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This past weekend I went to the wedding of a young friend/co-worker. Since most of my friends are closer to my own age and already married and my family is far away across the country, I don’t often go to weddings so haven’t needed a “wedding guest” type of dress in a long time. And since I need that type of dress so infrequently, I didn’t want to have to spend money on such a specialty item. Thanks goodness Gwynnie Bee was there to save the day!

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Around mid-February, I edited my Gwynnie Bee closet a bit, putting casual items on “hold,” which means they’re still in your virtual closet for when you’re ready for them, but GB won’t send them to you til you make them “active” again. I also put the prettiest dresses on “priority.” This way I was very likely to get something wedding appropriate in time for the big day!

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I was very pleased to receive this plus-size Tahari dress about 10 days before the wedding, giving me time to find shoes and complete the outfit. I don’t usually wear such a form-fitting dress…and “buy body-shaper” was on my to-do list but…I was pooped before I got to it so that’s that.

I love the big floral print and the fluted sleeves…and the exposed zipper detail in the back.

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My black Old Navy coat was the perfect length for the dress and because it’s a very simple style it easily dresses up or down. And I already had this bright pink pashmina scarf that worked perfectly with the dress. I removed the cross-body strap from my black bag and turned it into a clutch for evening – I love versatile items like that!

I wore my favorite turquoise earrings…

Earrings tied into the color of the dress

Earrings match the lamp

The shoes were another story. Shoes are *really* a struggle for me. Under the best of circumstances I have hard to fit feet – wide, very high instep and flat arches. Add to the fact that I can just barely reach my feet – so tying, velcro-ing, tongue-tidying – all a challenge, if not an impossibility. Add all THAT to my foot pain – heel spurs on both feet, continued neuropathy from the chemo, along with who-knows-what-else causing pain elsewhere…and finding a shoe that fits, is comfortable, and doesn’t cause me anymore pain than I already have – is really a struggle. So I tried on the orthotic brands like Vionic, the “comfort” brands like Naturalizer and Easy Spirit…but nothing was as comfortable as this funky, off-road-looking shoe from a brand I’d never heard of, Taryn Rose. When I slipped my foot inside I LITERALLY heard the angels sing. They were as lovely and cushy as my super soft Cloudfoam sneakers! AND they were on the clearance rack! So much winning!

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Silly posing ahead. When I shoot indoors with the tripod I always feel like I have to do something  to break up the monotony of “here’s a picture of me in a dress next to the bookcase. here’s another picture of me in a dress next to the bookcase. hey look, here’s a picture of me in a dress next to the bookcase.”

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A classic modeling pose called “Oh Look! A Quarter!”

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And to really break things up, here’s me, The Dancing Machine!

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If you’d like to try Gwynnie Bee for one month FREE, use this link Gwynnie Bee One Month Free and start adding designer items to your virtual closet!

What I’m Wearing:

I’m linking up today with Emma Peach over at Style Splash for her “Style with a Smile” linkup – go take a look at her site for great style ideas for us…uhm…EXPERIENCED ladies 🙂 as well as all the other linked-up blogs!

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