The Girls Only Thread

[HowToDisappear]

Which dress for silver anniversary:



It has a V-back, and though you can't tell from the pic, it has sequins, so it's much more sparkly and silver than it appears.
pros: has sleeves to cover up not-toned arms; sexy yet not immodest special occasion dress
cons: expensive; not sure how I feel about sparkly; can't think when I'd ever wear it again




Also V-back
pros: on sale; slight taupe undertone doesn't scream silver dress; more tailored; can be worn more than once with different wraps or sashes perhaps?
cons: shows my not-toned arms and I'd only have a month to get them looking halfway decent :/

[miscorrections]

I like the second one more, the lining is a little less obvious/more elegant.

[locachica73]

I prefer the sleeves on the first one, but I am not a big fan of sparkle. I like the cheaper option but I would go with a nice summer wrap to wear over the untoned arms.

[MusicIsMyBoyfriend]

I like both although the top one could come off slightly matronly with the lace sleeves. Although the v back could help to make it sexier.

[amyzzz]

I love sparkles, so #1 for me.

edit: the last two clothing items I've purchased have sparkles of some sort.

[HowToDisappear]

Ahahaha, I don't think I've ever purchased anything with metallic sequins ever (clear iridescent, yes). Since it is a one-time thing, I'm also torn between whether I should go more glam and over-the-top (for me at least) with dress #1. It would surprise my husband --- hopefully in a good way? Dress #2 is more my style but would be more predictable.

And hi, Corinna! You're back!

[HowToDisappear]

Thanks for the input, ladies. I've been hemming and hawing over dress #1 for days, but I simply can't justify that kind of money for a dress I know I'll only wear once. I just ordered number #2. And it's half price.

Now to find a pretty wrap.

[Robin]

Dang. I was about to say, if you wanted to surprise your husband, then do dress #1. A silver anniversary would have been my justification. How often will that happen? But dress #2 is also gorgeous.

[chiapet]

I love the second dress. The first one, maybe it's just the model's posture, but the cut of it looks a little sloppy to me, and like Corinna said, the lining is pretty obvious. The second dress is so elegant. I wish I could wear that cut.

edit: oops. too late. This is what happens when I linger on the page a long time without refreshing.

Regarding arms... that has always been one of my biggest body insecurities. I used to have incredibly buff arms which turned into incredibly flabby arms when I stopped lifting and gained weight. For a long time I didn't wear sleeveless stuff because of it. Recently I've noticed that almost all adult females have thick upper arms. Like, maybe a very small percentage of people are lucky enough to have genetics that keep their limbs tiny, but the rest of us aren't fond of our arms unless we work out all the time.

[chiapet]

You could potentially go iridescent or sparkly with the wrap. Or get a more subtle wrap and have amazing jewelry.

I love sequins and sparkles to death, but frankly it's a tough line to walk between being fun/flirty or looking cheap/tacky, and it's usually pretty tough to tell from pictures when ordering online which end of the spectrum it will be.

[locachica73]

Heidi, I hate my arms so much, but I have also gotten to the point of just not caring as much. Unless I get rich and can afford an underarm tuck, and can take months off from work because i hear it's one of the most difficult cosmetic surgeries, I just am going to have to live with it. I live in too hot of a climate to care that much anymore.

[amyzzz]

I used to hate my stick arms, but now that I gained weight, they're nicely plump.

[algunz]

Are you considering color for the wrap? A nice pop of color somewhere would be nice. Both dresses are pretty, but the second has more potential to be worn again, like a wedding or with a blazer it could almost cross into work zone. Of course that's coming from me who is happy to wear sparkle and lace in any setting.

[guedita]

I feel like the only way to get really skinny arms is to run a lot and to do toning. My upper arms are beefy.

[algunz]

Running won't tone your arms. Lifting weights and yoga are the best way to gain muscle.

[HowToDisappear]

You could potentially go iridescent or sparkly with the wrap. Or get a more subtle wrap and have amazing jewelry.

I love sequins and sparkles to death, but frankly it's a tough line to walk between being fun/flirty or looking cheap/tacky, and it's usually pretty tough to tell from pictures when ordering online which end of the spectrum it will be.

I was thinking along the same lines with the wrap. Just have to decide which direction to go. I probably won't go for color and keep the silver/grey thing going.

The reviews of dress #1 said it was boxy and not fitted, which worried me. Not so concerned with the tacky factor, as this designer's other dresses were quite lovely. But I did somehow picture my husband seeing all the sequins and jokingly saying, "what, are we off to the cluuuuub tonight?", which is not quite the reaction I am going for (but totally something he would say).

[guedita]

I didn't say that running tones your arms, I said it helps them to lose weight.

[HowToDisappear]

I'm looking up how-to-tone-your-arms youtubes, haaaah. I stopped doing yoga a couple of years ago. Big mistake.

[chiapet]

That reminds me that I haven't done my arm exercises in 7 months. At the moment, I'm not even minding my arms being fat since they're kind of tan. I keep looking at them and thinking how lovely I look with a little bit of a tan and wondering why I stay indoors all the time.

[amyzzz]

The best way to GAIN weight is apparently to take anti-depressant meds.

[chiapet]

I'm looking up how-to-tone-your-arms youtubes, haaaah. I stopped doing yoga a couple of years ago. Big mistake.

Per personal trainers, the best way is with high reps of low weight. There are a number of different exercises you'd do with hand weights to target different areas and muscle groups. I can't recall the names of the exercises. :/ But yes they're easy to find on the internet. My trainer had advised breaking it into two groupings of exercises (I had like 10 different types total), and alternating between them every day. No significant muscle fatigue that way and it really only took me like 15 minutes per day. Too bad I'm lazy.

[algunz]

I didn't say that running tones your arms, I said it helps them to lose weight.

Yes, but it's minimal. Running will take inches off your legs, hips and core. Your upper body, sadly will get very small results without weight training or yoga. (Yoga is so awesome. It's the best way to tone in a very low impact way. It elongates your muscles and is so great for your mind too.)

[casey]

I'm glad this came up. I have been contemplating going to get weights "after work on Friday" all week. Now that it's almost "after work on Friday", all I can think about is some alcohol. My bingo wings are bothering me though, time to try to tone them up...

[HowToDisappear]

I've got a pair of 2lb weights in the computer room, so I can definitely do the low weight/high rep thing. Now somebody slap me and tell me to start exercising. (Not just my arms, but in general.)

I used to have the greatest yoga instructor ever. Then she moved to LA, and her replacement was awful. Yoga with a crappy instructor is the pits, but finding a good one requires going to umpteen studios to try them out, so I stopped. And what did that get me? FLAB.

[amyzzz]

I've been meaning to start back up on the p90, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Jacob does not want to do it anymore bcause exercising hurts him too much (he has some body pain issues), and it is hard for me to get motivated doing it alone. Also, it takes up 40-45 minutes of my time 6 out of 7 days a week. Finding that extra time is so hard with kids around. I know I should just do it though.

[chiapet]

Yoga *is* great, but that's not something I make time to do every day. Whereas the free weights are really easy to do at home in a few minutes. When I was doing it regularly, I noticed a pretty big difference in a few weeks.

[HowToDisappear]

Oooh, I just thought of what jewelry I could wear. I have a pair of very long silver earrings, like a series of overlapping leaves filled with very fine filigree. My mother brought them back from Indonesia. I've never worn them, and this would be the perfect occasion. Doing that would've made her very happy.

[algunz]

We need pics HtD. When is your anniversary?

[HowToDisappear]

End of Aug. And I turn 50 at the beginning of Oct. Oh lord, I should've started exercising a lonnnnng time ago. But I'll post pics, because I think we're both still pretty damn cute.

[ThatGirl]

I'm somewhat hungover but I'm still dragging my butt to Zumba in 10 mins. Ugh. I know if I don't go I'll feel worse.