Formal Dresses for Older Women

As I mentioned not long ago in my post, 5 Dresses Every Woman Should Have: every woman should own an evening dress, something special to wear to formal occasions.

Now before you tell me how you would never wear it, hear me out.

You just never know! And when you *do* have an occasion, wouldn’t it be nice to have something ready in your wardrobe? There is nothing worse than “panic buying”, desperately trying to find something suitable at the last minute.

If you should go on a cruising holiday, there is always a formal night.

And what if you have an awards night or other special occasion?

Besides, buying formal dresses for more mature women is not as easy or straight forward as when you are a young ‘un.

More mature women have more of an idea of what they like – and don’t like. Chances are, you won’t want to flash as much flesh as your 19 year old daughter would; and you are probably more interested in finding something that is more “classic” and will stand the test of time, rather than buying an outfit that you will only wear once.

So I’ve done some day dreaming research for you, to show you that it *is* possible.

Classic Black

You can’t beat a black formal dress for something that will stay stylish, especially if (like me), your formal dress only gets an outing once every couple of years or so.

It could be something simple and elegant, in a floaty fabric:

Nude – the New Neutral

These days, a nude or blush coloured gown is almost as classic as black.

A high neckline is great for hiding a crepey decolletage, and a feature to look for in formal dresses for older women:

Dreamy Draping

Draping is a classic look, that is also great for hiding any figure faults:

Something with Sleeves

It’s really hard to find formal dresses that actually have sleeves!

Designers take note: middle aged women need evening wear too – and a bit of a sleeve is much more flattering when you are well on your way to having tuckshop lady arms.

Glorious Colour

Like wine, women get better with age – so celebrate in glorious colour!

Do be careful with pastels though – as they can look a bit “mutton dressed as lamb”. Make sure the style is sophisticated if you do opt for baby shades:

Which one of these formal dresses for older women, would be your pick? I’m quite taken with the cobalt blue one, myself!

NB. This post may contain affiliate links.