Not fashion savvy, 15 years older than the rest and don't know what to wear.......

crystaltipps

for my graduation ceremony.

There must be people here that have a good idea and I am getting fairly desperate now - any suggestions will be gratefully received. I am throwing myself at your mercy, MSE fashionistas!

I am a mature student (35), and size 14-16, and 5'7''. Can anyone suggest anything? I would like to have some navy or blue involved as they are my degree 'colours', I like the idea of a dress but a lot of the pictures I have seen seem to feature a shirt and a skirt combination which does look nice, albeit a tad plain, And, of course, not much of it is on display anyway with the gown etc but I have had my hair cut etc and would really like to look nice in the photos as I don't like being photographed at the best of times!

Ordering online would have to be pretty promptly done - the ceremony is next Tuesday.

Much thanks in advance of the hoards of replies!:D

foreign_correspondent

I would go for something relatively plain and simple, something classic.. you will probably want to have your graduation pics on display for some time, and anything too fashionable now will very soon look very dated!

If I remember rightly, when I graduated, the gown had elbow length sleeves, so arms from elbow down were on show in the photos, so you may want to consider that when deciding whether to go long or short sleeved.

Also, different shades of blue can be very hard to match up - some can be greeny, others purple-toned... and I assume you won't see the graduation gown till the day.

I take it the gown is black with a blue hood? If so a nice black dress may be easiest...

Gloomendoom

Won't your gown cover your clothes up?

Just concentrate on your shoes.

SuiDreams

You will need something with a button to hook the gown onto or they will have to pin in on. I had 2 graduations many years ago now and wore a skirt suit to both (one was red the other navy).

crystaltipps

Thanks for your reply FC.

See, I didn't know about the blues thing! lol. This is why I need help I do have/wear a lot of black dresses and I fear that will be what I end up doing with the bonus of it being slimming.

You are right about wanting to keep it classy looking and 'timeless'. I just wish I had more fashion sense.

I quite like the Boden dresses (but not so keen on the price tag). And some of the girls are liking the 'Mad Men' fifties style dresses but I haven't got a very defined waist and I think that they may make me look/feel even chunkier than I already do!

Oh, the joys - almost as painful as my finals, this malarky!

crystaltipps

SuiDreams wrote: »

You will need something with a button to hook the gown onto or they will have to pin in on. I had 2 graduations many years ago now and wore a skirt suit to both (one was red the other navy).

Yes, they recommend a shirt for that reason I think. Thank you all for your comments so far - I will hit the shoe shops for some brill shoes....but even that seems tricky. Grassed lawn area outside for the photos and wearing them all day (and evening) means killer heels may be regretted!

Thank you all so far.

foreign_correspondent

crystaltipps wrote: »

Thanks for your reply FC.

See, I didn't know about the blues thing! lol. This is why I need help I do have/wear a lot of black dresses and I fear that will be what I end up doing with the bonus of it being slimming.

You are right about wanting to keep it classy looking and 'timeless'. I just wish I had more fashion sense.

I quite like the Boden dresses (but not so keen on the price tag). And some of the girls are liking the 'Mad Men' fifties style dresses but I haven't got a very defined waist and I think that they may make me look/feel even chunkier than I already do!

Oh, the joys - almost as painful as my finals, this malarky!

Why not go out and try a few on? It's the only way to find out - peplum dresses are in at the moment, and tend to add curves and define your waist... not that you will see it under the gown anyway, but nice for when you take it off!

I would try Dorothy Perkins and Debenhams..

foreign_correspondent

if you dont have a very defined waist, a dress may well be more flattering than a skirt and top - they tend to cut you in half a bit!

oh, and congratulations, it's no mean feat getting a degree as a mature student - I did a masters in my early thirties and remember the stress of juggling it with everything else! well done you! enjoy the day :-)

ali-t

I graduated again a few weeks ago and the company who were filming it for the big screens in the venue had the cameras placed on the ground pointing up the way.

This meant that those wearing short skirts gave the camera an almost pornographic view up their skirts. Those with amazing legs looked great, the others just looked inappropriate.

I wore a black maxi dress as having previously worn a blouse to a previous graduation, I found the weight of the cloak dragged my blouse up the way which ruined the neckline of it anyway.

thehappybutterfly

I like Monsoon - great clothes and a really good range I think. I got great customer service from them when I was choosing a dress for a Xmas do. They were so patient and got an idea of what I was after and they brought out dress after dress after dress for me until I found one I liked. I was in there for at least 90 minutes and left with a dress I wear all the time - that was about 7 years ago and it still looks good!

You should also get something you're comfy in - you'll be that outfit for hours. I've never had a graduation but I'd imagine that gown being hot and heavy? I think if you had a skirt suit, you'd find yourself fussing over your top/blouse, pulling on your jacket etc. A simple shift dress - 60's style maybe? You don't need a waist for that!

And congratulations! Good luck on your big day x

jenhug

what about a peplum style dress?