Oh, This Old Thing?

[eye_of_a_cat]

I need(1) two new dresses for miscellaneous university-related events. I've bought one of them already, which is probably a waste of money even for a big shiny party thing(2) and at any rate cost more than I'd usually spend(3) but, hey, it's pretty. I'm still looking for Dress B.

So, here's my question, in re: Fifties-style strapless dresses like this one:
a) How the hell do they stay up?
b) Does the answer to a) still apply if you're dancing?

Since the mannequin in the picture presumably doesn't move very much(4), it's difficult to tell how those things work. And this is for a ceilidh, and ceilidh dancing is fast. I could always sew straps on it (or try to pass off duct tape as a very trendy accessory), but maybe there's some anti-gravity system at work there. People walk about in those dresses, don't they?

(1) For 'need' here, read 'am required to' for Dress A and 'am not required to, but this is a Big Fancy Event in a Big Fancy Place and I don't own anything that fancy and it'll just be wrong if the event and the setting and the boy on my arm are all looking prettier than me' for Dress B.

(2) Having discussed this with my dear friend J, who went to the kind of school where they throw actual balls with actual ballgowns every year, I am partly reassured on this. My dress probably cost about half a sleeve's worth of ballgown. And, yes, I got it cheaper because the stitching's coming away at the back, and it doesn't look quite as shiny nor as expensive nor as new as a ballgown, but AT LEAST MY DRESS NEVER TOOK PART IN A SOCIALLY EXCLUSIVE EDUCATION SYSTEM, SO THERE.

(3) Well, sort of. I'd usually spend nothing - I don't find myself at many occasions that warrant fancy clothes. The last time I bought a dress for a big event like this was when I was 17 and in my last year of school, and a bunch of us clubbed together to hire the function room above the pub down the road, which let's just say didn't involve ballgowns. My dress cost £13.99 from Mackays. And I still have it. And it still fits me.

(4) At least not until after dark when the shop's quiet.

Comments

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

For starters, you need a good bra. Unless you succumb to sewing straps on it (and if you can get something that'll work, right colour and such, that might not be a bad idea, since you don't want to flash the ceilidh), that means strapless, so it's even more important that it's a good fit and good bra. You can then use special tape to stick the bra to the inside of the dress, although it might leave marks on the bra (still haven't got round to getting them off mine). How good a fit is the dress? If it has a tendency to fall down already, sewing straps on looks like an even better idea.

So what sort of green is it, what's the fabric like? Tell!

[moon-very-thin.livejournal.com]

Ah, I have much experience of 50s style gowns. Fiendish things to wear, but oh-so-pretty.

The secret to getting a dress like that to stay up is in making sure it fits well under the bust, where the ribbing is in that picture. It ought to be a snug fit so that that part of the dress isn't slipping when you move. That way, so long as the bust of the dress isn't too big for you, it won't need to be stapled and superglued into place, because the rest of the dress will be holding you.

Then, as elettaria says, have a good bra (general guideline is that it ought to cost more than the bloody dress ;) ) I also agree that if straps can be managed, it might be a good idea, considereing it's a ceilidh.

Hope you have fun.