Memorial service and fashion

[amethyst73]

I have spent a bit of time poking at websites and the like, looking for something nice-but-not-too-formal in the way of black to wear at Mom's memorial service in June.  I have a long black dress that I sing concerts in, but it's ankle length and really more of an evening dress.  (The service is at 11 AM, but even if it were late afternoon, this dress feels too formal for the occasion.) 

I've pretty much decided on the top: here.  Basically, it's a nice polo shirt, and will of course be black.  You can see the clothing details better with the lighter colors, though.

I'm trying to decide between this long skirt and this short skirt for the bottom.  The shorter skirt is a good length, but it's lined and is thus potentially rather warmer than I'd want and also requires dry-cleaning which I am generally against.  The long skirt is really kind of long, but it can go through the wash AND it has pockets, both of which are moderately serious bonuses.  I got to try both the long and short skirt at the local store today.  The long skirt has the extra weirdness in that it's sized to sit below the waistline, which I'm completely unused to.  Which means that a 6P feels truly immense when I try to pull it up to waist height; I should have tried on a 4P while I was there.  The sitting-below-the-waistline part also means that the 31" length comes down to basically my ankles.  Which defeats the purpose of trying to find a shorter skirt.  The more casual style might make up for that, though?

There were some decently comfortable black pants that were on sale that I'm also considering.  (They don't appear to be on the website - they were marked as clearance in the store.)

I've poked just a little at some other women's clothing sites and am not fond of what I see.  Most of the skirt fashion seems to be short and sheath, which I dislike on the dual basis of not wanting to look like a pencil and being able to move my legs easily when I walk.  Any thoughts/suggestions on this matter would be appreciated by yours truly. 

Comments

[ladybird97.livejournal.com]

*hug*, first of all.

Second...I think that either will look really nice with the polo shirt. I'd lean towards the shorter one, but totally understand about not wanting to deal with the dry-cleaning.

[amethyst73.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Bah, I hate clothing-shopping in general. And, well, dry-cleaning is just such a pain. Mind you, it's likely not a skirt I'd wear real often, so it wouldn't need cleaning all that often (which is something I hadn't thought of earlier)...

[hoshikage.livejournal.com]

Hmm... is getting the longer skirt hemmed to a more desirable length a possible option?

[amethyst73.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.... Maybe. It depends on how quickly I order it (sometime next week; I want to try 6P vs 4P for that skirt) and how soon it comes. But that's a good idea!

[karakara98.livejournal.com]

I concur. If the longer skirt is right in every way except the length, then hemming is a reasonable solution.

skirts

[(Anonymous)]

It may be very hard to get it hemmed in time - you'll have to haul yourself to some tailor twice , after all. I like the shorter one a bit more in general. I also spotted this which might do, although sizes run larger for these folks.
http://www.coldwatercreek.com/Products/Detail.aspx?productid=50744&ensembleid=56945&colorid=030&refLink=skirts.aspx
But, It would be comfy and easy to care for and very packable.
Sharon

Re: skirts

[amethyst73.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'd spotted this before, but hadn't really considered it. I'll give it another think.