The dress I want to wear to prom ($19.95 at H&M, embossed black material, spaghetti straps) still won't zip past my waist. Must live on broth and celery for next several weeks.

Also, I got a letter from Java today. Do we have people signed up to deal with:

• AV equipment for the hospitality suite?
• Amps etc.for the music?
• Picking the menu for Prom night?
• Arranging the bartender?

I can do the last two with thread input on the menu, if no one else has signed up.

won't zip past my waist.

Corset. It's the Buffista answer. IJS.

Corset. It's the Buffista answer. IJS.

Will a corset squish my upper back, though? I think broth and celery will have to be involved as well, alas. (Besides, the dress has boning in the bodice. Wearing a corset underneath might make me slightly immobilie.)

Weird. I was just looking at my last Halloween picture (strong evidence that my ancestors were as Dutch as Dutch can be) and considering the brown bodice (kinda corset-ish) for prom.

Will a corset squish my upper back, though?

Let's put it this way -- the more it squishes, the more you'll find the you have cleavage like you never dreamed dared dream of.

And, you know, the less oxygen.

So, your choice. I like a waist-cinchy but not overtight corset, meself.

Wearing a corset underneath

Don't most people wear them *over*?

Hmm. I have to get a waist cincher to wear under a bridesmaid's gown anyhow, since the one I have is annoying. Maybe with it, the dress will zip?

I can dream. (And experience all the fun of oxygen deprivation.)

Edit: Steph, yeah, over probably is the true Buffista way. Not sure how that would help me zip, though, unless the idea is to cover the un-fastened part.

Whee! Just finished booking my nights at the Tabard Inn and my return flight. (No, thank you, I won't be needing a hotel for my "stay" in Memphis.) I may have to amend my after dinner cocktails invitation to the hotel's lounge rather than my room, as the overriding priority of getting a claw-foot tub seems to have put us in a smaller room with an extra bed rather than couch, chairs, and coffee table (they put down that a larger room with one larger bed is preferred, but that may not be available). But hey, that way we have live jazz music in the background.

Woot! How far is the Tabard Inn from the F2F hotel? Is it easy access via the T, or will those of us staying there need a cab to get back?

I so should go look this up myself. Okay, off to do that.

I'm not sure what I'm wearing to the Prom. I'd like to get a new outfit, but I have no idea where to look for something appropriate. There were a couple of dresses that might work at Hot Topic, but the sizing often doesn't work for me.(They expect that someone with my chest size would be a lot bigger in the waist and hips. Also, most of my chest is rib cage. feh)

I have no clue where to look for funky, yet reasonably priced clothes that are made for non-toothpick women in the suburban MD area.