I have shoes, if flats will do. (And if they won’t, tough nouggies because heels of any sort hurt!)</p>
<p>I don’t agree that “no one wears hose anymore.” But it depends on the hose. Very sheer, nude or black hose are are seen, even in fashion magazines. I found this quote in a trendy fashion blog with a pic of a beautifully dressed Princess Kate wearing “nude tights”, better known as hose. The princess, of course, can do whatever she pleases. But the rest of us can follow suit, right?</p>
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<p>So England does set a lot of fashion trends. If you really feel you want to wear a knee-length dress, find some sheer nude hose and go without a care. You will look just fine. If a 30 year-old celeb can pull it off, we certainly can.</p>
<p>I still wear nude or sheer shade hose when I wear a dress. I don’t think you need to worry about that. As long as you don’t wear white (I still remember the name of the woman who wore white to my wedding 30 years ago), you will be fine. I like the sound of #1 myself. And if you have flats or low heels in a matching color, go for it. I am a size 10, and decided long ago I would not ruin my feet like my mother’s generation did (and even my mom agrees with that now after several foot surgeries!). Go and have fun, it sounds like a good time!</p>
<p>IMO, flats are perfectly fine for festive events! I think your choice #2 should be eliminated for the reasons you described. Choice #1 sounds very nice to me. I probably would wear hose with it, but pick a pair that is of the highest quality. Wolford is my favorite brand, but I have to warn that it is very expensive. However, since its hose does not disintegrate after only a few wears, it ends up being cheaper than Donna Karan or even less expensive brands. Apparently, Kate the Princess wears Philippe Matignon hose:</p>
<p>I stopped wearing even low high heels years ago. It’s a bummer that we tall women need plus sizes with weight gain shorter women still can use regular sizes. I understand the legs issue. It is hard to find “queen tall” pantyhose- necessary for the crotch to stay put (at one wedding a few years ago I abandoned the hose midway through the festivities, have bought a pantyhose since but not used it yet). I found that knee high stockings work with those gastly maxi lengths (I stopped wearing dresses when those came out). I bought a pair of low somewhat dressy sandals last year for a family wedding. It may have helped that it was H’s Indian side so some wore saris with flat sandals. Fancy sandals can be worn with the knee length dress as far as I’m concerned, but I’m NOT fashionable. I have plus sized dresses I will use for years, depending on my current weight, both in colors/patterns that flatter my lack of good curves. I would NEVER wear Spanx or other girdle type garments in lieu of comfort. People should be seeing me, not my body. howcum MEN aren’t expected to look as good???</p>
<p>I have also considered age- once you are older you can get away with a lot more comfort. We are no longer hunting for a man or trying to impress with our bodies (if we ever were). Embrace being middle aged and doing what feels good for you. </p>
<p>The one thing that I would never do is wear hose with open-toed sandals. But flats or shoes with a very low heel are fine. (I will wear high heels when hell freezes over! ) Dress #2 sounds nice. Have you considered pants?</p>
<p>The Duchess of Cambridge, one of the most stylish women in the world, wears pantyhose, and she looks fabulous doing it. Nylons have come a long way since the L’eggs of the 70s.</p>
<p>I wear flats with knee length dresses all the time. Ballet flats work well and are a classic look. However, once you get to the maxi length, flats can look frumpy, so be careful with the scale of the shoe there.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, in an earlier post I said that dress #2 sounds nice. I meant to say that dress #1 sounds nice. If you don’t think that dress #2 flatters you, don’t wear it.</p>
<p>If you want to wear something on the longer side, I would go for tea length. A flowy, body-skimming kind of dress or skirt+top outfit in that length looks nice on many, if not most people, reduces leg exposure, and can be worn with a variety of show types. And it’s comfortable! :)</p>
<p>I was just dress shopping for an upcoming wedding yesterday. I will wear hose. I would go with choice #1. All of the maxi length dresses I saw were too casual looking for a wedding in my opinion. That could also be because I’m a foot shorter than you and would not be caught dead in a maxi length dress. It could also be that a saw my sister’s SIL in one last summer–a taller woman and also a plus size. It wasn’t flattering at all.</p>
<p>I’ve wore nude fishnet hose on occasions where I felt I needed some hose, but nude hose would appear too heavy. I liked the look. It added a little interest. Of course, this has to be considered with the overall look of the outfit - really only works with a classic, low-key outfit like an LBD or similar. </p>
<h1>1 sounds the best to me too. I rarely wear hose, but have on the kind of occasions when it’s chilly and I have to be outside in a dress and coat. When I do, no one can tell I’m wearing hose. I agree Wolford is great, but if you don’t need it to wear like iron, DKNY Nude collection is just about invisible. If you have anything that a tanner wouldn’t cover and hose doesn’t smooth over, you can also consider something like Dermablend. Like most of us, you are probably your own worst critic - I’m sure that you would be just fine either way.</h1>
<h1>2 does not sound particularly flattering and # 3 may be too dressy for a afternoon if it’s dressier than a sundress, even if it’s not quite a formal evening gown.</h1>
<p>They do make make footless hose for sandals. </p>
<p>Another easy solution is to wear a dress with black accents that would go well with black tights. That’s not the same thing as wearing all black, since you are against that. I do wear black tights a lot. </p>
<p>There are some very low heeled dress shoes, under 1 inch, or even flat, that can be lovely. I’ve seen 90 + year olds wear shoes like this comfortably. I recently saw a pair somewhere - like these but much less expensive and with the tiniest of heels. I wish I could remember where. </p>
<p>Just chiming in to say that I’m not sure it’s true that nobody wears hose anymore… it must be regional? MOST people around here (and I am thinking people in your age group, not mine) prefer not to wear them, but those that do still do and it looks fine, especially for a more formal occasion like a wedding. Nobody would bat an eye. They make really great hose that isn’t obvious, as has been recommended. If you will be miserable without it I say wear it, don’t wear a dress you don’t like to avoid wearing hose.</p>
<p>My office still requires hose as part of the dress code. The boss looks the other way when we don’t wear it in the summer but it’s frowned upon. I like the look of some hose but I’ve never been able to get out the door in a pair without ripping it. I stopped wearing skirts to work. If I could find whatever hose Kate Middleton wears, and not rip it, I’d wear it with everything.</p>
<p>My mom is agonizing over the hose issue for my upcoming wedding, so I felt the need to chime in. I feel bad that she is wanting to do something that makes her so uncomfortable just because she thinks hose isn’t allowed anymore. That’s silly. Cheap opaque drugstore hose might not look so nice, a decent pair for a formal occasion is never wrong imo, especially when it’s not the blazing heat of summer yet.</p>
<p>I think there are certainly a lot of fifty something women who wear hose, but I care more about what the fashionable fiftysomethings wear than the average ones if I’m looking for fashion advice! A lot of fiftysomethings wear cat sweatshirts and Christmas sweaters too! </p>
<p>Ema, google Duchess of Cambridge, hose or nylons or pantyhose, then show some pictures to your mom. If it’s good enough for style-icon royalty, it’s good enough for the rest of us. Your mom can be comfortable and look great too. </p>
<p>I bet the Princess shops at that UK Tights store!! That store seems to carry the brands popular in the UK - they even have Max Mara pantyhose! Wow.</p>
I like the sound of