Oh, the dress. I just returned from Vietnam, and the wedding and was dress shopping till the bitter end. I took two dresses with me to solicit last minute opinions. I had to drop some weight first, which was partially successful, though more would have been to great advantage. Some of the earlier posts on this thread were quite helpful in terms of pointing me in the right direction. I ordered from Nordstrom, from Nordstrom Rack, from JC Penneys’ which though it does not have as elegant choices as some, does have an understanding approach to the average American woman’s body. My color choices were limited, as the wedding color was dark blue, my normal go to color, the bride’s mom wore pale green and I look awful in pastels or beige. I kept remember the adage, wear beige and smile. Well, no beige here. In the end my only choice seemed to be some sort of purple/lavender.
The first Nordstrom dresses were too tight in the backside, despite shape wear (essentially bike shorts), or made me feel like a 60 year old trying to be a 16 year old ballerina with the “fit and flare” choices. I am not especially large on top, so going up a size just made the armholds gape and the slump in front. I spent an entire afternoon at one of of local good department stores with one daughter, and absolutely nothing fit.
Amazon came to the rescue at the end. The dress of my dreams arrived and was just a bit tight. https://www.amazon.com/Adrianna-Papell-Womens-Pleated-Origami/dp/B01ES1ZBKU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1496836142&sr=8-3&keywords=adrianna+papell+origamiand I took it along, but restricting eating just prior to the wedding and visiting Asian family do not match up. So I gave up this beautifully constructed dress for this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06WVHV215/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1#customerReviews It worked, was very comfortable, and forgiving, if lacking in some of the fine detailing of the Papelle dress.
For the price of some of these dresses, I would expect linen or silk, not polyester. The Papelle dress was very beautifully constructed, and an interested mix of materials.
What I wish I had done was go to Vietnam a day early and have a dress made in Hoi An. This town, near the wedding in Danang is full of tailor shops. A group of my extended family went there on arrival and ended up having silk ao dai made, the traditional Vietnamese dress over flowing pants, for about $60 per person. They looked gorgeous in the wedding photos.
Best wishes to all who are searching!