sleek cocktail dress
Pulling an outfit together for a special event can be daunting when your over 40. It’s hard enough to go out and find the right dress, then there’s the famous question…”What Shoes Do I Wear?”
Donna, a longtime Fabulous After 40 reader, has a love of fashion and great style sense. I’ve even featured her in several blog posts in the past.
Recently she was preparing for her high school reunion and wrote to ask my opinion of her outfit.
I thought her dress was fabulous and looked super on her beautiful figure, but suggested that she replace the shoe with something more feminine.
I felt the boot looked a little “clunky” and was too casual with her sleek cocktail dress.
However, I soon found out that Donna had seen a model in the exact dress and was inspired to try the same shoes as shown in the photo.
This is a great example of how we can be sucked into trying a trend because it looks so great on a young model!
Before you buy your next pair of shoes read over these tips I’ve jotted down to help you pick the right ones.
1) Try to pick a shoe with the same level of dressiness as your outfit.
For instance, this dress is really dressy and so would look great with a slingback pump or nude peep toe.
2) The heel of the shoe should also reflect the same “feel” of the outfit.
If it has a wood heel, you won’t want to wear it with a fancy dress.
3) What is shoe fabric?
If you have a shiny or very formal cocktail dress, you will want to go with a shoe that has a shiny fabric or some sparkle to it. A flat leather pump will look like you are going to work, so a patent leather or silky fabric will look better.
4) If you can’t wear heels you might want to wear pants instead.
If you have foot problems and can’t wear heels your best bet is to wear a pants outfit. Most dressy dresses will look matronly if you wear a low or flat shoe with it.
Donna ended up with a pair of gorgeous patent slingback pumps that I think go perfectly with her dress!
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What about boots? I think black leather boots with heels would have looked great with this dress, much better than the booties she is wearing. Especially at this time of year (January) boots look very chic
Hi Kathie, While Iusually agree that a black tall boot can be a great addition to an outfit in this case I don’t think it would work. This dress is a summer looking dress and also more on the formal side. A leather boot would be too casual and heavy looking with it and make the outfit look “costumey”.
I wholeheartedly agree – Donna looks really fabulous in that dress, and the shoes don’t really work, even on the young model. Go Donna!
Thank you for your tips – they are quite helpful. Sometimes I don’t entirely agree….. In a perfect world maybe all women would wear a high heel with a dressy outfit, but are you really telling me I can’t wear my Ralph Lauren black lace cocktail dress with a velvet shoe with a kitten heel? What about Michele Obama? She didn’t look too matronly to me at the first inauguration wearing a lw kitten heel. In fact, she looked feminine and powerful at the same time. If it’s good enough for Michele Obama, it’s good enough for me. She is the ultimate fabulous after 40 model.
Hi Cathy, Thanks for your kind way of agreeing to disagree! My wording should have not sounded like I think you can only wear high heels with dresses. You are quite right in your comment that a kitten heel can be worn with a nice dress when all the elements come together properly it can certainly work. But it can be tricky too… the easiest way to see if your shoes go with your dress is to take a photo of yourself in the outfit and assess it. Looking in the mirror for some reason does not always give you the same view as a photo does.