Ordered my wrap...and that's a wrap.

I'll still have to pick up my altered dress but that's just a trip to the shop.

All done!

Found the shoes. My God, my feet are huge.

Turns out the best sizes for my feet now are either a women's 13 with enough adjustments that the width is not fixed, or a women's 12 wide.

So at this point I guess I just wait for my purse to arrive, pick up my dress from the alteration shop, and buy a wrap. I'll have to check and make sure the wrap won't literally be coming on a slow boat from China like the purse is. I moved quickly enough on the purse that it had over a month to get here without a problem but at this point it might be too late for another item from a seller with a name like DUISHENOZLMAGXOOM or something. I'd be very curious to find out how the sellers determine their inscrutable shop names. (less)

Found the shoes. My God, my feet are huge.

Turns out the best sizes for my feet now are either a women's 13 with enough adjustments that the width is not fixed, or a women's 12 wide.

So at this point I guess I just wait for my purse to arrive, pick up my dress from the alteration shop, and b (...more)

Got guess number 2 with regard to the shoes. They looked stupid and were strangling my feet - double-decker losing proposal.

I got kinda impatient and decided to break out the big guns, so to speak. I ordered two pair of gold sandals from Dolce Vita in sizes 12 and 13, and two pair from Catherine's in sizes 12W and 12WW. Again part of my problem is that I no longer really know what size I wear. I've been wearing men's size 11 hiking sandals nonstop for over a decade, so I now have foot-shaped feet. Another thing about me that's kinda weird - not wrong, certainly, but not something with which the world is especially equipped to deal with me as a consumer. So now I have nearly $500 worth of sandals coming to me, most of which will be returned, but hopefully not all. If none of these solutions work out, then I have to decide whether I'm seriously going to take a trip to the nearest Nordstrom (which is not at all near), or whether I'm going to abandon all hope and just try to get plain black flats for my big ol' feet. Any which way I think the final answer is going to cost a lot.

Well, I kind of suspected this was going to be an expensive outing. And like I said, this can be my fall/winter formal outfit for at least 15 years once I've got it together. Friends' grandchildren get married once in a while. It's smart to have. Depending on what the dress code at my friend's wedding in Las Vegas turns out to be like in January, it might get a second wearing this very season.

I have decided on my jewelry. Indian gold earrings, and my thickest gold chain, which is still not especially thick.

So, probably still need a wrap, and other than that I'm just trying to find shoes that fit. (less)

Got guess number 2 with regard to the shoes. They looked stupid and were strangling my feet - double-decker losing proposal.

I got kinda impatient and decided to break out the big guns, so to speak. I ordered two pair of gold sandals from Dolce Vita in sizes 12 and 13, and two pair from Cat (...more)

Ordered a purse. I really didn't want to do that yet, but apparently the purse I was looking at is delivered by slug from Katmandu or some nonsense. It's a bit strange looking but really that's exactly why I like it. Black vegan leather with an emerald and gold dragon emblazoned on it. The green matches my dress. Dragons are basically cephalopods that happen to fly and breathe fire. Well, not exactly, but...I'm sleep-deprived, and it makes sense to me. The rest of the world can cope.

Still making jewelry choices. I have no emeralds, neither natural nor created. The only emerald I ever remember having was in my engagement ring, and that went the way of the dodo, along with the dodo who put it on my finger, a long time ago. I also decided as a teenager that I was a silver/white gold person rather than a yellow gold person, and while I stand by that, it's not as strong a pairing with the green. I may forget about color matching stones altogether...I have some gold Indian earrings that are pretty striking, so I can certainly wear those. I have several gold chains, including one very delicate one with a small, chip diamond heart pendant, but alongside the earrings I may find that a heavier chain with no pendant is a better look. I don't have a gold ring anywhere, except one set with a tiny pale blue stone, probably from my preteen years when my mother still thought she could bribe me into her idea of femininity if she made it seem fancy enough.

(You know despite her having been a horribly abusive narcissist, I actually do feel just a little bit badly for her once in a while. Imagine dreaming all your life of having a baby girl, dressing her in little sailor dresses until she gets old enough for lipstick and three-inch heels and a bridal gown...then gradually discovering your kid is basically an over-6-foot-tall asexual man with menstrual cramps, who will occasionally cross-dress back into apparent womanhood for one reason or another, but who has severely mixed feelings about the whole affair and definitely won't be providing you with a son-in-law, much less grandchildren. But if it's any cold consolation, she may have realized by now that I haven't really enjoyed being me under the circumstances any more than she enjoyed being my mother. We both got pretty short ends of the stick.)

...*sigh*...anyway...

Still waiting on my next guess re shoes. They should be arriving tomorrow. I hope they fit. I hate shoe shopping. I wish they made shoes to fit our feet rather than expecting our feet to fit the existing range of mass-produced shoes.

May still need a wrap.
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Ordered a purse. I really didn't want to do that yet, but apparently the purse I was looking at is delivered by slug from Katmandu or some nonsense. It's a bit strange looking but really that's exactly why I like it. Black vegan leather with an emerald and gold dragon emblazoned on it. Th (...more)

Got myself a perfectly ravishing cocktail dress...well, ravishing in an "it's October and I don't want to freeze my petunias off" sort of way. It's very lush looking, with sequins and velvet in emerald green. I wear jewel tones well. Glad it was on sale because getting it altered is going to run me $95. Not sure I would've taken that route if I'd known in advance, but fitting me for any clothing, especially special occasion wear, is damn near impossible. I love this body but the clothing industry clearly doesn't.

Now I'm shopping for shoes, which is even harder. Already bought, tried on, and returned one pair.

I will definitely need to buy a purse and probably a wrap to go with it.

I'll have to look through my jewelry and see if I have anything fitting. I have a couple of costume jewelry items marked on Etsy in case I decide it's necessary to spend still more money on this event.

My plan is for this to be my winter special occasion outfit until I am at least 60. I'm treating it as an investment.

Somebody asked me an interesting question today - why I'm going. It's mostly because it's a benefit event and I love the institution for which it's a benefit...but honestly as much as this sort of thing is totally not my usual bag, something about it took me in. I *wanted* to take myself out for an indulgent night on the town in one of my favorite places, looking great. Mine has never been a life with a lot of grand celebrations, and practically none of them have really been any fun for me. Confirmation? About Mom. Elementary graduation? Also about Mom. Prom? Was eventually fun, but first had to satisfy Mom by having her do my hair like a damn baby doll. Honors award dinner? Totally for Mom. Another prom? Somehow also for Mom. High school graduation with honors? Yeah, in THAT dress, it was totally about Mom. College graduation with high honors? All about making Mom look good, which I apparently failed to do somehow because she didn't speak to me for 3 days afterwards. Master's graduation? Tried to get out of that party, actually, but I couldn't because Mom. School was the only arena in which I ever accomplished anything which mainstream culture considers worthy of a party myself, and most of my married friends either got married before we met, eloped, or had a wedding so far away I couldn't afford plane fare. So really getting gussied up and painting the town red for a happy occasion is more or less new to me. The preparation is a lot but I'm really looking forward to the event. I suppose it's a good thing I gave up alcohol so long ago, otherwise I'm sure I'd want a few drinks, and that wouldn't work since I'll have to drive home afterwards. I'll eat some chocolate - that will be better anyway.

People have been asking who is accompanying me...nobody. My partner lives 1800 miles away. I have to do most things alone. I really don't mind, though it would be fun to do more things together if a plane ride weren't always involved for at least one of us. (less)

Got myself a perfectly ravishing cocktail dress...well, ravishing in an "it's October and I don't want to freeze my petunias off" sort of way. It's very lush looking, with sequins and velvet in emerald green. I wear jewel tones well. Glad it was on sale because getting it altered is going (...more)