What to Wear : Summer Formal Wedding

QUESTION:
We are invited to a wedding and the invitation said "summer formal. What should my husband and I wear for that occasion?

 
ANSWER:
Hi, N. ...when I hear wedding I hear formal or semi-formal. Typically if the wedding is during the day (before 5pm) one could wear a long flowery gown ( as long as it doesn't remind one of hawaiian mu-mu) or a below the knee chiffon number. By all means, stay away from dresses that although dressy, still say "cocktail party" which would include tight mini-skirts with ample cleavage showing. Think of an afternoon wedding as 'tea with the queen'. A night time formal wedding is , well more formal. Long dresses are essential, whether strapless or with spaghetti straps, they need to exude elegance and grace.

THE LOOK
I've create a set of looks for you and hope it gives you some inspiration!As for the hubby, if the wedding is indoors and air-conditioned, he should wear a grey or navy suit, does not have to be a three piece, but it must be well-made and a perfect fit. The shirt should be the classic white dress shirt. The tie could pick up some of the color of your dress, for that touch of celebration. Include a colorful hanky.

Style on!
GG Flower

Ask Gigi : What color shoes??

Question from Julie B.
hi my graduation party is on June 5, i have this really short and strapless dress to wear but i don't know what color of shoes should i get for it? my dress is electric blue, i am very white skinned, and have long legs. i cant decide between black, blue or silver high heels. open or closed shoes?

Answer:
Your best choice would be a blue that matches the dress. The black would be ok, but only if the party was in the evening. The best way to match your dress would do buy shoes that were 'dyeable', this is done professionally, don't try it yourself!

A really pretty option otherwise is a shoe that is the color of champagne, halfway between silver and beige. It will be much easier to match your jewelry with the shoes if they are a neutral color.

As for the type of shoe, the general rule is: go with the open toe shoes since you live in a warm climate.

Congratulations on your awesome achievement!
GG Flower

What To Wear to the Opera

Question
Hello. I am going to be attending an opera and I have no idea what I should wear to one since I have never been before. Could you please give me a little advice?

Answer
Hi Stefanie
Lucky you. Opera. mmmm.la la la la!

The opera crowd has a culture all its own, traditional and dressy. No jeans or cotton of course. Many women like to wear their formal wear but it is not necessary or common any more.

What you want to wear is something elegant and conservative. No skimpy cocktail dresses or short skirts. Think about what you would wear to a wedding. I found the perfect dress at Coldwater Creek, they even have earrings to match and also a shawl in the exact color of brown. This is just an example of what I mean about elegant. 

What do you think?

Just go to Coldwatercreek.com and put in H43494 to the search engine to see the dress.

At the bottom of the page you will see some strappy heels in brown. And here is the code to put in for the wrap H91060 and here are some lovely earrings H74324 and of course your bag H91304

Hope this information helps you choose just the right outfit for the occasion.

What to Wear : Stylish Clothes for a Skinny Body

Question
I'm about 127 lbs with a waist of about 27-29"and about 5'10, and love the vintage style.

I've been looking for help in choosing some of the right clothes that would suit my body frame, since those kind of clothes are extremly hard to come by. I appreciate being skinny but it's hard to find stylish clothes that fit my style and my body.

I also have a huge question about my hairstyle. I have my about medium length kinda blonde hair which i've kept shaggy semi surfer style, and have always had a hard time with having it fit my style. I've always been open to products and cuts/trims, but i want something that would work for me. I've always liked how it is but i'm looking for something that would fit my style a bit more.

Thanks for any help,
-Jarrod

Answer
Well, Jarrod, when it comes to off the rack styles, most manufactures make a lot of an average size and very little of any size outside that range. This is especially true for woman who are usually stuck with s m or l sizes as an option.

However, you most likely will find your size if you go to a men's clothing store where suits are sold. Or better yet, Burlingame has men's suits at discount prices. You might also try Ross, Dress for Less. The reason I mention these types of retail venues is that the pants of the suit are usually unhemmed. This allows you to buy a pair of pants that fits your waist then you can get the hem done by a tailor.

As for the style, I am not sure which vintage era you are looking for, there are more for me than there are for you I am sure. So for instance, you might look at the 1980's as vintage, while I on the other hand look at the 1880s as vintage. So for this reason I can't really address which style you should wear. But just by knowing your bodytype, you might want to do a little research into the styles of the 30s and 40s, the cut and styles have more details and fullness. This is the era where we got those pleated pants from along with men's shirts that had a yoke in the back. ( would avoid the 70s on up because those styles are too slenderizing.

What I can say is that your body type is similar to a models. You could wear just about anything, except for maybe the slinky suit styles of the seventies with the pencil thin pants. My best advice to you would be to go to the library and look through past copies of GQ. They put out a nice mag and you will see many many vintage styles in clothing and hairstyle. You are sure to find one you like.

Be sure to check out Buffalo Exchange if you have one in your town. The best places to buy vintage clothing is at a place like this, but they are used. Another place to go is http://k.webring.com/hub?ring=excellentvintage which is an entire webring of places that sell vintage clothing.

Best wishes.
GG Flower

What Color Accessories Should I Wear ?

Question
I'm wearing a green dress with small white poke  dots. What color shoes should I wear and jewelry.

Answer
Hi Sue
Your dress sounds very pretty.

It really depends on when the wedding is.  If you will attend the wedding in the summer, I would say by all means wear white pumps and pearl earrings and bracelet.

If your dress is a medium green and if it will be in the spring when it might still be a bit chilly, I would buy a nice pair of heels in a tan color, like the color of the wood in a pencil. That should make it neutral enough for the dress. Be sure to take your dress with you shoe shopping. It is tricky to choose colors without seeing the actual color. If it so happens that the dress is a darker green, look for a tan shoe that is as dark as the dress. If by chance there is any gold accent on the shoe, then match your jewelry that: gold and pearls can work, also.

I hope this helps you find your perfect shoe!
GG Flower

Ask Gigi : Figuring Out Your Body Type

Question
QUESTION: Hi GG Flower, thank you so much for your time!

I've been reading a lot of magazines (eg Seventeen, Cosmo Girl, etc.) and there are always sections on what clothes look best for different body types. I'm not sure if this is in your expertise, but I'm having lots of trouble figuring out what my body type is (hourglass, straight, etc.). I feel like I'm not quite any of them. Are there any particular details that stick out in each type? Sorry if this is a bit vague, but I would really like some help!

Thank you so much!

ANSWER: Hi Gracie,

Understanding your body type takes a bit of work and I have noticed that the mags you mention don't necessarily use pictures of girls who have that body type at all!

It is likely that you have an "average" body type, that is, your bust, waist and hips are in the right proportion, your legs are average and you do not possess any 'problem' areas!
Good for you! You can wear most any style!

Generally speaking, though, body type is the shape your body is even if you are not overweight. It is basically who you are and it is what you get from each of your parents. Many women don't seem to like their body type and want to accentuate one part or the other, based on what they see as an acceptable look. So a lot of designers offer styles that will hide one 'flaw' and accentuate the other.

As an aside, each culture has its own 'ideal' of what beauty is. In the US, we have followed the standard handed down from what the Greeks considered beautiful. Needless to say, many of us feel like we are less than perfect, when in reality, we are perfect, we are just different than what the norm is.

So as an example, an hourglass body type has hips and bust in proportion and and narrow waist, looks like an hourglass! Angelina Jolie has an hourglass body type.

Some young girls continue to have a straight body type into adult-hood. They are the ones who have very small breasts and hardly any hips, and a flat bottom. Essentially, they have a boyish figure and look great in hip hugger jeans! Cameron Diaz has a straight body type, although most of her photos camoflage this, but you can see it best when she is photographed at the beach.

Some women have what's called a round body type, which occurs when a woman has a larger than average bustline, and thick waist and stomach area and thin hips and skinny legs.

So another body type is pear shaped, where the womans's bust line is small compared to her hips.

You can read more about this on my website: see if you can figure out what figure you have!

http://shop4prom.com/prom_dresses01.asp

GG Flower

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again GG Flower!

Thank you so much for your help! I just have one more question- in the magazines there is a shape that you didn't mention- the cone shape; is that where the shoulders and bust are broader than the waist and hips?

Thank you so much!

Should I wear Gold And Burgundy?

Question
My prom is coming up in May, and I already have this amazing dress. It's a burgundy halter thats about knee length. I'm used to being bold, as I am 5"1, 42DD, and around 180 lbs.. But I will not ever be so bold that I'm tacky. Thats the thing, though! With my accessories for the dress, I want to wear gold with the burgundy, but is that too much?

Am I finally going...overboard?!

ANSWER: Hi Cassandra,
Your dress sounds lovely. My feeling about prom or any formal event really is heck yeah, go for the gold. Where else will you get to dress up to this extent? My question is: will it be enough? By that I mean, plain gold? Why not find some fabulous earrings with gold AND some kind of gemstone, fakes ok, but it should be ruby or garnet.

The reason you can up the voltage, so to speak, is you will be in a room full of people and the lights will be low. Wearing little pearl studs won't even cut it, you need to ramp it up a little. That goes for your makeup too. What looks gross during the day looks great in a dimly lit room. By the way, whatcha gonna do with your hair?

Have fun and don't worry, sounds like you hit the mark.
GG Flower

PS check out the prom makeover section of my website: http://www.shop4prom.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: GG Flower,

In response, I have a totally chic chin grazing (which gradually gets shorter as it goes back) pixie cut and I'm just going to keep it simple and amp it up, get a little volume in it, and sweep the bangs over to the side. Is that advisable or should I consider other options? For example, growing it out and doing an updo? My makeup probably will be focusing on the eyes, and lightening in intensity as I go to the cheeks, lips, ect.

Answer
I personally think that wearing your hair as you normally would with a little volume and sweep of the bangs is a great idea! You know what your hair will and won't do and if you play around with it now you won't come across any mishaps later. Growing your hair out and experimenting with new styles close to the time of your prom will be stressful. Stress you don't need.
It sounds like you are set and I like the way you plan to accentuate the eyes rather than trying to overdo it. Now those earrings on the other hand, can be bold and big and dramatic and they will look just right.
Hope this helps!
GG Flower