That Other Thing I Did on Saturday

That other thing I did on Saturday was go looking for appropriate funeral attire, since I'm  now too small for anything in my wardrobe that might have worked.  It's hard to feel too put-upon about that, although after four hours and twenty friggin' dresses I somehow managed to feel pretty put-upon.

I prevailed, however, and here is a doodle of the dress (and shoes) I ended up with:

Also some other, non-related stuff, because why not?

If you are a lady (or a fashion-conscious gentleman), chances are you totally get why it took me so long.  If you are a regular dude you are probably thinking, "Just buy something black and be done with it- sheesh!" and I don't really blame you.  But let me explain just why, exactly, it took so long.  There were several factors in my Funeral Attire Quest:

1.  Comfortable.  The funeral is in Alabama in late May.  That means it will be hot.  As such I knew I wanted a dress, not a pant suit.
2.  Appropriate.  I tried on quite a few dresses that were physically comfortable, but way too short for me to feel socially comfortable in at a funeral (this is a common problem when shopping in the Jr and petite sections.)  Furthermore there is a certain level of formality to the event- so I had to turn away several dresses that were just too damn casual, in spite of their appropriate hemline.
3.  Flattering.  Call me vain, but I want to make a good showing to relatives I haven't seen in however many years. But because it is spring/summer and "flowy" is currently "in", it makes it even more difficult for me to find a dress because my bosom does not do well in "flowy" bodices.  My ladies, they need some structure, because without it I tend to look fat- and I am not fat, so I bloody well have no intention of appearing to be so.
4.  Fit.  My new Crossfit/climber body means that my already broad back and shoulders are now even broader- and my biceps are larger than they've been since I rowed crew in college.  What this means is that I am now limited to sleeveless options- and while I actually prefer sleeveless, anyway, it just meant that many more dresses I couldn't "just buy".

I did finally find a dress that works- although I literally have to have help zipping myself into it.  Still.  At least it's done (and I'll try to get a picture up later so you can see how it matches up to the doodle).

(And then, of course, I had to get shoes to match... ::sigh::)