Dress Shopping 101

So the fun stuff has started! Yesterday, Sydnee, her sister-in-law-to-be Kiera, another bridesmaid Madeleine, and I all went shopping for dresses! It was a long day but super fun, even though we didn't get very far. Kiera, Sydnee and I first drove across the river to an adjacent town where there were a few bridal stores. The first one we went to, the consultant was just soooo nice, even though the prices were a little outside our budget. But we still tried on some dresses to get an idea of what we like and what we don't like. Here's a list of what we're thinking: above the knee, flowy if possible, empire-waisted, tiffany blue, and it would be nice if the all had different tops, since we're all different shapes (like, straps, strapless, off the shoulder, whatever). The first store could do all that. And they could order in dresses of many different colours. But since it was kind of expensive, and we didn't find any dress that we all thought right away, "Wow! That's the one!" we moved on to the next store.

The second store across the river we went to did not start off on such a nice note. We went in, and the lady there told us we could look around. Sydnee found a few dresses she would like to try on, and so, she pulled it off the rack. But all of a sudden, the consultants there said we were doing it wrong, that we needed some special clothespins that we would then put on the hangers of the ones we wanted pulled. Well, fine. But they could have told us that before, when we walked in, and given us some of these magical clothespins. Anyways, Sydnee tried on three dresses, all which were beautiful, and one in particular which was stunning. But it was $1300. And it was also a bit too grand, I think, for the garden wedding that Sydnee will be having. But still. GORGEOUS. We left the store without trying on any bridesmaid dresses (because the consultants weren't so friendly and it made us want to get out of there), and with words that we'd come back maybe to try on that $1300 dress (yeah right). I think we had been spoiled with how nice the consultant from the first store was.

So. Onward. We knew there was a third store very close by to the second store. In fact, we had tried walking there before going to the second store because there was still ten minutes before it was open. But we couldn't find it, and figured that it was further along the road than we thought and would simply drive there. Well, after we left the second store, we started driving. I had Syd's iPhone to direct us, but I noticed something strange. As we drove in the direction we thought the third store was in, we got further and further away from the third store! We had already had some issues with the iPhone's map on the way here, when it said we were on top of the first store, but in reality were sitting in a parking lot by some fast food place! But I figured we really were going the wrong direction, and told Sydnee to turn around because it looked like we were heading out of the commercial area of the town. So, after a few re-routings (I think I was really tired. Usually I'm a good navigator, but yesterday was a little hectic!) we ended up driving in a complete circle. The extremely ironic, funny part? We ended up in almost (and maybe even exactly) in the same parking spot in front of the second store. And Kiera had noticed that the third store was basically across the street from where we were!!! How ridiculous was that? And when we finally entered the third store, we looked around for five minutes before deciding there wasn't anything that caught our eye, and so we headed back to our city!

We then went to a local bridal store that Sydnee had already gone to with her mom and mother-in-law-to-be. There was a dress there that she really loved (well, a couple, but one specifically). Here it is! There were no pictures allowed, but Sydnee managed to sneak these pictures on her phone while she was in the dressing room. You can tell from this first picture that the back isn't done up yet, so when you actually see it, it's very form-fitting and flattering. It's a very simple dress but so elegant. I love it! Could this be the one?


Kiera and I also tried on some dresses. There was one that I quite liked. It had a somewhat deep-v top with thicker straps, kind of Audrey Hepburn-ish. (Sorry, we didn't get a photo of any of the other dresses from that store.) Very pretty, though. (And it would allow for a normal bra underneath!) It had this neat kind of square bow in the back, and a scoop neckline in the back as well. The only issue we're having is that bridal store dresses are more expensive than normal store dresses, so we wanted to go to some normal stores and see if they have anything there. We left the store to head to our local mall.


So, at one store in the mall, we found these. I think they were around $50 - so much better than the couple hundred of dollars we might have to spend if we go through a bridal store. Only problem is that they didn't have my size! :( We got the store clerks to phone around to other locations to see if they would have it, but no luck! :( They were super cute (love the print!), and would be great for a garden wedding. But that's the one issue if you go through a normal store. The price might be great, but then you're compromising the customability (is that a word? Well it is now!) such as the size, and even the colour and cut. So, I think we're just going to have to keep looking... (PS. Do you like the headless models? Sorry for that, but I forgot to ask permission for their pictures to be online, but I still wanted to show you the dresses!)

So then, we went to go pick Madeleine up and went to this mega mall a few cities over to go see what they might have. There were a few bridal stores there, each of which was run by quite the characters! One store, the lady didn't really understand anything we asked (Sydnee: "What are the dresses that come in tiffany blue?" Lady: "Oh yes, this dress comes in purple, and red, and green, and pink..."). The second store thought we were grad dress shopping, and the third store, they all spoke with Russian accents... And one lady asked Sydnee something quite remarkable: "Are you sure?" To which Sydnee replied, "what, to be married?" The lady looked at Sydnee and said, "Yes." Sydnee then replied, "Yeah!" The lady then just said, "Oh. Okay." I mean, what the heck? Sydnee is old enough to be making this choice! It's none of the lady's business, and shouldn't she, as a wedding dress vendor, be encouraging it? I mean, really? Agh. But anyways. There wasn't really any dresses we liked, and so we went to Le Chateau, where we tried on these dresses. I had already tried this on at a local Le Chateau, but the others hadn't.

They're pretty, but... Well, one: they're strapless. And two: they're not even exactly the right colour (they're way more green-y in real life). Madeleine and Kiera liked them a lot, I think, but Sydnee wasn't sold on them, and I wasn't completely either. I definitely liked the price, and they felt so light and airy when you wore them... But yeah...

We ended up then heading back home, having found no other suitable stores or dresses. We went out for dinner and then Sydnee dropped me back home. Phew! What a day! It was fun (I really love hanging out with Syd and her bridesmaids. We all get along great), and though I don't know if we got anywhere, at least we know what's out there, and we have some ideas. We're going to try to schedule another day where we head off to what I'll call "Wedding Dress Lane" - a street a few cities over that is known for their bridal stores. We didn't go there yesterday because Madeleine was working until 4. But, we are still in that conundrum where we might have to sacrifice either price or the customability of a dress for one another. To buy a dress at a "regular" store or not to... that is the question! Sydnee just kept joking that we should all just buy some bras and underwear in the colour blue that she wants, because they're easy to find and a good price hahahaha. Oh dear. But yes. I will keep you updated!