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Thursday, June 2, 2011

Sample Shopping City! Population: Me.

Once the dust settled on my dress drama, I realized that I needed to look for a dress right away.  So as I let the information soak in, I asked the salon if I could try some gowns on before I left sans dress. 


And just like that, I entered the world of sample dress shopping.
  
I dug through the racks on a mission, there had to be something that could come close to what I want.  Wait--what do I want?  What am I doing?  Am I seriously looking for a dress right now?!


I composed myself and started trying on dresses, again.  And found two contenders:


Dress A:



Dress B:


I only mildly liked Dress A.  I was shocked that I liked the shape of it but it was so comfortable!  The one thing I hated was that there were feathers sticking out of it in random places--not for me. It was in pristine condition, and it was almost the right size!  But the feathers really bugged me, could I have someone pluck them off? 

My mom loved Dress B, but again I was "meh" about it.  I loved the beautiful lace, but the bottom was too much for me. It wasn't the kind of beautiful I'd want to wear on my wedding day.  The fabric was layered and the colors were beautiful, it resembled a sunset.  And the sample had been worn a lot. The lace and the tulle were darkened by wear (it looked much darker than the picture above).  I couldn't do it.  And then, I finally had a moment of panic.  I held my head in my hands, as the tears flowed and I let my frustration get the best of me.  With a month left to go, don't have a dress!  Either one of these dresses could work with some tweaks but there is no time for changes now!

Lesson learned: some samples are on sale for a reason. Sample shopping isn't for everyone. And somewhere out there is a beautiful bride who would look stunning in either without the "tweaks" I would want.  

So I went home to relax and think.  It's just a dress, it's just a dress, it's just a dress...breathe.  I turned to my good friend, Google and searched "wedding dress straps sleeves" and came up with a bunch of beautiful dresses but I wasn't wowed.  Then I paid a visit to Once Wed to see what was new in the world of pre-loved wedding dresses and I found it.  Wanna see?

{TIME OUT:  Bear, I know we agreed that you weren't going to catch up on the blog until after the wedding.  But just in case, do not read further.]






Diana! I totally forgot that I had been head over heels for this dress but I never got a chance to try it on.  I figured it  wasn't meant to be. After I bought my original dress, I got rid of all images of wedding gowns for my sanity's sake.  

But now, with 30-something days to the wedding it was time to find that dress! The listing I found was way too small, so I turned to local shops.  The Enzoani site listed two retailers in CT that carried their dresses, and I started dialing.  The first one was closed, rrg.  The second shop had the dress and they were going to let me come in and try on the sample!  Without telling anyone, I hopped into my car after work and drove two hours to a town I'd never heard of (sad, I've lived in CT for most of my life), to a shop that stayed open to let me try on samples to purchase. 

Before I could get my hands on the dress that I came for, I tried on a couple others to be sure--


This beautiful Watters gown was first.  But it was a no. Then I tried on this Watters:


But it didn't have straps, and I was not going to start changing dresses this late in the game.  So finally, finally, I tried on Diana.  


And it made me smile.  It made me twirl a bit. I picked up the edges of the skirt and tried to spin and almost fell off the pedestal I was standing upon.  Mmmyes.  I think this dress will do.  There were no tears or snags in the lace, no signs of wear to be had. The consultant told me that the sample was new, and it showed.  

Oh, I wish I could tell you that I jumped up, grabbed my credit card and paid on the spot.  But I didn't.  I had to take a day to think about it--just a day because there isn't much time left.  I had to let my decision soak in before I picked the dress off the rack and tied myself to alterations that were 4 hours away round trip.  Just because the decision had to be made quickly, didn't mean that I had to make it lightly, right?

So did I choose this dress?  Friends, you will have to wait and see!














5 comments:

  1. Oh I hope you did ;) So pleased you've found your dress - whatever that may be. I was going to suggest a dress like the first A-line you posted as I've seen a dress like that on WB which is pretty. But then I scrolled down and saw the Diana.....

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  2. p.s. it never occured to me that sample dresses were in a sale for reason. It wouldn't be for me then either.

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  3. Diana is a stunning dress! Please keep us posted on whether or not you bought it. Oh, and did you try it with that amazing sash?

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  4. Eep! I hope you chose it!! It's a beautiful, beautiful dress.. and seems like it was fate that they had a sample of the dress you originally loved..?!

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  5. The dress is gorgeous! Such a showstopper! Another vote for Diana.

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