I've talked a little bit before about my dress. And about torn feelings towards my dress.
Well, a few days ago I saw a dress from Davids (of all places! For some reason, I hold a serious grudge against Davids.) that would be super easy to shorten to tea/knee length and had a top like I was dreaming of. I sat on that thought for a day as it burned into my brain and then ran over the Davids to try it on.
The top was just completely adorable and I love it. The only part I didn't like was that it poofs out right at the natural waist...so it would be a great dress if you are slightly preggers for your wedding! Of course the sales ladies were there telling me that no one would think I was preggers and that that is how its supposed to fit and that it was just adorable on me and so on. I really wanted that dress to work. Its so close to perfect! But not quite right...not worth it to risk the whole drama of changing dresses on a 'not quite' dress.
Even so, I couldn't get it out of my head. So after talking to my mister and an opinionated bridesmaid, I figured I should talk to someone about altering to see if it could be made into my perfect dress. I get an e-mail response today that says, yes, (based on online pictures and my descriptions) it is likely possible to alter it to remove the preggers affect. It may add a few hundred to the cost of my dress in the end...but it could possibly be the dress I was hoping for.
Now I am completely torn. I feel so stuck in the middle, unable to tell which way I'm leaning because every hour it changes. One hour I want to go for it...run the risk, buy a new dress, and see if this lady can work magic and make it the dress I was hoping for. The next hour I'm telling myself just to go with my current dress. Its a great, flattering dress and the alterations will make it less bridal and more me.
In the end, I just want to feel like myself on my wedding. I don't want to feel like a bridal dress up doll in some overly fancy gown (Note: this is coming from the girl whose most complicated hairdo in her arsenal is the amazing ponytail!). I want to be the best version of myself, not a different self.
So...
Is it worth the risk of buying a new dress when I already have one? Go for the gold or commit to my silver medal dress? What if I take the risk and the dress misses gold and ends up being a silver anyway? What if I can't sell my current dress (anyone interested?) and end up out the money and with two dresses? What if I have no idea what to do!?!?!
(PS Sorry for the whiny post today. I feel like a big baby who can't decide anything and is being a brat looking for her perfect dress.)
Ok- FUCK DAVIDS! sorry, the f bomb had to be used to convey every emotion I feel towards that place. If you use them for anything- even if it is just throwing that dress over your arm and walking out the door- it will put your entire dress experience in a negative light. They suck. Their dresses suck. Their sales associates suck. Their alterations department sucks. I have had so many BAD experiences with them (having 6 months to alter a dress - a simple hem- and them not finishing until 4 days before the wedding, dying products the wrong color, associates insinuating that I should lose weight, and them losing a dress altogether!) I didn't think it was possible to feel hatred toward a retail chain- but I do for them. Honestly, if my own sister was getting married and asked me to get a bridesmaid dress from them, I would drop out of the wedding party. Enough of that, it is biased. What I can say, is if you buy that dress, DO NOT let THEM alter it, take it somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteHonest advice? Don't buy something with intentions of "fixing" it, you didn't start dating your fiance with intentions of changing him to suit you.
And for the sake of an opinion- your first dress is drop dead gorgeous. The second one is quite ordinary looking, to me.
The top of the second dress is very pretty. I am partial to sweetheart necklines. Do you think you'd like the first dress more if you altered the top a little? I'm sure a good seamstress could make the top more sweetheart and less straight across? I'd be inclined to work with the dress I have, unless I found something that was exactly what I wanted. Have you thought about having your dress made? Just my $.02. Good luck with whatever you decide!
ReplyDeleteif you don't like your dress, ditch it. but schmactical is right. don't go buy another dress that isn't right thinking you can fix it. you'll just end up with TWO DRESSES you don't like.
ReplyDeleteIf it helps, at least you have A dress. I have zero. (I wouldn't be much help right now.) All I know is that whenever I have a hard time picking out an outfit, I always end up wearing the first thing I tried on. I'm having a very hard time dress shopping myself. I get you though in wanting to feel like yourself. Josh and I spoke briefly about that last night. We were looking at wedding day outfits online and we liked all sorts of stuff, but we kept saying how it didn't "look" like us. We're t-shirt and jeans, disheveled hair kinda kids. So getting gussied up is a little odd for us. And don't be sorry about the whiny post, we all have our days. Keep us posted on the dress stress... er, hunt! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the sane words! Why is it that when left to myself I get all crazy?
ReplyDelete@ practical, schmactical - Agreed, F Davids. And thanks for the compliments on my current dress!
@ kc Thats something I'm going to consider - adding more sweetheart since its such a nice line!
@ esb True that - how dumb would I feel to end up with two dresses and still be grumbling? Very dumb, thats how.
@ Angie Dito. I'm totally just a jeans and t-shirt gal, so putting on a big dress feels different. Thanks for the support!
It's so easy to get sucked into the dress realm, and as a two dress bride, would urge you to hold off on buying a second.
ReplyDeleteYou have a seamstress who is going to work with you to make the allure dress more you, so great!
The David's dress is lovely, but I think a talented seamstress could transform what you have into a sweetheart neckline and little something else.
Also- check out trimming stores to buy appliques or beaded thingys if you are looking for more oomph.
When are you getting married? Are there good vintage shops in your area? In the line of ESB, if you are thinking of getting a number 2 dress you want it to be as close to the mythical One as it could be. What kinds of fancy cloths do you like to wear? What kind of cuts, fabrics, silhouettes? Go from there with what you love on you and find something at 100% (if you do decide to look again.)