Help Pyraxis act like a woman

[Pyraxis]

Thanks Callaway (and Shima and McJ) - those websites are good, if a little worrying... Those dresses are a lot fancier and more expensive than anything I own, and I certainly don't stand a chance of properly applying nine layers of makeup. This department store cosmetic counter idea - how does it work? Is their purpose to demonstrate makeup to you so that you will buy it? Or is it a service that you tip for, like a beauty salon?

I'll post pics of the shirt and skirt once my camera battery finishes charging. The skirt is made of this soft velvety material, the label says 95% polyester, 5% rayon. The shirt is made of gauzy stuff, thicker over the chest. The design on it is fancier than in the pic I linked to (it has a mottled green pattern and then coppery swirls on top) but the sleeves are not flared. I don't know what dress size I am either, but I'm approximately as thin as Shima, I think. I have pale skin and dark brown hair.

[McGiver]

dark brown hair.
i said that i get along better with darker haired people.
confirmed again.

[Callaway]

They demonstrate make-up so you want to buy it, but you can ask for samples of most of it to see how it will react with your skin and just buy some lipstick or mascara.  Some of the counters have free gifts with purchase, so if one does, you might get most of what you need all at once.   

I don't know how you feel about this, but sometimes you can find really nice dressy dresses for reasonable prices at thrift stores or consignment stores, because people often wear them just once and then donate them or consign them. 

[Lucifer]

pyraxis, have you got a Little Black Dress?  that'd do fine - they always do.  then you can have great fun with jewellery.

if you're dark with pale skin, don't go for too light/neutral a shade of lipstick, cos you'll just look washed out.  don't go for a makeover - if you're allergic to anything, you're fucked, and no time to remedy it, AND you'd have to keep it on for hours, and they'd have to apply it with a trowel if it was going to last.

make sure you feel comfortable - i.e. that what you're wearing is an expression of YOU.  i rarely fit in with what i'm "supposed" to wear, but then i have a reputation of being completely eccentric and outlandish in my attire (think viv westwood, gaultier, zandra rhodes in the 70s), and so get away with it.  as long as you stay within the bounds of decency, get in there and slay 'em - if you do it with conviction, people will assume it's all intentional, and that you're supremely confident about your own "Look".  people expect me to try and get away with murder, so i do.  (they think it's complete confidence on my part - little do they know...).

incidentally - comfortable doesn't necessary mean flat shoes (sorry, shima) - for me, comfortable sometimes means wearing four inch platforms/heels, cos that's who i feel like being - psychological, as well as physical comfort is important, for me.

as for the behaviour bit - flick your hair around all evening, and you'll a) look like an idiot, and b) annoy the fuck out of anyone near enough to get caught by bits of flying hair.  flicking your hair is massive flirting (i play with mine all the time, and so get caught out on that one, when i don't mean to).  choose who you want to be, and then do it - you do role play, don't you?  it's like that, and the fun thing is to maintain it, all evening.

[McGiver]

genius.

it does require an ability to play act.  but anyone who digs deep enough can, i think.

good one lucifer!

[Hibakusha]

genius.

it does require an ability to play act.  but anyone who digs deep enough can, i think.

good one lucifer!

she makes it sound so easy

but I can not do it...period

[peegai]

And don't forget fuck-me high-heeled shoes -- a lady's best friend.

[Lucifer]

i love 'em, but then i have very long feet, and so don't find them excrutiating to walk in.

mind you, some i've seen are less "fuck me, boys", and more "fuck me - how d'you walk in these?"

these are my current favourites (altho' don't get to wear them often, sadly):



(sorry if i'm hijacking, pyraxis - any of the above useful?)

[Pyraxis]

I don't mind the hijack. Those boot things look fun, though maybe more like something you'd wear to a munch than a movie premiere, which is what this is going to be.

Here are the pics I promised, the shirt and skirt in question:


If I do have to go out and buy a dress, it's not going to be a little black one though. One, that wouldn't be a reflection of me - I'd have to go with wilder colours. Two, it's got to be something that covers up my upper chest cause of health reasons. I have one piece of non-costume jewelry - it's a necklace with clear beads of varying sizes that have a slight pink/green sheen to them. I think I'm going to have to buy sandals, my only pair are really informal.

Doubt I can pull off comfortable, but I can do (semi-manic) conviction. Role playing is not a problem (though doesn't that contradict just a little with "what you're wearing is an expression of YOU"?) since the only persona these people know from me is a role-play anyway. I kinda like the thought of shocking them a bit, since they're sure there's nothing to me but bland, boring, and sensible.

[El]

I'd say go for a happy medium, because the skirt looks dressy but the shirt doesn't.  The skirt looks velvet; for some reason I think maybe a white (I types "shite" first, possible freudian slip?) shirt, silk or some smooth texture, and then if you want to go wild wear a really colorful necklace.  I'm probably wrong but I think that would be fine; you'd be one of the less dressy people there but you wouldn't be spending a lot of money on just a shirt, you might even wear it again later.

My only other suggestion is that if you decide to spring for a dress, try filene's basement or marshall's (or Deb's if they have them where you are- they can have near-miraculous sales).  The dresses callaway linked aren't nessessarily typical of all dressy dress prices; the stores I mentioned are probably about the cheapest you'll be able to get away with outside of walmart.  You can also get shoes there; if you must go with high heels, chunky heels look less dressy but are a lot easier to walk in.

EDIT:  By the way, if you want to shock them, but still look formal, wear a tiara.  And carry a wand.  ((I have a friend who used to do that around the mall, or so she claims.))

[hiroshima]

DO NOT wear fuck me heels!  You'll trip and die.

[Lucifer]

DO NOT wear fuck me heels!  You'll trip and die.

LOL!

i never have (she said, tempting fate like mad...    )

that outfit looks great, to me.  beautiful colours on the top - i'm envious.  i might go with PMS Elle, and say a silk skirt, rather than velvet (depending on the climate, of course), but then i'm addicted to silk.

i wear, variously, tiaras, wands, wings (angel and faery), ballgowns, PVC, robes, saris, and fuck knows what else, all with fuck off boots, and more or less any other combination of contradictory stuff.  i like dressing up... 

[Pyraxis]

Well, I did it - went out and bought a dress that I wouldn't be caught dead in under most circumstances. I probably could have gotten away with wearing the shirt and skirt I posted, but I decided I want to do this right. Not going anywhere near heels though - as uncoordinated as I am, I probably wouldn't have lasted five steps. Vivi, damn you, of course you can get away with them, you've had years to practice. So I found regular sandals for half off. Now I just have to get the guts to wear the thing in public.

[Triste]

I was just about to tell you that you'd need something dressier for a formal occasion, and by golly, you did it!  I don't know about the others, but I'd love to see a pic of you wearing the dress.

Sorry to complicate this further, but you might want to think about a nice little purse to go with your dress, to keep your keys in.  You can get those at vintage stores.

I hate to disagree with Shima, but I don't think manicure/pedicure or makeup are necessary.  A nice dress, lipgloss, good posture, a pasted smile on your face, and you're good to go.

[McGiver]

and the bouncing or flipping of hair.


might i ask, you said it was a reception, is it for a wedding, or an awards reception or what?