Well I'm still 19lbs from my goal. I have the work christmas party coming up on sunday, it would be my first one since joining the company, and I've never socialised with with my work mates outside of work.

The problem is that its black tie, and I don't really do smart. I'm much more a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. I'll be honest I only recently went out in a skirt and I wore 70 denier tights with it and black shoes, it was also knee length (as my thighs still don't look great) and even I saw that I looked good. Which for me is a miracle as I haven't worn a dress or skirt in about 10 years.

My problem is I have no idea what to buy, as while I'm now feeling ok about my legs I'm still not loving the tops of my arms. It's all so confusing, because if I get something that covers all of the flaws I think I have i'll be covered from head to foot. So in a rather long winded way I just wondered if anyone else had been through a similar situation, and if anyone had any ideas for me on the dress front?

I'm sure you'll look amazing whatever you chose to wear. We are our own worst critics, but you should be proud of all you've accomplished.

As for the dress- you don't need to be sleeveless; a 3/4 length sleeve is very flattering, and this time of year a full sleeve is acceptable. You can find a dress in a longer length if you are concerned about your legs.

Here's an example of a dress that might work- I know you're in the UK, so shops will be different, but maybe you can find something similar.

http://www.dressbarn.com/detail/velv.../100924803/150

Here's another one; the ruching and draping effect hides a lot of flaws:

http://www.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?...656|80145&sa=1

Another idea is to wear a sleeveless dress and add a bolero or pashmina shawl to cover up.

Beck-Thanks for the idea's I love the 2nd dress, so I'll definitely try and see if I can find something similar.

What's your body type? What type of styles you normally attracted to (classic, vintage, glittery etc)?

I agree with the 3/4 length too. That's normally my preference (or sleeveless, in between just tends to emphasize large arms!).

I'm an hour glass, so I have 39inch hips, 29 inch waist, and 38inch bust. The styles I like are quite structured, classic, figure hugging, sexy but classy, think Victoria Beckham. I did actually have the perfect dress in mind but I spent to long dithering over which size to get that it's totally sold out everywhere.

I love the 2nd dress, too and it should look great on you. .
That dress and some sexy shoes and "diamond" earrings you will be fabulous.
Beck, are you a fashion consultant, you sure have some great ideas?

Ok, in that case, I'm going to recommend a few. I absolutely love modcloth (and you can contact them to find out the exact measurements on clothing items)

http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses...t-dinner-dress

http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/sleek-it-out-dress (the sleeves aren't perfect on this one but it's a gorgeous dress so I included it anyways)

http://www.modcloth.com/Modcloth/Wom...Princess-Dress

http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses...lifetime-dress (not sure if the bust would work so you'd have to contact them directly)

http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/your-year-dress

http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com/hel...les-dress.html

If you want a dress that you can get fitted to your exact measurements here are some options:
http://www.mycurvyclothes.com/Dresses.php
http://biubiu.pl/dresses/ponti_navy.html
http://biubiu.pl/dresses/ponti_green.html

LightintheBox also will do their dress to you measurements for a small fee.
http://biubiu.pl/dresses/madison_voilet.html

I tried included a lot of different types (most with sleeves or sleeveless). It sounds like you want something that really accentuates your waist but also gives you enough room in the chest. Good luck!!!

Yay!!!! My dress came back into stock and I have it for the christmas party what a stroke of luck. Its also a uk size 10 which is either a US size 6 or 8 I'm not sure (a very forgiving and stretchy fabric of course), and it looks incredible, I'm going to wear spanx for the chub rub but other than that it does look amazing, I'll try and get pics of it.

Excellent news, IsobelRose! Where did you get it?

Silverbirch-its dorothy perkins, heres the link.

http://www.dorothyperkins.com/webapp...th&pageSize=20

Its so popular though! it seems to have sold out mostly in about 2 days.

Lovely dress! Good price! And not in any DP near me!

You'll look lovely. Very good luck with the party.

Lovely dress! How about a lace or crocheted shrug/bolero for your arms? My parter's mother got married the other week, and she'd put on a lot of weight. She was wearing a lovely strapless dress with some serious corsetry going on. Unsurprisingly, she was bulging out of the top of the dress. Then she put on a beautiful lacy shrug that not only made her arms less noticeable but to my surprise, concealed the area where she was overflowing the top of her dress. You can get some seriously glamourous ones, either in black or a contrasting colour.

Oh my gosh, Runningfromfat! I had never heard of modcloth before! Their clothes are stunning (and really not very pricey at all!). What a great motivator to get my butt in gear to get into regular sizes and comfortable with clingier stuff! Thanks so much!

As a side note, I got married a couple years ago and had THE MOST trouble finding a dress (I wasn't looking for traditional, just flattering and reasonably priced and kind of got the idea that I wanted a boat-neck dress that was kind of vintage 60's looking with 3/4 sleeves). At the end of it, my mom ended up "surprising" me with a dress she made herself. It looked terrible, but she had gone to the trouble and expense of making it, and I couldn't turn it down (my wedding was very small and casual and it was my 2nd wedding, so I wasn't totally crushed if I didn't look "perfect" i just wanted to be married. Still...). I never thought of posting on a forum to get help with finding a dress! I will definitely remember this next time. And OP- the dress you found is beautiful- you definitely have to post pics when you have your big night!!

yay! your going to look hott(er) x

@IsobelRose22: That dress is awesome!!!! I love love love it!!! It's so modern and structured but sexy!!