Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Kelley's Request

I got this Facebook message from my friend Kelley last week:
Dear MWL,
I have a clothing issue. And since I love your blog(s), I would like your blogtastic advice on my issue. I am going on a cruise in May and one of our dinners is formal and I am really excited to buy a new dress for the cruise. But, being Mormon, it really limits me on the available dresses. And why does it seem that modest dresses go down in cuteness level? Can you recommend stores/sites that typically have a better selection of modest formal/cocktail style dresses? In my searching, I've realized just how little I know about where to even look for cute clothes. You don't need to go find me a dress or anything, just maybe point in the right direction. I am looking for something cute and trendy and flattering. I'm fine with something strapless/sleeveless if it can be reasonably covered with a cute shrug and won't ruin the look of the dress. Oh, and preferably under $100. What do you think? Any thoughts? Thanks Mary!
-Kelley
First, going on a cruise for your anniversary sounds like so much fun!  Christian has a thing with boats {as in, he hates to be on them}, so I don't think I'm ever going to get the opportunity.

Second, when I was searching for a LBD last year, the two best resources for modest cocktail dresses I found were department stores, and modest clothing stores.  I specifically like Nordstrom, Dillard's and Macy's for department stores, because they have a great selection {with a lot of dresses on sale}, and great tools to help you find just the right dress for you.  Shabby Apple and eShakti are good modest clothing stores for finding cute cocktail dresses, too -- I would definitely check them out.

{links: Nordstrom dress, Macy's dress, eShakti dress, Dillard's dress, Shabby Apple dress}

I hope this helps, Kelley!  What do you all think?  Have you ever shopped at one of these stores before?  What was your experience like?  Do you have any other stores or sites to suggest?  I'd appreciate your comments!

8 comments:

Catherine said...

I'm sure it's no surprise that I LOVE the Nordie's dress. As you know I purchased my LBD from there for the wedding. I think they have a great selection and wide variety.

You might be able to find a dress in an unlikely place like Banana Republic. It just depends. Now that it's spring, they might not have as many modest options. But definitely do the department store thing for inspiration or as a starting point. I dig the dresses at Macy's!

Madeline said...

Great advice Mary! Also, I would check out Overstock. Especially if you are ok with black. I have found quite a few modest cocktails options there in the past.

Have fun on your cruise, Kelley! I hope you do more than we did on ours (sleep 14 hours a night and take full advantage of the 24 hour pizza bar {in our defense getting married is really tiring and apparently makes you want pizza at 2 AM} hahaha).

kelley said...

Thanks for the help Mary! Those are all REALLY cute! I love the Macy's dress website. Very helpful! I'm trying to convince Jericho to sign off on me getting TWO dresses if I can find a couple that are inexpensive enough.

chris said...

how did you do that cool writing with arrow thing?

Linnea said...

Great choices! :-)
I have purchased an Esakti dress, it actually just got here and I love it.
I love looking at Shabby Apple, but I've yet to actually purchase one. One of these days though...

Anna @ IHOD said...

all so lovely. Can never go wrong with black and white! These are fun and feminine too!

RunningOnCoffee said...

Love the Macy's dress. The Shabby Apple one caught my eye recently, but I can't tell how the ruffle would look on me in the chest department.

mommy Orkid Belle said...

Beautiful dresses! :)

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