Part II: 5 Gown Styles I Like And Would Wear

On Monday I wrote a blog describing 5 gown styles I dislike and won't wear even if a top designer were to loan them to me for free. Instead, I'd buy a gown off the rack. Well, perhaps it begs the follow-up question what gown styles do I like? Therefore, allow me to post 5 Gown Styles That Are My Cup of Tea. Here we go ...

As you can see, I prefer balanced, classic, or even modern styles of gowns. I'm also fine with a fun element on the gown as long as the gown remains tasteful and above all flattering and pretty. At a fancy function, I also like to enjoy the evening instead of having to manage a problem dress caused by too much dress (a train, etc), or a feature that is determined to pop open or work itself lopsided out of place.

I mean, getting to attend a gala and dressing up is a special occasion ... usually commemorating or celebrating something that doesn't occur every day. I'd never waste a chance to make the extra effort to look my best and then my desire is to forget about my attire and enjoy the evening out!

I have a ball gown that resembles this black one.

A mid-ankle length makes sashaying around the banquet room less cumbersome, and black gowns are a favorite for their slenderizing effect. A black gown for a black-tie event might also let you get away with wearing the dress (with bling) multiple times to mingle, glitter, and shine the night away in the future! I think people tend to remember bold (red, lime green, orange, or bird feathers) before neutrals. Chances are with black, they'll simply remember how dressy and polished you look at the formal affair without remembering you wore it last year. What's more, I favor a mid-ankle to a full-length gown for ease. I don't have handlers to help me futz with yards of fabric. In NYC, it's not uncommon after attending a gala to walk to a fancy bar/grill for an after-party.

What styles do you like? Which order (#1 then #2) is more important to you?: Would you rather stand out or look pretty?

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Part I: 5 Gown Styles I Dislike And Won't Wear

May is a time when retailers feature ball gowns as people attend proms, weddings, award shows, and charity events. Different strokes for different folks apply. Often style boils down to personal tastes and arbitrariness.

So let's have some fun! I'll share 5 styles of gowns that are not my cup of tea. If a leading designer sent me a couture dress to wear to a high-profile gala in one of the following styles, I'd turn it down and buy something off the rack. That's how much I dislike them. So here we go!

5 Gown Styles I Dislike and Won't Wear include:

      

1) The Asymmetrical Gown (including the top image) - I dislike gowns that are off-center or have a noticeable piece of fabric missing from the hemline. Is it a cape or a dress? I prefer balanced hemlines all the way around, and I dislike sporting a formal dress covering one leg in a different proportion than the other leg. Like with minor children, I like to treat my limbs with the same status. I also dislike the asymmetrical light green gown below👇 showing both legs. What's that skirt-like flap in the middle of the front? Toga girl. Was there not enough material to go around?😁

2) A One-Sided Strap Gown - On me, it's a balance thing. I prefer either no straps or 2 straps, but not a single strap on one side only ... and the same goes for sleeves!! Give me either sleeveless or two sleeves on a frock! The other arm is waiting for its sleeve.😳

3) The Bare Midriff Gown - I can't imagine attending a formal indoor gala in a 2-piece dress showing a lot of flesh! The style is more beach-friendly than ballroom-worthy. Another worry is air conditioning! Burrr!☃❄❅❆

         

4) The Deep Dive Cleavage Gown - No, no, never, ever, Jennifer Lopez! It isn't me!! At a fancy shindig, I do not want to see that much of another woman's anatomy and certainly don't want eyes I-do-not-know gazing at mine. Outside of a nudist camp, there's something unequal about it.

5) High Or Cross Front Neck Gown  - The opposite of deep dive cleavage reminds me of a noose! Lose the hangman's knot, lasso, bibb, or whatever that extra textile is for a neckline showcasing the loveliness of a human neck ornamented with a necklace ... yeah, that style is more me.

On THE SAVVY SHOPPER, I mostly write about likes, not dislikes, but fashion should be more fun than serious so I hope you find humor in today's blog. What style of gown is your least favorite? Feel free to share a few of your own out-of-favor gown styles.

Part II: Gown Styles I Like and Will Wear will be published on Wednesday.

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Dresses For A Senior Mother

Are you surprised by my choices? For a moment let's think outside the box. 

Today I'll post the dresses I bought for my elderly mom over the span of 2 1/2 years. The top 4 dresses are my latest purchase for her. She requested sleeves. She likes pink when available. Florals are lovely on her too. In the above image, 3 of the dresses are $12 and the pink gauze dress is $17, so steals at Old Navy this week!

Here are the 6 Features I Look for in Selecting Dresses for my Senior Mother:

1) Easy to slip on and off

2) Easy to machine wash and dry

3) Soft fabrics - I like cotton, linen, rayon, or a blend of these cool textiles for spring and summer. A little spandex is fine. She also has a part wool, part rayon knit dress for winter. 

4) She prefers loose clothes, so I usually order her a size large. Although my mother isn't large in weight or stature, the large size often fits her upper body better, the reason is a mystery to me.

5) Dress lengths that won't trip her  - At Old Navy, I must judge whether to order her dresses in petite or regular. She is petite in pants, yet ON dress styles aren't consistent in sizing. The 4 dresses at the top of the blog are called mini swing dresses, therefore I ordered her the dresses in regular as opposed to petite sizes, with the anticipation they'll fit her slightly above her knees -- not as the minis shown in the photos. If I'm wrong ON offers free returns or exchanges.

6) Cuteness - My mother is a chic dresser. Her style has become more casual as she's gotten physically less flexible and moves with less ease. I do my best to meld pizzazz with easy-to-wear and carefree fashion.

Frequently clothes made expressly for seniors look dowdy and old-fashioned or like bedclothes. Their greater cost is also puzzling. 

There's absolutely no reason for an elderly woman (1) to look frumpy, (2) to adorn ill-fitted clothes (3) to sport clothes resembling pajamas and slippers, or (4) to pay significantly more moola for them than younger women.

Crinkle Gauze Mini Swing Dresses - Also in hot pink, amber, black, and light blue.

Just like my clothes, my mother's dresses can be dressed up or down, and for the price of one dress at a senior apparel shop, at Old Navy, we brought an entire wardrobe of more attractive everyday dresses to wear over all 4 seasons!

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The Met Gala 2024

Zendaya Photo: Theo Wargo/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty. My favorite dress of the evening! The rest of the photos are courtesy of Getty.

Sometimes celebrities wear gowns to media events that stand out over what would be thought appropriate off the red carpet and frequently the dresses are creative, risquè, and attention-grabbing. In other words, achieving their goal! 

As a non-celebrity, I would avoid anything too sheer or revealing, as well as, too outlandish or too much dress to handle, if say, I received a surprise invitation to attend the Met Gala in a fantasy world. At the high-profile fashion bash of the year, I'd still very much wish to look beautiful, as well as, enjoy the ball sashaying around all evening.

The theme of this year's Met Gala was "Garden of Life," so  I'll feature a few of my favorite gowns where IMHO, the lucky attendees managed to incorporate the Met Gala's theme while still looking classy and pretty! Not always easy to do!

My final photo of model Kaia Gerber (child of model Cindy Crawford and girlfriend of actor Austin Butler) shows the gown I'd be most comfortable wearing on or off the red carpet but I've separated it from my Met Gala 2024 picks because although it's a gorgeous dress, how does it fit in with the Garden of Life theme? Putting myself in Kaia's place, she may not have felt comfortable at this time in her life (and her first Met Gala invite) to take risks, instead opting for something safe and classic. Perhaps she's too practical, and perhaps it's wise to select a dress you feel very pretty wearing to enjoy the gala over a dress you're self-conscious and uncomfortable wearing, where you stand out like an ostentatious sore thumb. Certainly Kaia, in her 2024 Met gown, is nothing less than ravishing! 

At the end of the evening it's never ever wrong to be yourself -- just make it your best self when attending a camera-flashing, A-list affair. People (peers, the public) can never unsee!👀😳

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Thursday's Chelsea Boots And More

It was hard to pick only one style to feature!

Thursday is the name of a boot company right up THE SAVVY SHOPPER's alley! It's the type of business I love to introduce to my readers. The boot company offers customers the highest quality handcrafted boots at "honest" -- without a doubt, reasonable prices. There are no cutting corners, customers get the best materials available on every Thursday boot or product made. You'll also find comfort, durability, and versatility in their various styles of boots. What you won't find are boots that are made cheap, have poor craftsmanship, or are overpriced. 

Customers pay honest prices for ridiculously comfortable and well-constructed footwear that is incredibly stylish to boot (I couldn't resist the pun:).

Here's how they do it. Thursday Boot Company was launched as a Kickstart campaign in 2014 by Nolan Walsh and Connor Wilson, raising $275,000. There is no middleman. Thursday reinvests what they save by selling directly to customers and putting profits back into premium materials including full-grain leather, supple glove leather linings, and cork bed midsoles for comfort. After launching, word caught on! The company quickly went from selling 1,000 boots per month to 1,000 boots per week.

After succeeding with an array of the highest-quality and chic boots, Thursday expanded into dress shoes, sneakers, jackets, and accessories. Every piece is thoughtfully designed and meticulously tested to be functional and fashionable. 

These full-grain leather boots were made for pounding the concrete pavements of city streets. They won't fall apart after a few wears, after taking a beating, or by getting wet. Thursday's footwear, jackets, and accessories are made for people who live busy dapper lives. There's no compromise between style, quality, or price. 

If Thursday's child has far to go, you can't go wrong wearing Thursday's Chelsea boots for super cuteness.

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Million Dollar Rubies Sold

Imagine owning massive top-quality rubies! Let's take a look at 2 stones sometimes called the king of gems that were sold in 2023. 

First up is The Sunrise Ruby, a rare Cartier Burmese ruby, set with 2 side diamonds in a platinum ring. Last year it was sold at auction by Christie's from the estate of Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten for $13,055,000, less than predicted due to a bit of controversy that is unrelated to the gemstone's origin. In 2015 Ms. Horten paid $30,300,000 for the ruby. According to Christie's, the price was higher in 2015 due to the back and forth of 2 bidders at the time.

Below👇are different angles of the cushion shape, brilliant cut Sunrise Ruby. It weighs 25.59 carats.

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Mozambique, a country in Southeastern Africa, is emerging as a rich source of premium-quality rubies. Our 2nd gemstone is a Mozambique ruby that fetched $34,800,000 at Sotheby's last year, setting a new record for the price of a ruby. 

Called the Estrela de Fura (Porchugese for Star of Fura) Ruby, at 101 carats uncut, it's both the largest gem-quality ruby ever found, as well as, the highest price ever paid at auction! Cut down to 55.22 carats by gem dealer and cutter Francois Garaude into a cushion shape, this stunning ruby bears remarkable symmetry and balance. It is gigantic, unheated, and clean making it a rare natural ruby. The ruby's pigeon blood color is equal to the celebrated Burmese rubies. Under ultraviolet light, the Estrela de Fura ruby radiates a strong fluorescence. 

In addition to oohing and ahhing, all I can say is a regular person's rubies are very small and flat in comparison!😊

BTW, The Sunrise and Estrela de Fura rubies were acquired by anonymous private collectors. The new owner of Ms. Horten's ruby lives in the Middle East. I always hope these huge ideal gemstones eventually end up in a museum so the public too can see them.

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And now here are jewels for average people like you and me. 😛 

Below👇are smaller, less-perfect rubies from Macy's or Saks. Perhaps not heirloom nuggets, yet they are pretty too, no? Each piece is 1-9/10 carats, a versatile size that can be worn both daily and to galas ... and the cost is more attainable. Remember my motto: First a dreamer, then a realist!

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