Here’s what I wore to my friend’s holiday party last weekend: a black velvet Betsey Johnson jumpsuit from 1998 that I stole from my mom, a black wrap coat I found at Zara that I can’t wear without everyone asking me whether I’m wearing a robe, Gwen Stefani-circa-1992 buns, and black lipstick.
It was a Goth-themed holiday party, in case you can’t tell; which was wonderful for lots of reasons, one of which was that I didn’t have to go shopping for a holiday party dress – because of all the looks in the world, Goth is one I have a decent amount of familiarity with thanks to about three years in the ’90s when I thought Fairuza Balk’s character in The Craft was pretty much as cool as it gets.
So I didn’t need a holiday dress for that party. But I have a few events coming up in the next couple of weeks, including a little cocktail party I’m hosting for stella and dot at my place, and I’d like to look festive-ish. Perhaps some sparkles. Red? Maybe a fancy neckline? …Heels? (Probably a no on that last one, but you never know.)
So I convinced my father to take my children to see a movie, and my mother and I made our way across town in the snow (snow!!!) to Zara, where I tried on preeeeetty much everything in the store, and then asked you guys whether any of them worked.
This was actually better in person that it appears in the photo. I came close to getting this, but 88% of you said “No,” so I figured I should probably go with the popular opinion.
This deep olive-green wrap dress was super comfortable, and I loved the fabric, but I wasn’t crazy about the neckline or the length of the sleeves; they made it feel a little more conservative than what I wanted. (I like how it’s styled on the Zara website – paired with matching wide-leg pants – better.)
I was so opposed to this one that I didn’t even open it up to a poll…and then got a gazillion “no but this one is great!” messages.
I have to say: I think it might look better in the photo than it did IRL. Between the super low-cut front (which I adjusted to make this photo PG-13, because omggggg there was serious danger of exposure) and the fact that it was technically a romper (those are shorts), it felt wayyyyyyy too young for me. Which is a kinda depressing thing to say, but the other day I went for an eye exam and the ophthalmologist advised me to get a retinal scan because I’m “approaching the Big 4-0,” so…Jesus.
Speaking of low-cut…this dress was just a huge, massive hell no. All the tape in the world wouldn’t have even come close to being able to contain my boobs. (It would work on a very tall, thin woman with no breasts or hips, but so would all dresses that have ever been made, so that’s not a huge revelation.)
So what am I doing for Friday’s party? My feeling is dressing like your actual self (as opposed to your “holiday party self”) is always a good idea, so I’m thinking maybe the striped leggings I did end up buying plus a fancy top from Rent the Runway (or…let’s get real…probably an oversized grey sweatshirt that I put on at the last minute when I decide that the fancy top makes me miserable).
And if not, any of the below dresses that I found during last night’s omg-I-have-nothing-to-wear-let-me-Google-it session would be A-OK.
