Shopping for a ‘wedding guest’ outfit

Tom and I were invited to the most beautiful wedding last weekend and I left it to the weekend before to find something to wear!

It’s wedding galore on here at the moment! I want to ensure that I don’t ramble too much about weddings on my blog but I thought I’d share my thoughts on this as it’s always been something that I’ve been self-conscious about - until now.

I’m sure there are some of you reading this who have been invited to a wedding who will buy a brand new outfit for the sake of wearing something new. We all know that we may have something that would fit in the back of our wardrobe somewhere but in all honesty, if there is any chance for us women to dress up, we will grab it by the horns and run with it!

I am a prime example. I own a few dresses but I didn’t want to wear something black or full length. Let’s think about it, I own:

-          Two maxi dresses (I wouldn’t have worn any of those as I would’ve felt uncomfortable wearing a full length dress)

-          Five black dresses (who wears black to a wedding?)

-          One floral bodycon dress (a dress a wore to Tom’s cousins wedding)

Friends and family will know that I don’t wear dresses so for me to go out and find a dress is a rare occasion.

Two weeks ago, I accepted my mission to find an outfit that I’d be comfortable and felt good in. Here’s just a few of the things I found.

Skirt and top - Next

Dress - Dorothy Perkins

Dress - Dorothy Perkins

Dress - New Look

Dress - Miss Selfridge

Dress - Debenhams

Dress - Quiz Clothing, Debenhams 

I eventually bought this one!

As a 23 year old women, I have finally been able to happily say to myself, ‘Lucy, you will never be stick thin.’ Up until now, I have never learnt to love my curves. I have wide hips which in some outfits can make me look larger then I actually am and finding a style that suits me can be hard. The only way to learn what suits you is to try on everything.

My tips to anyone who can never find something when out shopping would be:

-          Pick up anything and everything and try it on - you may be pleasantly surprised!

Don’t think ‘ah that won’t suit me.’ You will never know if you don’t try it on. Maxi skirts, shirt dresses, skater dresses, wide leg trousers. Don’t just presume that they won’t suit you.

-          Work to your assets.

If you have a great pair of legs, try on a skirt or shirt dress – show off those pins. If you have a great waist, draw people’s attention to your waist with high waisted trousers with a shirt tucked in.

-          Don’t beat yourself up about not finding something.

It’s very easy to get down when you can’t find something. I have been in and out of many shops and have come out empty handed. I’d far rather spend my money on something that I love and will wear rather than throwing in the towel and buying something that I’ll probably wear once… unless it’s a special occasion.

I have my go-to shops such as Zara, Dorothy Perkins, New Look, River Island and Next because I know 75% of the time I can walk into one of those shops and find something I want and it will look good.

I’m no fashion guru, I’m merely sharing my thoughts as it can be so disheartening. Don’t give in, go to a massive shopping centre such as West Quay in Southampton or drive to Milton Keynes. They have a huge shopping centre. The bigger place you go to, the less likely you’ll come out empty handed.

Even if you don’t have any luck at a shopping centre, why not arrange to see a personal shopper. You will start to see what looks awesome on you and know what clearly needs to stay on the rail!