Monday, February 8, 2010

Question of the Day

So today's Question of the Day is a fashion question.

I "know" someone (no it's not me) who is wanting to wear this dress to a Battalion/Brigade Ball. Let me just say I'm all for not looking like everyone else, but I feel like military balls are not a place for really crazy get-ups. One, I don't like being referred to as the girl who wore that really crazy, ugly dress and Two, I like to make a good impression on the upper brass.



This is the dress.

I personally wouldn't wear it. I think the cut of the dress is good, but the patterns on it look like someone took those hideous 60's inspired black light posters and combined it in a dress.

Your thoughts?

29 comments:

Battles on the Homefront said...

Yeah, I would say that is a no go. I wore a dress with a similar cut to our last ball but it was a a purple and gray fade, not psychedelic. I think that is a little over the top for a ball.

Mira said...

I love the dress, it's great for summer night date but it's not a good choice for the military ball. wife's dress should meet formal military uniform (weather it's blues or mess) by carefully picked colors and pattern. military balls are quite conservative gathering so I don't think this dress would fit it right

BSS said...

That's a lot better than some of the dresses I've seen wives wear at mil ball. I wouldn't wear it, but I wouldn't think twice if I saw someone else wear it. At the last mil ball we went to, the Battallion XO's wife wore a similar dress and looked absolutely stunning.

Mary Teresa said...

I love the dress! lol I'd totally wear it, but probably not to a ball. Those generally require a bit more formality.

d.a.r. said...

Lots better than some of the dresses I've seen!! The last ball we had to go to, there was a girl who was wearing a turquoise leopard print mini dress. It nicely matched her leopard print "sleeves" of tattoos....

Amanda C. said...

i agree, with a situation like that i would go with a dress with less print. a lot less. although it is beautiful, i wouldnt wear it at this social situation.

Sara said...

I'm going to be the weirdo here and say I my first thought was that nothing was wrong with it. Normally I'm a stickler about these things, but I've seen the maxi dress (like this) done at several balls and generally the girl looks so pretty in it I envy her. Maybe the print could be toned down? But I see a floor length dress that isn't super revealing and it has a very classic cut to it.

ABW said...

I'm with Sara, I like it.

I've seen a lot, lot, lot worse at the last ball we went to.

KrysTros said...

The dress would probably look good........on the beach, but not for a ball. Thanks for letting me know about the sushi place. My husband and I were both stationed in Vicenza (he in the 80's, me in the mid to late 90's) and we swear we are going to go back soon. Nice to know there is a little more variety there!

Natalie said...

It's not the worst dress in the world but I wouldn't wear it. It looks a little summery for this time of the year.

Lindsay Gray said...

I don't hate it, but I wouldn't wear it. I'm just not a big fan of prints like that.

As for it being appropriate attire? I think it's okay, but not something I would choose.

I guess I just never look at a military ball as a place to be "remembered". I just want to blend in and look nice but appropriate. Some women use the ball as their "time to shine" when in my opinion, it's not.

It's still a work function, wether it's a social one or not.

Lindsey said...

I would look HUGE in that dress! It looks comfy though!

Winnie said...

Hi! My name is Wilmary and I just got a blogspot acct. I'm also an Armt wife.

I think the dress is nice for a date, a friend's party, or even a romantic dinner but for a ball she should complement her husband's uniform. Here she can find more info. about this http://www.usma.edu/protocol/images/p600_60.pdf I wouldn't want to be noticed before my husband is, a wife can make or brake her husband's career.

Marine and Beauty Queen said...

I see nothing wrong with the dress. Considering the strict attire of the military, though, this dress would probably not be among the "best dressed" list at the ball. I would absolutely wear it to a formal dinner at someone's home, though, or to something a little less dictated.

JG said...

Yeah, probably not appropriate for that venue. It's pretty, but not formal.

Stacey Cannon said...

That is HORRIBLE for a military ball!!! When you dress for a ball, you should choose something elegant...classic. Understated and simple is always better. As much as I hate it sometimes, we are always a reflection on our husbands...We ARE judged based on our appearance, whether right or wrong...I'm not saying I advocate it, but it's just how things are. I love fashion...I love trends and the latest looks, but a formal military ball is NOT the place to make a statement. Leave that to the red carpet! :)

Kayla said...

OMG please don't wear that. It would be cute for like... a summer thing that wasn't military. But that's a little informal (and ugly no offense) for a mil ball. Yikes.

Patience said...

I would wear this out to dinner or to a BBQ. It is a cute dress, but doesn't seem formal enough for a ball.

Lisa said...

Definitely not my first choice for a military ball. I'm with Lindsay, my goal was not to stand out. I don't want to be remembered for my dress.

It just doesn't strike me as formal, although the style is really nice. Not a fan of that type of a pattern.

Jessie said...

Uh.. yes! Totally agree! The style is amazing, the pattern.. eh.. not so much. Especially for a ball.

Anonymous said...

The cut is nice, but the overall look is heinous. It almost looks like a crazy floral billboard. Tell her to keep on looking.

A Lady in Waiting said...

Not sure if I could ever pull off the dress...but no matter what I would never wear it (nor recommend anybody else) to a military ball. The cut of the dress is great, but the pattern is a little too much in this situatin. It's just over the top and you really don't want/need that at an event like this. Whatever uniform her hubby is wearing should tell her how she should dress.

Jessie said...

PS, I'm leaving you an award tomorrow!

Full of Heart said...

While I don't LOVE the print of the dress, I kind of like how it looks, and I definitely like the cut of the dress.
That being said I DO NOT think it is appropriate for a military ball. I'm right there with you that A) You should not be drawing alot of attention to yourself for some crazy dress (and thus drawing that unwanted attention to your spouse) and B) YOU making a good impression is HUGE for your spouse's career.
I'm not normally one to be toting that sort of schtuff, but I've seen what a difference my behavior/attitudes can make on Sailor Boy's career, and yes, I WILL use that our advantage!

Unknown said...

NOPE! Not appropiate in the slightest! A military ball is something that you are pretty much an accesory to your husband. You want to make an elegant glamorous appearance. The thing I always try to remember is that the military is VERY old fashioned and traditional. So I try to blend that with a twist of modern... but that is something usually like my lime green shoes you only see during the electric slide, not my whole dress!

Amanda and Tim said...

I was amazed at all the dresses in December when we went to the St. Barbara's Day Ball. By far, the craziest and most inappropriate dresses were worn by the German women. I understand they might not know the suggested attire but it would have been great if their soldier told them what is appropriate and what is not. The worst dress... a hot pink halter dress that showed major boobage that only fell an inch below her va-jay-jay. I can only imagine the dresses we will see at our next ball on the 20th.

Mrs. Bierschenk said...

I completely agree with most everyone else. This is not appropriate for a military ball. The term ball should be taken in account along with the fact it is a "dress to impress" type situation, as a spouse of a service member it is your job to make him (or her) look good, not draw attention to yourself.

Jenny said...

no. no. no.

Oh and I think the person you "know" decided to go with a different dress. Thank Goodness.

Anonymous said...

It's entirely too casual for a Ball.