Had no monies, not much clothes, turned out.... AWESOME! (AW) (Updated)

hellosweetie1015

Soooo my FMIL is taking our engagement pics, and we are doing them two weeks from today. I do not have cute clothes. I have work clothes, and I don't have any nice jeans at all (long story; still hoping to replace before the pictures but not expecting to have the chance). My current best option is this:

...except it's blue. Apparently the blue one doesn't exist any more. Anyway, the other options are all either less nice (read: an outfit I've considered is a black scoop-neck tee and pink shorts, both from Old Navy), or work clothes. I *really* don't want to take my engagement pictures in my work clothes... but right now I don't even know what I should look at buying. If I have any extra it will be $45-$60.

ANYONE got some ideas? I really have no idea what to even do... and it's really bothering me. I'm 5'1" and a chunky chunk (XLs, size 14/16 shorts).

Pictures (my faves from the Facebook Sneak Peek albums):

CMGragain

I would go to Target and Kohl's and see what they have.

chibiyui

So, the majority of my wardrobe comes from clearance racks and goodwill. A large, large portion of my dresses especially come from Goodwill. So check your local thrift stores and consignment shops. Also, check stores like Ross, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, etc, as they often have really cute dresses for under 30 bucks.

 online options done super quick: 

http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1670202/apt-9-cheetah-pleated-shift-dress-womens.jsp

http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1688096/croft-barrow-printed-surplice-dress-womens.jsp

http://www.sears.com/jbs-women-s-sleeveless-chiffon-high-low-dress-floral/p-031VA73069912P?selectedFilters=Size|14&prdNo=17&blockNo=17&blockType=G17

http://www.sears.com/jbs-women-s-chiffon-dress-slip-floral-print/p-031VA73069212P?selectedFilters=Size|14&prdNo=26&blockNo=26&blockType=G26

RebeccaFlower

I think the black and pink sound fine. Maybe glam it up with some accessories (that you could wear to work after) for cheap at Forever 21?

hellosweetie1015

@CMGragain Kohl's? I think I went in there once......? Haha. I'll run by there Monday after work and see! Target... eh, I've never noticed anything in there that I LOVED but I'll peek in; they're near Kohl's.

@chibiyui I NEVER EVER THINK ABOUT SEARS! I forget they even have clothes, hahaha. I will also see about thrift stores in the area, although it's usually hit-or-miss (mostly miss) around here. Thanks for the specific recs from Kohl's, too! 

@RebeccaFlower Forever 21 doesn't exist where I live (( I love their accessories though.... where else has cute accessories? 

Thanks, all, for your responses so far!

ETA I remembered the thrift store comment, hahaha.

chibiyui

Ha ha. I also often forget Sears has clothes. I did get a cute dress and fucking awesome maxi skirt from them online cause I had shop your way rewards points to use. (I get all my car work done at Sears, cause I can down the mall to work. Convenience yo.) I actually usually like a good portion of their lands end stuff, but it's kinda pricey. 

Do you have a Charlotte Russe? Claires? Target? Rue 21? Maurices? New York and Company? All great for accesories.

hellosweetie1015

Claire's and Target, yes. Rue 21... maybe? Used to, but I haven't lived in this area for about 8 years, so it may have closed. The rest - that's a definite no. Podunk, Alabama.... gotta love it.

There IS a Plato's Closet in the town FI lives in (and where I lived until March), and I'll be going down there the night before the pictures. I can usually find neat accessories there. I'll be wearing my engagement ring and snitch, too.

Blergbot

The dress. i wore for my engagement pics was $5 at h&m with a cute sweater that i'm pretty sure I got at target. And I wore some boots from naturalizer that were on sale. None of these things were purchased for the occasion, I just put together an outfit from stuff I already owned. EtA: that dress you already own would be lovely.

Ndelible

JC Penney has stepped up its games lately. Maybe try them?

hellosweetie1015

@Blergbot: I'd love to put together an outfit from what I already own, because I liked my clothes three months ago. Issue being that a house fire stole all my shit a couple of months ago, so ATM I don't really own anything more than work clothes (a lot of them generously donated but not something I would wear for pictures) and a pair of nike shorts that I bought on supersale. I will be wearing my pretty dress though! The problem is that I need "two or three outfits, nice casual". Whatever that means. 

@Ndelible: Penney's is another one I never think of! We just bought towels from there a few weeks ago, though; I'll go look.

ETA: I do also own the pink shorts mentioned above. They are not work clothes. Which is sad, because they're SUPER comfortable.

Mitch617

If you have two weeks you could order clothes cheap online too. Consider doing outdoor, barefoot photos maybe on the beadhvto avoid having to wear shoes, or just shoot from the knees up haha. You could even do a lot of shots from the waist up if you get more tops than bottoms.

buttercup1958

Maybe try a belk too? I think they have some nice causal clothes that aren't too pricey. I'm not sure if they have a lot of accessories though.

hellosweetie1015

I've actually been exploring at ModCloth, which is not actually cheap but a dress from there could, technically, come out of replacements since I lost a few dresses, *could* be work clothes if it's cut right (I have a tattoo on my collarbone that has to be mostly covered), and are really cute. Issues being I don't know anything about ModCloth's fit, and I don't like buying clothes without trying them on. 

QueerFemme

You can easily get a cute summer dress from old navy, target, jcpenny, sears, and often even macys for less than 40 dollars. Kohls and macys often have 20% off coupons that you can get online.

AshleyNicole1218

Yesterday I got a great long dress from Old Navy on sale for $30. Not sure of the material, but its a bit dressier than cotton. Just needs a belt. Try them.

hellosweetie1015

I will be checking Old Navy but I have issues with them. Sometimes I find great stuff; sometimes I can't find anything and end up leaving in tears, haha. BUT there probably isn't a clothing store I haven't done that in. I get frustrated, and I'm one of those insanely lucky people who cry when they get frustrated.

KPBM89

My engagement shoot dress was $13 from Sear's.  I bought this:

http://www.sears.com/metaphor-women-s-crochet-lace-dress/p-007VA71708412P?prdNo=17

in "Georgia Peach" for our photos and I also bought the "Winter White" for my bridal shower.  I signed up for the free Sear's reward thing to save an extra $2.

I wanted to get a great dress I saw on Modcloth, but I didn't want to spend $50 on one dress that I wouldn't be able to see what it looked like on before I got it.  I hesitate with online purchases because I have a large chest and short torso and that particular dress had a low V front.  I got two dresses from Sear's for half the price of one dress from MC.  

theartistformerlyknownas

You don't NEED "two or three outfits, nice casual." You don't even NEED engagement pictures at all, so please don't stress about this. Your pictures can be whatever you want them to be. They should just represent YOU, not some cookie-cutter-Pinterest-mall-window-mannequin.

You can wear just your dress. It's adorable. You could do some with a cardigan over and some without, or some with boots and some with sandals, if you want to change up the look. I like the black tee with pink shorts too; would be cute with a chunky bubble necklace like this (clicky here!). But you don't need to break the bank or go crazy trying to find all the right outfits. 

Here's the advice my FI gave me - "These are just the practice pictures. In a few months we'll have wedding pictures, with you in your gown as my beautiful WIFE. Those are the pictures that matter."

atlastmrsg

Look on Rent the Runway for something really exquisite. They've started carrying a broader range of sizes now.  You could rent a lovely dress worth hundreds for about $50, just do it ASAP so you don't have to pay overnight shipping.  This is one example of what comes in a 14 or 16:

https://www.renttherunway.com/shop/designers/badgleymischka_dresses/sparkleskydress

Or, have you asked any really stylish friends to borrow something?  My matron of honor has the most amazing jewelry collection.  She lets me borrow things anytime.  I just try to return them with a bottle of wine or baked good as the "rental" thank you.

P.S.--promo code for $25 off your first rental is FIRSTRTR25X754 

princessleia22

FI and I just wore jeans for our e-photos. It was cooler out, so I wore a pretty simple purple sweater.  And FI wore a polo type shirt. So, we dressed pretty simple, but the photos looked great. And we only wore that one outfit. Also, most of our better/close up shots don't show much of our pants anyway.

hellosweetie1015

Okay, so, posters (lurkers? anyone interested?) could I post pics of outfits and you tell me if they look bad/good/too formal/too casual/stupid/fabulous/whatever? I haven't bought anything yet but I may have found a couple of things in what I've got that don't look horrible and if I don't HAVE to buy I'd really prefer not to. I don't really know how to dress myself but I do really well with constructive criticism! (I blame both on being a writer.)

And, @lolo883, I actually really needed that. I thought about it and the only reason I really want to do the pics in the first place is because FMIL is SOOOOOOOO excited about them and she's kind of precious when she's excited (she's not very emotive generally, at least in my experience). And really, I feel cute in FI's hideous-but-SO-comfy Nintendo sleepy pants when he's there (most days, anyway), haha. 

theartistformerlyknownas

CaitTDid23 said:

Okay, so, posters (lurkers? anyone interested?) could I post pics of outfits and you tell me if they look bad/good/too formal/too casual/stupid/fabulous/whatever? I haven't bought anything yet but I may have found a couple of things in what I've got that don't look horrible and if I don't HAVE to buy I'd really prefer not to. I don't really know how to dress myself but I do really well with constructive criticism! (I blame both on being a writer.)

And, @lolo883, I actually really needed that. I thought about it and the only reason I really want to do the pics in the first place is because FMIL is SOOOOOOOO excited about them and she's kind of precious when she's excited (she's not very emotive generally, at least in my experience). And really, I feel cute in FI's hideous-but-SO-comfy Nintendo sleepy pants when he's there (most days, anyway), haha. 

Glad that helped. Bring on the pics!

STARMOON44

Yeah just wear that dress. It's pretty. Don't waste money buying more clothes just for pictures.

EverAfer

Wear something you feel comfortable in, add some accessories! You don't need multiple sets of clothes.

All you need is a good photographer, your FI, and a happy smile! The best photos are the natural ones where the couple is happy and relaxed, as long as your love shows through, you'll get great photos.

But if you must buy, sale rack at Macy's, Marshalls, and JCPenny.

hyechica81

i went shopping the other for me being plus size i have to live with the fact that clothes will always be expensive for me.  torrid had buy one get one half off but the stuff there can be pricey, the deal that was the best out of torrid was some black wedges they were on clearance it was 50% off and i got them for three dollars.

k-mart walmart, target, they all have inexpensive options
thrift stores are also a good place to start as well as consignment shops 

ashleylynn14

Kohls, Penney's, Goodwill/Salvation Army/Savers, or even if you have a Discovery Clothing near you? Or maybe like, Ross? Look online for coupons! 

I don't know if I missed it, but what style are you looking for?

[Deleted User]

What about a basic white top with some cute shorts or pants (you can go any color bottom with a white top) and then just add a fun scarf or necklace which you can find those affordable at any of the stores pp mentioned.

hellosweetie1015

So FI and I were talking about the pictures yesterday - FMIL posted some "idea" pictures on her Facebook, and they were so cute but SO not us. And we discussed that for a while and then moved on.

I got home from work and checked my Facebook, and lo and behold what do I find but more pictures - this time, though, instead of "prop" guitars and picnic baskets, there are prop Harry Potter books and prop TARDISes. 

I feel much better about this whole mess now. 

ahyatt87

I agree with lolo883. However, I you may want to bring a change of clothes. Not to create the perfect pintrest moment, but just in case. I actually spilt my dress during my engagement photos and FI kneeled in some mud. Neither of us brought backup clothing, so we just continued (I used the photographer's jacket to cover up my exposed backside between photos). It was super embarrassing, but we were really happy with our photos.

ShellD13

Sorry to read about the fire - hope all the insurance matters get settled quickly.  As for your e pics, I think you can and should wear whatever you are comfortable in.  H and I took our e pics in the same park we got married in -but- it is in New England on the ocean and in early February you wouldn't have caught us dead in anything less than jeans, sweater, winter coat and hikers.  I love the way our pictures turned out! :-)

We also didn't bring a change of clothes but @ahyatt87 has a very good point. 

hellosweetie1015

Thanks, all! I think we will be sucking it up as to the clothes, because she's pretty adamant about it, and I don't care ALL that much so long as I don't look like the bum living in a van down by the river...

BUT we had a conference call with FILS and I discovered that the eensy TARDIS I made FI for his birthday was welcome, but that they had found one that was a "little bigger", and when I asked how much bigger, FFIL said, "How about life size?"

I'm going to have pictures with a life.size.tardis.yall. Everything else is moot.

ETF: The Knot needs to broaden its horizons. It's going to get sick of eating paragraphs eventually.