Style Dilemma: Baby B and the Little Black Dress

Baby B has a dilemma. She's a witness in a wedding (no wedding party, but the bride has asked 15 of her closest friends to sort of serve as an unofficial party), and the bride - wisely - has just asked the girls to wear a LBD. It's a 5:30pm wedding, December, Lexington, Kentucky. The wedding ceremony is in an Episocpal church, and the reception is at a country club.

She's been looking for several months, and hasn't found anything jumping off the racks, pages, or even websites at her. It's hard, this LBD thing. How to look good amongst a sea of lovelies, and not look the same as everyone else? And not spend a fortune, of course.

Because it's a LBD purchase, she's wisely budgeted up to $200 - it actually, for once, is something she'll wear again, so spending a little dough on it makes sense. She's gone shopping by herself and with her boyfriend. The last trip to the mall, which included a stop at BCBG (usually a good bet to find a fun, well-fitting dress) resulted in her liking things (on sale) that he didn't like, and he liking the one (not on sale) that she felt, well, felt it didn't exactly flatter her hips (that bane of female existance).

So here she is, a week out, and she's got limited time to make her purchase. Her sister, who's also standing for their friend, purchased a smart little cotton J. Crew number (top left). The eternally flattering halter, and with some interesting seersucker texture. We browsed around the J. Crew site, and found this little polka dot halter (middle left), but she's not sure how the bride feels about branching out from the LBD theme.

We also took a break from our cube work and scanned the LBD shop at Target.com. Yes, Target.com. There are a couple of really safe sheath choices (one of which is just a teensy bit cheeky in its length and pockets). And there are also a couple of interesting silouhettes, such as the Mossimo goddess-like dress (reminds me of a Laundry by Shelly Segal I loved but just couldn't make fit a season or two ago - it had the oddest shape when you put it on), or Isaac's retro LBD with knee-scraping flounces. It feels a little prom-like, but hey! it could be really fun, especially with bright shiny colored patent pumps.

So we, Baby B and I, are putting her dilemma out to you, the Infintessimal Readership. Help her find a quick, non-standard LBD solution that will honor her friend's request and still make her feel gorgeous.