Thursday, November 09, 2006

Challenge of the Year



So . . . what does one wear to a film premier in LA?

A few years ago I lost sixty pounds and was so thin that I could wear virtually anything. All those cute young fashions actually looked good on my skin-and-bones frame. But then some of those pounds crept back to their original places and now I once again look like the middle-aged mother I am.

So—what does a MAM wear to a premier?

I went to Dillards yesterday and tried on several dresses from the holiday wear department. Bad move. At one point I stared in the mirror and was instantly reminded of the headline I’d just seen on a tabloid at the grocery store. “THE BUMP IS BACK!” the headline screamed, “AND BRAD IS OVER THE MOON!”

Well—I’m not Angelina Jolie, I’m not pregnant, and my bump doesn’t come and go—well, not routinely. And in far too many dresses yesterday, it wasn’t shy about making its appearance.

(BTW, if you’re male and reading this—you may excuse yourself now. Thank you very much.)

Most of the dresses I tried on were cut too low, hemmed too short, and sewn too quickly. I found myself wishing that I lived in the 1950’s—I LOVE those full-skirted dresses Lucy and Ethel always wore when they went out on the town with Ricky and Fred. I actually have one of those (found on eBay), but it has about a 24 inch waist, and that’s just not going to happen in less than three weeks.

So—I emailed my daughter, the fashionista. Never fear, she says, I can go simple and elegant and accessorize. She says to stick with Ralph Lauren (whom I love) or Donna Karan.

I know Lauren, so I go online to check out the new Donna Karan collection. To my great relief, it’s composed of pieces I might even have in my closet. There’s no way I can BUY any of the pieces I saw (see the photo? One of those pieces sells for $1995.00, the other for $2595.00, and I have no idea which is which), but I think I can come close to replicating either this look or something similar. And I’ll be comfortable!

I was watching a Doris Day flick a few months ago with Jim Bell, Nancy Rue, and Lisa Samson . We gals were exclaiming over Doris’s small waist and her adorable hat, and we remarked that such small waists were possible because women were generally girdled until they couldn’t breathe . . . at that point Jim turned the movie off and said we needed to concentrate.
LOL! Men. They just don’t understand how important these things are . . .
So . . . if you have any ideas, I'm open. And since I used the picture, I feel duty-bound to say that YOU can shop the Donna Karan collection here .

~~Angie , now looking for the Ralph Lauren collection . . .

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Angie! I knew they'd invite you! How could they not! We'll watch you on the red carpet!

Kristy Dykes said...

You are so funny! I enjoyed your post. How about doing a version of DK? I'm going to hear Nora Roberts tonight on her "only-two-city-book-tour." A friend heard her the other night in "the other city." Said she wore an elegant black pantsuit and diamonds. What about something like that?

Southern-fried Fiction said...

My favorites were the Audrey Hepburn sheaths. Talk about sophisticated yet so concealing. :o) You could hide a lot of bumps in one - and they're back!!

Oops, gotta run. My 40 pound puppy is stealing my socks. Hard to get them away once he has hold. :o)

Anonymous said...

Since we are not used to events like this (I did this one year at the Country Music Awards), we tend to really overdress. I would say keep it simple and beautiful! Classy, but you always are!

Leslie said...

I agree with Kristy--- a black pantsuit would probably look nice...otherwise a nice black dress with a nice hairdo and jewelry would look great too. Congrats on going. I am sure you'll have a blast!

Anonymous said...

Angie, what did you wear on formal night when you did the Alaska cruise this summer? Would it work? I would think a dressy pair of black pants and a top with lots of sparkle like alot of stores are carrying for special occasions or the holidays would look great!

Linda G

Cindy Swanson said...

Well Angie..there's always Spanx!

I haven't tried them yet, but I've read that stars like Gwyneth Paltrow swear by them.

Here's the website:

http://www.spanx.com