Wedding dress

I don't attend many weddings. I've only been to 2 that I can think of since I hit adulthood, and in one of those, I was a bridesmaid. So I don't have much experience selecting appropriate wedding attire.

Thus, this weekend, when I dressed myself for my first wedding in 4 years, I was naturally a bit unconfident. In fact, on my arrival, I was almost certainly more anxious than the bride and groom themselves (nothing to do with being crammed into a tiny room with a bunch of strangers, I'm sure). Was my outfit all right? Was I overdressed? Was I showing too much skin? Was there too much shimmer in the fabric? Did I look like a bridesmaid rather than a guest?

After a few deep breaths of fresh air, a few gulps of champagne, and a few glances at what other women were wearing, I relaxed. I even got few (actually, three—yes, I was counting) unsolicited compliments along the lines of "I love your dress!"

Just don't tell the complimenters, it actually wasn't a dress! It was, in fact, a skirt, which I have only worn once in all the 7-odd years I've owned it because it's just too dressy for almost every occasion. It's also very hard to find shirts to wear with, which is why, this year, I finally got the brilliant idea to forgo a shirt entirely and wear it as a dress, using the sash to create an empire waist.

As evidenced by the compliments, this was a pretty good choice, but wearing this outfit to a wedding has reminded me: I must renew my vows to never, ever, wear anything strapless to any event at which there might be dancing. Too many close calls and too many visits to the bathroom to hike up one's bra (finally culminating in one attaching straps to the convertible bra and Res-Q-taping the dress to it, with limited success) kind of takes some of the fun out of a party.