Fashion Quest--Part II

The silver cami that I ordered to go under my mother's beaded top came and looks pretty good.  Now I need to get her to try everything on together.  Usually she would be happily modeling her finery for me, but she's sick right now.  I'm saying prayers that she recovers in time for the wedding, which is just over a week away!

A week or so after we had perused catalogs and Web sites, I spent the greater part of a Thursday reconnoitering the plus-size stores.  There are three in a row at a nearby mall, so I checked out everything that was remotely appropriate for a wedding.  This was not a shopping trip.  It was data collection, which would be collated with catalog and on-line finds and decisions made from there.  I found the navy pants for my mother at Catherine's.  (However, even the petite length needed to be hemmed for her.)  She would need another top for the New Year's Eve wedding, so I kept any eye out for something suitable.  She wanted a little more glitz for the second wedding--but still not gaudy!?!?  But once I found the dressy navy pants, my mind switched to my favorite subject--ME!

I haven't been that
skinny since I was six.

One of the newest trends in women's clothing is the uneven hemline.  Handkerchief hemlines are big again, also.  For myself, I was thinking of a duster with one of those hemlines.  In Catherine's, I found a grey tunic-length top.  They called it a cardigan, but it wasn't at all like a sweater.  Maybe a jacket--but that implies a certain level of heaviness to it, at least in my mind.  So I call it a duster, even though it's not that long.  Anyway, I really liked it right from the start--even though it didn't have either of the the new hemlines.  But this was only a recon trip, so I went next door to Lane Bryant.

Lane Bryant had camis in all kinds of colors and fabrics!  The display took my breath away!  But as I hunted through the dressy clothes, it became apparent that the store didn't have what I wanted.  I went through the racks twice, just to make sure I didn't miss anything.  Oh, they had some nice tops, but not what my mother and I had discussed.  But, I would definitely keep them in mind for the camis.

Next up was Dress Barn Women.   For my outfit, I was thinking of something along the lines of palazzo pants.  I found the perfect pants at Dress Barn.  Palazzo pants with two layers of fabric!  Underneath is solid black; the top layer is shear black.  Very dressy and very chic!  Then, something caught my eye from the small shoe section they have.  Kind of silver, but darker.  Like pewter!  They were beautiful!  Not really wild, but definitely not something my practical, conservative self would have chosen.  For me, they are somewhat outre.  I didn't buy them that day, but I can't wait until the next posting to show them off:

My part-ay shoes!

By the time I looked through Dress Barn, I was pretty sure of what the main part of my outfit would be.  I would get two different tank tops or camis to wear underneath to have a different look.  But I still didn't buy anything!  I took a last look around for the second top for my mother, still didn't see anything that really caught my eye, then made my way back to Lane Bryant.  Even though the cami display was lovely, I decided I wanted more substantial tops for underneath the duster.  The duster doesn't button or zipper, so it'll hang open to show the blouse underneath.  Then I went back through Catherine's one more time, where I looked at the duster again.  It has pewter diamond-shaped studs running down each side of the front.  I knew those pewter shoes would be perfect.

I went home with my mind full of possibilities, yet I was fairly sure of what I would get.  It seemed like angels had led me to these beautiful clothes and shoes!  The plan was to bring my mother back with me on Saturday so she could see everything for herself.  And to look through the dressy clothes for her second top.

Up next:  Taking my mother shopping--a lesson in patience!