Showing posts with label dress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dress. Show all posts
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Big sigh of relief over here
While at the seamstress today, I went ahead and tried my dress on again. I wanted to see how much further I had to go to fit into it. When I bought it, there was a gap of about 2.5 inches keeping it from closing. The last time I tried it on in late July, there was a gap of about two inches. Today.........drum roll please............................half an inch. Whoo-hoo!
I've been watching my calories, using the rowing machine and lifting free weights. In the last couple of weeks, my weight loss has slowed down and I was getting really nervous. I think I must have been putting on muscle though because today the dress was that much closer to fitting. In fact, the seamstress said that if need be, she really could have zipped it up and we're close enough that she could sneak in a small panel to make it fit without binding me.
I know I've said this before but don't ever buy a dress that's too small if you don't have to. If you're in that situation, you can do it. It hasn't been easy but it can be done. Now you'll have to excuse me. Krispy Kreme has the hot doughnut sign up and it's calling my name.
I've been watching my calories, using the rowing machine and lifting free weights. In the last couple of weeks, my weight loss has slowed down and I was getting really nervous. I think I must have been putting on muscle though because today the dress was that much closer to fitting. In fact, the seamstress said that if need be, she really could have zipped it up and we're close enough that she could sneak in a small panel to make it fit without binding me.
I know I've said this before but don't ever buy a dress that's too small if you don't have to. If you're in that situation, you can do it. It hasn't been easy but it can be done. Now you'll have to excuse me. Krispy Kreme has the hot doughnut sign up and it's calling my name.
Frankly my dear - I do give a damn!
First, I want to introduce you to the inspiration behind my reception dress:
I spent about two hours looking through at least 60 fabric sample books. I knew it had to be sheer so I only checked the sheer curtains books. When I walked out of that place, I was covered in lint but had found about four different fabrics that might work. I brought those pattern books over to the seamstress and she told me that two of them would work for the dress. One was a tiny swiss dot material. The other was this:
I liked this material but it was a fairly dark ivory. I really had wanted something that was more white and something that wasn't $24 a yard. But it looked like I might have to settle because it takes 6-8 weeks to get this material ordered. I ran by Jo-Ann so I could check out some patterns and get an approximate idea of how much I need to order. Here I am pretending like I know how to read patterns and sew:
I decided to look in the fabric section for material for the dress lining and on a whim, checked out the home decorators fabrics - something I hadn't done the first time I visited. The Boy was the hero and spotted this:
Score! $24 a yard with 50% off of that price! And this fabric only takes two weeks to get in. I walked out of there feeling so relieved. I hadn't wanted to spend a lot of money on a reception dress because it seemed so frivolous - who the heck needs two wedding dresses? If I can do it cheap though, I don't feel too guilty. My regular wedding dress weighs a ton and there's no way I can bust a move into the dawn hours in a huge, heavy dress. The only thing left to do is pick out the lining material and the crinoline netting (I'm thinking dark red) and I'll be good to go.
Behold - the loveliness that was known as Michelle Roth's Maya. It's no longer being made but even if it was, there's no way I could afford it. And even if I could, I wouldn't be able to stomach paying lots of money for a reception dress. So I looked for alternatives. Here's a copy done by Julius Bridal:
This is only $354 when you factor in shipping. I've read several reviews of Julius Bridal and some people have been very happy with their dresses, while others haven't. I still felt slightly queasy spending that much for a reception dress so I talked to my seamstress and asked her if she could make me a dress. She said that for under $100 (plus the cost of the fabric), she could definitely do that. I just had to find the fabric - white polka dots - not to hard to find, right?
Wrong. I searched through Joann's fabric department. I asked several internet savvy sewers to see what they could find online. I scoured ebay. Nothing. So on the advice of some friends, I headed over to Mill Agent fabric store. They sell fabrics for home furnishings. I automatically started imagining something like this dress, just in white:
I spent about two hours looking through at least 60 fabric sample books. I knew it had to be sheer so I only checked the sheer curtains books. When I walked out of that place, I was covered in lint but had found about four different fabrics that might work. I brought those pattern books over to the seamstress and she told me that two of them would work for the dress. One was a tiny swiss dot material. The other was this:
I liked this material but it was a fairly dark ivory. I really had wanted something that was more white and something that wasn't $24 a yard. But it looked like I might have to settle because it takes 6-8 weeks to get this material ordered. I ran by Jo-Ann so I could check out some patterns and get an approximate idea of how much I need to order. Here I am pretending like I know how to read patterns and sew:
I decided to look in the fabric section for material for the dress lining and on a whim, checked out the home decorators fabrics - something I hadn't done the first time I visited. The Boy was the hero and spotted this:
Score! $24 a yard with 50% off of that price! And this fabric only takes two weeks to get in. I walked out of there feeling so relieved. I hadn't wanted to spend a lot of money on a reception dress because it seemed so frivolous - who the heck needs two wedding dresses? If I can do it cheap though, I don't feel too guilty. My regular wedding dress weighs a ton and there's no way I can bust a move into the dawn hours in a huge, heavy dress. The only thing left to do is pick out the lining material and the crinoline netting (I'm thinking dark red) and I'll be good to go.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Stick me on a wedding cake - I'm done!
I'm going to be completely honest. I realize that there are lots of women out there who think trying on wedding gowns would be so much fun. I was not one of those women. I detest trying on clothes. Hate it, hate it, hate it. When I shop for clothes, I head to Marshalls or TJ Maxx and grab about 30 things to try on. It's something I get over with as quickly as possible. Objectively, I know there are a lot of people who would like to have my figure. I'm not overweight, I've got long legs for a short girl and nothing is out of proportion with anything else. Of course I want to lose the requisite 20 pounds (and I'm ashamed to admit this because I hate what our society does to women) but nothing awful to work with. However, I very rarely like the way I look in clothes. It takes me a long time to find stuff that I think is flattering and I was not looking forward to trying on THE MOST IMPORTANT DRESS I WILL EVER BUY and picking one out.
I was pleasantly surprised. I actually had fun. I went with my maid of honor and best friend the first time and we had a really good time. The first store we hit was White Lace & Promises. Lori who helped us was fantastic and I highly recommend her. She asked me what I was looking for and I told her that I really had no idea. I just knew that I didn't want an elegant, slip-style dress like you'd see J Crew models wearing because I knew I'd look stupid in it and I didn't want a dress with an empire waist because then all of my FI's relatives would whisper that I was pregnant.
So these styles were out:
She gave me a bunch of clips to put on the dresses we wanted to try on and we started looking. My first realization was that there may be more choices now, but there are still buttloads of strapless dresses out there. I quickly ruled out the more spangle-encrusted gowns. I tried on a mermaid shaped dress and my BF and I promptly cracked up at how dumb I looked. We decided that if I was going to go strapless, I looked better with a sweetheart neckline rather than one that was straight across. I found it funny because I expected my BF to pick out different styles of dresses than what she choosing, just based on what she personally liked. I asked her about it and she said that I was more "sparkly" so she was choosing based on that. For some reason, that cracked me up. I told her it was perfect. Sparkly could be used both as a compliment and as an insult.
We quickly decided that the more pouffy the skirt of the dress was, the better I looked. Nothing elegant for me - hook me up with a Donna Reed dress!!! Here's a pic of our favorite dress at that store:
Is that not one of the most ridiculous dresses you've ever seen?!!! Yet it looked really good on me. My waist looked tiny and even though I'm on the short side, it didn't overwhelm me. So a 50s prom dress was where it was at.
We went and fortified ourselves with strawberry margaritas - it was a girly day and we needed a girl drink! Whipped cream and all! Then it was on to our next stop.
Wedding Wonderland was next. This was not my favorite store to be blunt. I've heard from other people that they loved it but the girl who helped us was a snot. It's one of the more upscale bridal shops in town but Rodeo Drive it isn't. {rolling eyes} I had called and asked if it was necessary to have an appointment for a weekday and was told it wasn't. Our saleslady acted a bit put out by our just showing up. Then she asked me when my wedding date was - I lied and said October. Her eyebrows shot up at that. I'm sorry but I think it's insane that women are expected to shop over a year in advance for a wedding dress. I overheard another girl talking about how she was buying a dress for her wedding next May. No - not this coming May but May of 2009. Of course she was also having 14 of her sorority sisters be her bridemaids so I immediately quit listening and we started to shop.
I really like Maggie Sottero dresses. Some of them are (IMHO) hilariously hoochified. But after trying a couple on, they looked very good on me. I seriously thought the girl helping us was going to put her foot on my back to get the strings as tight as she could. It looked great though, even if I couldn't breathe. I also tried on a Lea-Ann Belter dress - I fell in love with the fabric. It made it look so rich and expensive. Here's a pic:
I decided that I had had enough of trying on dresses that weighed more than my cats so my BF and I decided we'd call it a day and I'd go the next round with my mom.
I was pleasantly surprised. I actually had fun. I went with my maid of honor and best friend the first time and we had a really good time. The first store we hit was White Lace & Promises. Lori who helped us was fantastic and I highly recommend her. She asked me what I was looking for and I told her that I really had no idea. I just knew that I didn't want an elegant, slip-style dress like you'd see J Crew models wearing because I knew I'd look stupid in it and I didn't want a dress with an empire waist because then all of my FI's relatives would whisper that I was pregnant.
So these styles were out:
She gave me a bunch of clips to put on the dresses we wanted to try on and we started looking. My first realization was that there may be more choices now, but there are still buttloads of strapless dresses out there. I quickly ruled out the more spangle-encrusted gowns. I tried on a mermaid shaped dress and my BF and I promptly cracked up at how dumb I looked. We decided that if I was going to go strapless, I looked better with a sweetheart neckline rather than one that was straight across. I found it funny because I expected my BF to pick out different styles of dresses than what she choosing, just based on what she personally liked. I asked her about it and she said that I was more "sparkly" so she was choosing based on that. For some reason, that cracked me up. I told her it was perfect. Sparkly could be used both as a compliment and as an insult.
We quickly decided that the more pouffy the skirt of the dress was, the better I looked. Nothing elegant for me - hook me up with a Donna Reed dress!!! Here's a pic of our favorite dress at that store:
Is that not one of the most ridiculous dresses you've ever seen?!!! Yet it looked really good on me. My waist looked tiny and even though I'm on the short side, it didn't overwhelm me. So a 50s prom dress was where it was at.
We went and fortified ourselves with strawberry margaritas - it was a girly day and we needed a girl drink! Whipped cream and all! Then it was on to our next stop.
Wedding Wonderland was next. This was not my favorite store to be blunt. I've heard from other people that they loved it but the girl who helped us was a snot. It's one of the more upscale bridal shops in town but Rodeo Drive it isn't. {rolling eyes} I had called and asked if it was necessary to have an appointment for a weekday and was told it wasn't. Our saleslady acted a bit put out by our just showing up. Then she asked me when my wedding date was - I lied and said October. Her eyebrows shot up at that. I'm sorry but I think it's insane that women are expected to shop over a year in advance for a wedding dress. I overheard another girl talking about how she was buying a dress for her wedding next May. No - not this coming May but May of 2009. Of course she was also having 14 of her sorority sisters be her bridemaids so I immediately quit listening and we started to shop.
I really like Maggie Sottero dresses. Some of them are (IMHO) hilariously hoochified. But after trying a couple on, they looked very good on me. I seriously thought the girl helping us was going to put her foot on my back to get the strings as tight as she could. It looked great though, even if I couldn't breathe. I also tried on a Lea-Ann Belter dress - I fell in love with the fabric. It made it look so rich and expensive. Here's a pic:
I decided that I had had enough of trying on dresses that weighed more than my cats so my BF and I decided we'd call it a day and I'd go the next round with my mom.
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