Oh the ball. The unit ball.
We SO weren't going to go. Decision made, moving on. No schmancy dresses, no forced fun with people we don't know, no awkward conversations with folks more interested in Harley-Davidsons than ANYTHING else. Phew!
And then today I got the call. We are going to the ball. He even gave me the Party line about it all when I asked him, in my best 8 year old tone, but whhhhhhhhy?
So here I go, with less than 2 weeks to find a formal dress in a town that has only a GAP and a Dillard's (of which you KNOW half the other women going are shopping at, am I right?). So online shopping I go. And here is where I need your help, faithful readers, what is my general goal here? Here are my questions:
-Is floor length a must?
-How glitzy do I go?
-Color? Black? What DOES go with that odd shade of Army green?
-And most importantly- I need your tips on how to get through this without needing counseling and/or copious amounts of wine?
Okay- so wish me luck and send your good shopping karma to the Online Shopping Gods with my name attached!
9 comments:
Time for Bluefly.com
I agree with USMCWIFE. Bluefly.com is awesome.
I stick to that thing my mom used to say: better to be overdressed than underdressed. I go floor length on any military "ball" occasions. Last time I wore a black dress, but the times before that I've done shades of blue.
That green IS so hard to match.
Just drink copious amounts of wine...everyone else gets drunk at those things, anyway. My sister's had to drag her drunk husband out of those things many, many times.
Buy something that you would be able to wear again, to a wedding or a fancy-schmancy office Christmas party. If you don't have a basic black dress, just shop for that and rest assured that you will be able to wear it again. :)
Can't say much for the Army specifically since I've only done Marine Corps functions, but I think an "at the knee" length is fine for a military ball. Make it more formal by getting some chandelier earrings and maybe a sparkly necklace to match.
I like Nordstrom for online dress shopping because you can search / sort by color. And on Zappos you get free shipping both ways, so that's something to consider. Just order up 3-4 options and send back what doesn't work.
GOOD LUCK! Dress shopping of any kind is always really annoying, let alone under a time crunch.
Just drink... it's really the only way to get through those things. But not so much that you ralph on the "higher-ups" ;) Also, I go with black or blue. Sounds like a bruise, eh?
Nordstroms.com is great - I wore a brown dress and it worked out really great for our last ball. I love their website too because they are really good at describing how the dresses fit different kinds of bodies! I feel you on the stressful part. Have fun :)
Bluefly is great, and Nothing Goes with that Green... I say go with what looks good on you, color wise, could even go away from solid color and wear something bright like a water color painting.
Wine is a must.
Macy's website has saved my ass more than once for last minute dress needs when I was in college and needed sorority dresses.
I wouldn't go any shorter than cocktail length, although I've seen younger women rocking the short dresses.
J. Crew has a section of schmancy dresses that always seem to be on sale (mine was). I tend toward black because I'm cheap and want to reaccessorize the same dress for another event, but considering that this is your last hoorah (or hooah!), choose something fun! Class A green be damned -- wear what looks fabulous on *you*.
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