Summer, outdoor wedding in a shady area. The invitations say attire should be “semi-formal/fabulous.” The wedding couple are earthy, artsy, and decidedly nontraditional … they fit their northern California environment. I’m a relative on the east coast, past 50, not too fashion-adventurous. Could sure use some advice and pictures! Oh, and I like things loose, not too body-fitting, as the ol’ bod is not what it used to be. How do I not look like a frumpy old lady? Thanks for your thoughts!
A maxi dress or wide legged pants would be comfy and appropriate .
Think about your hair, accessories and shoes as well! Maybe a fresh haircut/style before you go? (or there the day before or of??) A great outfit can flop if you don’t have the other items (hair, shoes, etc.) in place too!
Have one part fitted, either top or bottom, and then the other can be flowy. If both top and bottom are flowy, that will signal frumpy.
Could you find a really funky, fun tunic top with slimmer black pants? Then I envision wedge sandals with a woven wedge.
Eileen Fisher. Flat or wedge shoes. J Crew or Banana Republic jewelry
@abasket, great point on the hair and accessories. Once I get the basic look in place, we can fine tune it.
@Pizzagirl, I like this approach to avoid frumpiness. Liking the funky-flowy top idea so far, as I’d rather emphasize my upper curves than my lower bulges! Thank you.
@bevhills , I’m peeking at Eileen Fisher at nordstrom now. Would something like this be too informal–if we jazzed it up with jewelry? Maybe the purple one? Or are you thinking something more formal …
@bevhills I was going to say Eileen Fisher.
@carolinamom2boys , the maxi dress idea is intriguing … have not worn that style before and may explore that.
Or, combining your wide-legged pants idea with @Pizzagirl 's “one part fitted” idea, then, I would explore a more fitted top.
Appreciating these ideas, all of them, as I have only the most basic fashion sense. 
@bevhills and @delurk1 , if you would put up some links of Eileen Fisher things you like, that would be so helpful!
I’m about your age @jollymama and wear all of the options described above and they are very comfy. I don’t know where you live, but Steinmart is a nice store with those options if you live in the south or Belks
I think the Eileen Fisher tunic you linked to is too casual. There are dressier things in the line, however. “Semi-formal” is pretty dressy, even at a Marin-hippie wedding.
I like the top, but I think that you would have to work too hard to dress it up. I wear maxi dresses all the time in summer. I’ll take a look at the Eileen Fisher lookbook and see what I might do.
@nottelling , yes, I was afraid of that. And beyond the semi-formal, there’s the “fabulous” suggestion, which makes me think I need more creativity! And, as some posters have suggested, great jewelry too.
i think great jewlery and fun clothes sound good. All i can say is that YES, northern CA was so funky this past summer when we visited. we were in the mountains looking for a place along a river to hang with the kids and ran into a swingers party. Anything went there! :))
@bgbg4us I’m sure that what to take off was more important than what to wear in that circumstance. 
I love that they added “fabulous” because it really does give you a lot of leeway. I’d interpret this word in the invitation to say “dress up and wear what you love, we won’t judge.”
I think this looks really sharp: https://i2.wp.com/wardrobelooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Plus-Size-Maxi-Dresses-For-Spring-Summer-2014-13.jpg
(I wish we could imbed pictures-this message board is so old-school).
When I think of hippie style I usually think of crochet, and if you don’t want to show your arms, this is lovely:
https://www.pyramidcollection.com/itemdy00.aspx?ID=51,1815&T1=PD5157+XS
I went to the lookbook…and the only thing that I liked was an icon silk dress…but it is in cream. Then I went to Chiccos…they have several good options. The dress at the top (long black dress with funky jewelry) . I don’t know how clingy and/or forgiving it is. But it is a great option. There are other options as well.
Thank you all, these are great ideas! I like the maxi dress … I would most likely have to shorten it, but that’s do-able.
Any opinions on this one?
http://www.lordandtaylor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/lord-and-taylor/asymmetrical-knit-dress
I was married on a beach in a very similar style of wedding last summer. Maxi dresses were very “in” and looked wonderful on every body type.
Have fun!