This belt is not flattering and the bow is too cutesy for my taste!
In an earlier post we told you to get rid of those self belts. Many of you asked, “and replace them with what?”
Here is a dress that I (JoJami) have had in my closet for a while. I love how comfortable it is, but the self belt made this dress look too cutesy pie, looking for me. Also, it sort of made my tummy look fat. So I tried it with a wide leather with stretchy in the back belt that I bought recently and it updated the dress immediately! It is also much more figure flattering! 
So, why not go in and see what dresses you have that you can change out the belt and look better!
This belt is leather in front and stretch in the back so it is comfortable!
The other day, my Aunt Mary called me to ask me a question on what to wear to an upcoming wedding. She mentioned that this was an evening summer wedding and she wanted to be cool and comfortable, but still look classy and fabulous after 40!
Here were here choices:
- A light yellow linen suit
- Blue sleeveless cotton pique dress (lined) with self belt. (bought on sale!)
This dress has a "self" belt
I asked her bring over the 2 options. The yellow suit was just too boxy looking and looked a little too casual for an evening wedding. The blue dress was really pretty, but there were 2 issues.
- The thin belt that came with the dress was not flattering
- She would need to buy a sweater to wear with it.
The first advice I gave her was to try the dress on with NO belt. How many of us feel that, just because a dress comes with a belt, we HAVE to wear it! As we age, our middle thickens and tiny pieces of fabric around our waist does not look so great on many of our middle age bodies! So, we got rid of the belt and the dress looked a million times better on her.
Next, she felt she needed a top or sweater to wear over the dress to hide her arms. I took one look at her arms and said, be proud of your arms! They look fine! Sometimes we are too hard on ourselves!!!
However, she did want to get a sweater, since the evenings are starting to get cool in our area back east. The neckline on this dress is wider than normal, so not every sweater will work.
Here were her marching orders:
- Find a sweater that is not too long, best if it is shorter.
- Make sure to take the dress with you when you shop, so you can try it with the sweater.
- Make sure the sweater is a thin fabric and does not compete with the neckline
- Find a pair of nude shoes to go with the dress.
- Do not try to wear a necklace with this type of dress. Instead, just wear earnings and a cuff style bracelet.
It ended up that Aunt Mary, went out to find a sweater and and ended up with a new suit, instead for the wedding. Bottom line is, when buying a dress on sale, make sure you LOVE it!
If it comes with a self belt, throw it away and use a leather one or not one at all!
For more great tips on how to dress for a wedding, check out our e-book, Tweak Your Chic, Dressing the Mother of the Bride!
You can download this e-book now and get instant access to all your questions!
Dress with no belt...looks much better!
