In a message dated 05/19/2000 11:31:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
sopran@a... writes:
<< In my experience, if you are a woman over 40 any larger than a size 8 (or
maybe a 10) you are going to have problems finding clothing for almost any
situation--but recital attire is particularly difficult.>>
I'm 44, and when I'm down to skin and bones with ribs and hip bones
sticking out, I wear a size 16. (Can we politely say "large frame"?) And I
haven't been down to skin and bones for a number of years. I have finally
found sources for nice, stylish, plus-size office clothes (the Land's End
catalog has some great choices). The choices for large size women's
clothing have really improved over the last 10 years in most areas, but I'm
really having trouble finding formal wear.
<< I tried having a dress made, and it was an utter failure--the "tailor" as
she
called herself--was great as a seamstress but had no clue as how to FIT
someone whose body doesn't conform to the "fashionista's" notion of beauty.
(If you have breasts and hips, God help you!) She ended up ruining $250
worth
of gorgeous Italian silk fabric, and I was in tears.>>
I had a dress made for a recital a couple of years ago. The woman who
made (and designed) it for me is a local costume designer who I know from my
work in local theatre. She also does a fair amount of designing for the
local opera company. In addition, she herself is, shall we say, Junoesque,
and has a clue about dressing large women well. She made a gorgeous dress
for me, with a great period feel which was perfect for the songs I was doing.
She's a treasure, but they're hard to find.
<< 3. Contact the costume department of local opera companies. If they use
professional costumers, these are most likely people who are accustomed to
dressing SINGERS--people who need to BREATHE, who don't slouch, don't
necessarily need gigantic shoulder pads, etc.>>
The local community theatre I used to work for rents out almost
everything they have in their costume collection. They have some nice
choices of formal wear in all sizes, both from costumes they've made, and
also because a bridal shop donated tons of stuff to them at one point. So
there's another possibility.
<<4. Separates can be a good way to go. There are lots of beaded tops out
there, and I see lots of really beautiful skirts. (BTW, I am considering
having the "ruined" dress transformed into a skirt, then making a
coordinating top.)>>
I have an ensemble that I've put together that I've worn over and over
again and I love it. The skirt is simply a long straight satin skirt that I
made once. The top started out in life as a cocktail dress which had a
beaded bodice and a just below the knee length skirt. The skirt attached to
the bodice underneath, so it looked like separates anyway. I always hated
the length of that skirt, so I finally just took the skirt off and have used
the top with both the skirt mentioned above and black dress slacks. It looks
great and it's very comfortable.
<<5. Try shopping online. I found one really interesting site for "full
figured
women"--don't laugh! It's by Delta Burke (from Designing Women) and the
evening wear selection is really quite interesting--and affordable too. I
haven't actually purchased anything, but I told a friend who has since
bought
an outfit that she is just thrilled with.>>
I looked at that website just the other day. The formal dresses looked
like nice designs, but I had a feeling the fabric would be kind of cheesy
from the picture and the description. What did your friend think about the
quality of the fabric?
Lee Morgan
Mezzo-soprano
Here's the address: http://store.yahoo.com/realsize/index.html
Click on "Shop for Evening Wear."
6. If you find something that works, BUY IT! Don't assume that it will be
there when you come back. If you do a lot of concerts, I think it's a good
idea to keep a little "slush fund" (or at least, available plastic) for
spur-of-the-moment purchases.
It also helps to keep in mind that department stores, etc. are WAY ahead of
the season, so if you are shopping for a winter dress in December, your
selection will be severely limited--you should have done your shopping in
August or September! >>
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