I like the colors....it looks a bit casual for a put-up-your hair-wear-your-best-jewelery event, though.

Are you tall? I'm very short, so a print like that would be too busy on me, but would be great on someone taller than me.

I think it's a beautiful dress and is something that would be adaptable to all kinds of occasions, from semi-formal to smart casual.

*************

As a slight derail, I had mixed fortunes with shopping today. I bought some really nice tops that are a bit smarter than my normal T-shirt 'n' hoodie combo. All the skirts I tried on were TOO BIG!! I tried to get some proper shoes and tried on these, these and these, but despite wandering round the store in the T-bar pair (my favourites and the most comfortable) for half an hour, my feet were killing me. I just can't wear heels of any kind, even little tiny ones, even with those cushiony gel inner soles. Burny feet!

I did managed to get something that's as rare as hen's teeth in the UK though - a pair of black closed-top crocs. Hardly elegant but comfortable beyond belief.

I absolutely hate clothes shopping too, LoriFLA, so it's a good day for me when I manage to find more than two things I like, that fit and that I can afford.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

essexjan, too big skirts! Woo! That is such a great feeling. Today a pair of capris that I have been wearing all summer are loose. It's a mood boost.

I love those shoes, jan! Too bad you can't walk in them. For some unknown reason I can walk in heels pretty well. And the only reason why I like them is because I think they elognate. I'm hoping they make me look skinnier.

I am tall -- 5'10". I think I'm going to wear the dress for the daytime thing (fashion show to benefit a children's advocacy center) and wear something else to the nightime thing. The dress looks really good on, or so my sister and husband say. But the print takes some getting used to, and I love prints.

And jan, are you talking about Crocs, the rubber shoes? I have a navy pair without holes (closed top?) for work. They are the most hideous shoe, but so comfortable. The other Crocs (with holes) are starting to grow on me. I don't know if I'll buy a pair, but they're more appealing by the day.

apologies, for stating your choice in shoes is hideous. I throw that word around too often. I like them too, for the comfort, They're just not the most elegant of shoes.

LoriFLA, I think that dress could work for evening cocktail stuff, but you'd need to glitz it up a bit. Wear gold jewelry, nice shoes -- essentially, accessorize well. (I personally hate gold jewelry, but it would work well with that dress.)

It is perfect for daytime, though. Brunches, shopping, even work (if you worked in an office rather than ... am I correct in this? ... a hospital).

Yes, Crocs are hideous, but so comfortable. Nurses in the UK have been banned from wearing them in some hospitals. I will continue the smart shoe quest though, as I can't continue to wear Reeboks and Crocs for ever.

Yes, brina. I did work in a hospital, up until a week or so ago. I'm a nurse. I still work as a nurse, but I work in an outpatient facility where I can wear real clothes. Which isn't as nice as it seems. Sometimes a uniform is so much easier.

brina, I have some gold jewelry. That's a great idea, I'll give it a try. I'm glad the dress will work for daytime, because as of now, I'm going with it. I even have the shoes the model has on, so it should be good enough.

Nurses in the UK have been banned from wearing them in some hospitals.

Really? Because they are unnatractive? I have a tendency to trip in Crocs. The day I fell down at the hospital I sort of tripped on the Crocs and a footstool at the same time. A doctor came in just as I was sprawled out on the floor. As she was helping me to my feet, she said, "It's those Crocs. They make you trip."

"... Also, do you think this could work for evening? A cocktail-y type party? I'm not sure..."

In Florida, outside of Palm Beach, sure.

"...Nurses in the UK have been banned from wearing them in some hospitals. ..."

Crocs have also been implicated as contributing factors in a number of nasty escalator accidents.

Lori, I would wear that dress for a daytime event definitely, but I am with essexjan in thinking it'd be a mite casual for a full-on eveningwear sort of gig.

I hate, hate, HATE shopping, so I've pretty much narrowed my clothes shopping efforts down to thrift stores, 'ninja raids' (in which I know what I want, get in, snag it, and leave in 10 minutes or less) or REI mailorder, cos the mister still works there extremely part-time for the discounts.

In fun news tho, my mom is *finally* moving out of her old dump of a farmhouse in Ohio and getting a new place. +30 years of crap is being shifted, sifted and (thank yhwh) THROWN AWAY. She sent me a box of old clothes and shit from, like, high school the other day. I dug thru there, was like 'ahahaha, check out these cheesy old Chic jeans from 1982, they were my favourite jeans when I was a freshman in high school...', tried 'em on for grins and was like HOLY FUCKING NO WAY THEY FIT!!!111 Which was good for a round of laughs, then the mister pointed out that those jeans were very nearly older than he is, at which point I chucked a pillow at his head and chaos and mayhem ensued.

good times.

That is a riot lfr. My mom has all of my formal dresses and other stuff from high-school. I should go over there and find something to wear to this evening event. Hey, puffed sleeves and gold brocade are making a comeback, right? Wait, I can't fit into any of that crap. Sigh.

Good on you for keeping in shape and fitting into the Chic jeans. I had a pair of Chic jeans. Loved them! Jordache and Gloria Vanderbilt too. Ah, those were the days. Le freak, c'est chic.