The Best Cocktail Dresses for Women Over 50 in 2024

A cocktail dress is an essential item in your wardrobe for parties, weddings, or other special occasions. But, if you are a woman over 50, it isn’t always easy to find a dress that is attractive and fits, especially if your figure isn’t perfect, like most of us.

We have bulges, flabby arms, and other imperfections to cover up. Most dresses in stores are designed for younger women or look matronly. Many are made of synthetic fabrics or are badly sewn together. You could walk for miles before you find an evening dress in a store worth spending money on.

Cover up your flaws

Fortunately, cocktail dresses galore are available online. Knee-length or midi-length dresses with sleeves are usually best for older women. They will cover up flabby arms or gnarly knees and still look elegant.

It is also best to stick to classic and elegant designs. When you see older female celebrities wearing evening attire at award shows, some hit the mark, but many do not. The trend seems to be necklines cut down to the belly button. That may work for someone who is completely flat, but most women over 50 do not want to show off wrinkled decollete, or saggy breasts.

Unless you had a boob job made out of concrete, you may have a wardrobe malfunction that could be embarrassing.

What you wear underneath your party dress will make a difference

A well-fitting bra, shapewear, or a slip will smooth out bumps and keep you intact.

Make your legs look fabulous

Older women with great legs may get away with wearing a mini-skirt but the rest of us look best showing less skin.

Nylon stockings have become passé, but if you wear them, match them to your skin tone. Almost no one looks good in “suntan” so don’t be tempted to bring out your old Leggs. Wolford support tights are fun and fabulous. Plus, they will support you so you can dance all night. You can also wear sheer black tights depending on your dress.

Where to shop for evening clothes to fit older women

Nordstrom is one of my favorite stores for cocktail dresses and offers a large selection of high-quality evening attire. It also has attentive customer service and offers free alterations if you are a Nordy Club member.

This black dress from Nordstrom is a great example of a classy cocktail dress.

View Nordstrom’s current cocktail dresses here.

I am an apple shape, so most of my weight is in my stomach. I found the cocktail dress below at Macy’s. It works for my body type and was also affordable!

Find more gorgeous cocktail dresses at Macy’s, here.

Most of the dresses you see below are available in larger sizes. The advantage of shopping for clothes online is that there is more variety and you can filter out exactly what you want without having to look at yourself in an ugly dressing room mirror. If you don’t like the dress once you’ve tried it on, most trusted stores will let you mail it back to return or exchange it.

Tell me what you think of these gorgeous cocktail dresses!

You can’t go wrong with a little black dress.

You’ll need stylish shoes to go with your dress

Don’t feel you must wear stilettos with your cocktail dress. It is just as elegant and safer to wear shoes that are comfortable so you don’t risk falling. The evening shoes below have low heels so your feet won’t be aching after a long night of partying.

Lifestride has comfortable shoes in all styles including evening. These Mary Janes will allow you to dance all night in comfort.

More evening shoes to check out

Find a wide variety of fabulous evening shoes at Zappos, here.

What do you look for in a cocktail dress, or do you prefer to wear pants, instead?  Please leave a comment below.