<p>Re the faux wrap dress: i’m very tall and fairly slim but have wide hips and a large backside (but very thin limbs). My weird proportions make it hard to find clothes. My sister has a zaftig figures with wide hips and hourglass curves. She can look heavy in some dresses. The Lauren dress looked great on both of us. I’m very, very aware of having to downplay the posterior and somehow this dress worked great, even in the summery color. It has enough seaming and darting on the back to accommodate curves. </p>
<p>Singlespeed bikes that are of a reasonable weight are widely available now. A singlespeed is appealingly simple, which means that it doesn’t need all the parts that a geared bike needs, so it should be lighter than a comparable geared bike.</p>
<p>IMO bike weight is overrated as a criterion for bikes anyway. If you’re not riding up hills, and you’re not putting the bike in a car or carrying it up flights of stairs, bike weight is not going to be of much importance to you. Much more important for a petite person is whether the bike is designed correctly in small sizes. Too many bikes in small sizes are too long for short women: the riders end up uncomfortably stretched out.</p>
<p>But if you’re happy with your Schwinn, you have no reason to change. I enjoy shopping for bikes, but most people don’t. If your bike gets stolen 
get back to me and I’ll help you select a new one.</p>
<p>nottelling: I like the look of the Lauren dress, but I’m skeptical that you, your sister and your daughter are a good representative of all body types. Sounds like you all have curvy feminine hips, for example- lucky you. The dress no doubt flatters many, but won’t work for some. Those cap sleeves are not a good choice for my broad shoulders, for example. And am I right that it requires Spanx? </p>
<p>^ H is a serious rider and knows a lot about bikes. He also knows me. This bike is perfect for what I need. Now, if I ever decided to become a serious rider I would get a much lighter bike (H has a road bike which is light as a feather.) If I was ever going to do a bike race or bike for charity I would be SOL with the bike I have. I’d have to get a better bike. Kind of like if I go to a wedding were I am not MOG I can usually wear something already in my closet but if I’m MOG I would need something new. 
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<p>I’m getting whiplash from jumping between dresses and bikes.</p>
<p>CF, the RL dress has many, many variations. Some come with a bit more flared skirts, some with fitted. Some have 3/4 sleeves, some have cap sleeves, some are sleeveless. Some come with v-neck, some have cowlneck. The strategically constructed front conceals a lot of imperfections, so no Spanx is needed, so one can eat and still feel comfy </p>
<p>Far be it from me to discourage someone from buying a new bike! I have eight. But emilybee, if you did find yourself considering a bike ride for charity, perhaps because a certain charity became meaningful for you, I hope you wouldn’t be deterred by thinking you didn’t have the right bike. A 10-speed hybrid (actually my guess is you have a 14-speed or 16-speed) would be fine for a charity ride. Replace the tires with smooth ones perhaps, check the drivetrain and brakes, and you’d be good to go. You don’t need the bike that Alberto Contador rode in the Tour just to ride 60 miles for diabetes.</p>
<p>^Yes, I do. 
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<p>To stick with this bike theme for a moment . . . if you had already purchased a bike for a charity ride and it fit well, worked great, was of good quality and you had no qualms with it would you still need a new one for the next charity ride? Maybe you get a new seat if your didn’t have enough padding but is a whole new bike required? Maybe it is if the technological advances have been so great in the intervening time that your is obsolete to the point that it wouldn’t work well. With some riders and some wedding crowds the marginal improvement of an update wouldn’t be noticed however. </p>
<p>“You don’t need the bike that Alberto Contador rode in the Tour just to ride 60 miles for diabetes”</p>
<p>In fashion-speak it would be akin to buying a Valentino gown to wear to a Meow Cat Shelter fundraising dinner. An overkill that is. </p>
<p>I don’t think that’s comparable, though. It would be strange to buy a new bike for the next charity ride, just for the sake of having a new bike. But even though most of us are saying the old dress would be fine, most of us are also saying there’s nothing strange about buying a new dress for the new wedding if you feel like it. Even I have more outfits than bicycles.</p>
<p>CF, you have 8 bikes. Can you really not understand the desire for another dress or another pair of black pants when you already have half a dozen pairs in your closet. They’re all different and yet they’re all black pants. If you care about this stuff the differences are notable. </p>
<p>OP didn’t imply that it would be strange to buy one. In fact she has shopped all summer to try to buy one but hasn’t found one that didn’t seem like settling just to have a new dress.</p>
<p>I have a feeling that if someone bought a new Valentino just for the Meow Cat Gala and no other event, or a new $10,000 racing bike just for a charity ride and no other event, people might be silently wondering why the money wasn’t donated directly to the charity instead of being used for such an over-the-top purchase. Nothing wrong with expensive purchases if you can afford them, of course, but people might wonder about such a choice.</p>
<p>Ha! Bunsen - unfortunately a strategically constructed front does nothing to conceal my imperfections. I was that girl in the 80s who could rock the small waisted, wide belted peplum look. ;)</p>
<p>But, not one is telling OP to by a Valentino. Just a new dress for one of the two most special events of her life - her son’s weddings. </p>
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<p>I have never said that the OP or anyone else shouldn’t buy a new dress to wear as MOG for a wedding if that’s what she wants. New clothes are fun. I have only said, like most other people here, that the OP is doing nothing wrong if she decides to wear a lovely, flattering dress that she already owns, particularly when she hasn’t been able to find a new dress she likes as well.</p>
<p>I thank the people who pointed out the 2008 fashion trends. That was interesting. I’m one who enjoys looking at fashion, while not understanding it. I like to look at Tom and Lorenzo’s In or Out, to see what the commenters say about the various outfits. Invariably they point out things I never would have noticed.</p>
<p>I understand why someone can shop all summer long and still not being able to find anything - if one concentrated her efforts on looking in the stores. I mostly go to our B&M stores to return stuff I buy online… I gave up shopping for special occasion stuff in our poorly stocked stores and mostly buy things online. Some SA are surprised to see the stuff I’m returning “Oh, wow, this is cute! I did not know we carried this!”</p>
<p>Bunsen, do you find that when you shop online you usually find things that fit? I’m looking at this recommended dress:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/lauren-ralph-lauren-long-sleeve-faux-wrap-sheath-dress?ID=593795”>http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/lauren-ralph-lauren-long-sleeve-faux-wrap-sheath-dress?ID=593795</a></p>
<p>I could imagine that if it fit and was a good length on me, it could be a great dress-- but I have no confidence it would work without trying it on. I’m reluctant to buy that sort of thing online because I figure I’d be sending most dresses back, which is a nuisance.</p>
<p>When we got married 28 years ago, I asked the bridesmaids to get a long dress they liked anywhere in a spectrum of pink based shades. One got light pink, one cherry, and one burgundy, so they looked great together. </p>
<p>I asked the mothers to get a dress in a spectrum which was essentially turquoise. MIL got a dress in a pure blue, not at all in the spectrum. My mother called me in tears from a phone booth outside a shopping center in the pouring rain saying that the only possible dress she could find anywhere after weeks of searching was white. Was that OK with me? Well, what could I say; such things didn’t really bother me at the time although in retrospect I guess it was an egregious breach of etiquette on her part. It could easily have been a dress for a “mature” bride, floor length with long sleeves and a beaded top. After reading through this thread I wonder if she had a subconscious desire to compete with me; it definitely wasn’t deliberate.</p>
<p>At least we didn’t clash in the pictures 8-| .</p>
<p>And my MIL kept bragging about she was the only one who followed instructions. Although her dress was the wrong shade.</p>