Some Inspiration....Needed!!

So my 20th high school reunion is coming up and, of course, I have NO IDEA what I will wear.

Since it is unlikely that I will be successful in losing half my body weight between now and then, I suppose that I should just concentrate on looking my best as I am now. But I am completely unsure what to make. I want something somewhat dressy, but not too formal. And of course, it must make me look like I weight 40 pounds less than I do.

I spent some time with my stash and also did some snoop-shopping and I came up with a few things....

First, I LOVE this Pucci tunic. But at $885.00, it is more unlikely that I will acquire one than it is that I will lose half my body weight before the reunion:


On the other hand, I have a poly charmeuse in a similar colorway (see the far left):


And I could use this pattern from the January Burda:


I think that would look very nice belted, with a pair of slim black pants underneath. Which just means I have to procure a pair of black pants....

Another option would be to indulge my love of animal print. I have this zebra print pique from the most recent sale at Hancocks:


Which I could make into a pencil skirt ala this Cavalli, which can be had for a mere $390.00:


And I have DOZENS of patterns for pencil skirts! But, it looks like there are seams on the front that I could get a similar look by using this skirt in Burda, Aug 2009:

But that means I would still have to find a shirt. Perhaps a black jersey with drapey cowl neck? Goodness knows I have yards upon yards of black jersey, and recently purchased McCall's 6034:


I also have some of this black sateen from the last $1.95 sale at Fabric.com (top of pic):


Which could make a pretty good knockoff of this Alfani dress from Nordstrom, and at $109.00 it would cost about 10x as much as my super-cheap fabric.


It also seems that shirtdresses are EVERYWHERE, in both wovens and knits. I love the look of this DVF jersey shirtdress, but at $365.00 is a touch out of my price range (this is, if they even had my size available):


But I do have aging in my stash both this jersey:


And this Hot Patterns pattern:


Of course it is important to take into account what is most flattering for my body shape, and with wide hips, a full skirt is a good disguise. For this reason, I tend to look better in clothes with a bit of a "retro vibe," like this Kate Spade, which is available for $355.00 at Nordstrom:


Also available at Nordstrom is this Teri Jon, for $305.00:


I especially like the Teri Jon dress because I have a HUGE length of silver-blue silk that I could use for a kockoff:


And a vintage pattern (one of the hundreds that I have) would probably be great for that silhouette. Perhaps one of these, all of which live in my collection:




I am am really loving the look of the vintage pattern in the blue silk, but would that be TOO retro? Perhps I would be better off rocking the 70's vibe with the Hot Patterns shirt dress? Or head for the 80's with the zebra print skirt and slouchy Flashdance top?

Decisions, decisions!!