Let's Start with The Dress

Posted Thursday, August 23, 2007 2:47 AM

In terms of picturing how dress shopping was going to go, I didn't think that I would end up doing the majority of it alone.  Pros and cons of course.

Pros: I was able to decide amazingly quickly what styles and fabrics I liked.  I'm muy indecisive in many aspects of life (including what to eat, if I want to do something like watch a movie or not, etc etc, ad infinitum) so it was a surprise.  The salespeople that worked with me were (pleasantly) surprised as well!  Another pro was that I didn't have to coordinate 5 or 6 people's schedules.  My mom is in SoCal as is my MOH, and my other 3 BMs are in the East Bay, 2 of which are grad students.  Frustration levels were kept at a minimum: sweet!

Cons: I didn't have any opinions other than my own (but I guess my opinion is the one that really matters anyway).  I didn't have the "dress shopping experience" that you read about or see on TV with your bridal party oohing and aahing.  You know, girly moments.

So these were the bridal salons that I ended up visiting in late April:

Amy Kuschel
Alexandra
Marina Morrison
Jin Wang

I absolutely fell in love with the Rachel at Amy Kuschel.  I think the only thing that stopped me from slapping down a piece of plastic was that this was the first salon I went to!  I wish I had a picture of me in it, but no pictures were allowed until a dress was ordered.  Tandie was a close second; it's basically
identical to the Rachel, but without the embellishments on the bust.  I knew the price was related to the fact that the dress is cut to order, but it was still a bit on the $$$$ side (3K range).  It was at this salon that I knew I wanted a mermaid (aka trumpet) silhouette. 

At Marina Morrison, I saw some pretty dresses but nothing that made me forget to breathe.  Plus the starting prices on these gowns were seriously out of my price range (high 3K, most were 4K and up).  One word: Next!

I arrived at Alexandra with mixed feelings.  I saw lots of sheathy and ballgown-y dresses.  The gal that helped me did say they had mermaid-cut dresses and brought them down for me to try.  You know, it's hard to identify a mermaid dress on the rack!  2 of the 3 I tried were pretty, but they were more mermaid-esque than the real thing.  The Lia from Melissa Sweet had gorgeous button detail down the back of the dress, but I wasn't crazy about the front.  Then there was style# 3052 from Priscilla of Boston.  Again, very pretty button detail, but the dress just didn't feel right on me.  There were no sparks.  So the last dress I tried (the girl helping me saved it for last because she felt I would like it the best).  Romona Keveza's 559.  (For some reason I can't find good images of this dress on the net, weird: this view isn't the best.)  The salesgirl was right!  Sadly, it was out of my price range, so it seemed as though my dress search was going nowhere.  However, Salesgirl told me that dress was going to be part of a floor sample sale the following week and that I should come back and see what the price would be reduced to.

The last place I went to was Jin Wang.  Another salon where they make your dress to order, but they also carry gowns from other designers.  What I liked about JW was that her dresses are known for being as detailed in the back as well as in the front.  Here, I tried on several gowns, not all were mermaids.  My favorite there was a lacy number: more golden in color (it gave an antique feeling), plunge v-neckline, big bustle in the rear, panel of rows of ruffles peeking from the back.  It was beautiful, very updated Southern belle.  It was also almost 8K.

So that was the end of that day.

I returned to Alexandra a week or 2 later to try on 559 again.  It was almost 60% off, ack!!  After trying on a few other dresses, a different Melissa Sweet, an Amy Michealson (should be available to view in "My Gallery"), I stepped into 559.  This was when I panicked and called my bridesmaid NN (one of my other bridesmaids is NF) to come look at the dress to see if it was the one.  Being the wonderful person she is, she walked over from work in heels and approved, ha!  I was still mulling this decision over and the salesgirl said that she would also include the veil I liked (a Jennifer Leigh) for free.  I forked over my card.

 I HAD A DRESS!

Well, almost.  Since it was a floor sample, it was a size 8.  I'm more like....a 2 or a 0.  I'd worry about alterations later.