RotB dust pretty please!

[katamari]

Hey ladies. In a mere 8 hours I will be amid a mob of BIW running into Filene''s in hope of scoring my dream dress. If you have some "finding the dress" dust to throw my way, I would surely appreciate it! Oh, and I will report back with all the gory details.

 

[pocahontas]

Oh Katamari, lots and lots of dust being sent your way! I''ve always thought it''d be crazy fun to participate in one of these if only for the experience of it. Have fun, be safe (no kidding) and good luck!

 

[Sparkalicious]

Katamari - "May the force be with you"

Seriously, you are super brave. Sending you lots of dust and I hope you find something amazing. When you think you''ve dug as deep as you can, I''ll be throwing some mental "bows" for you so that you and your dress can find each other amidst the madness!!

Best of luck!

 

[pocahontas]

Date: 1/30/2009 12:17:07 AM
Author: Sparkalicious
Katamari - ''May the force be with you''

Seriously, you are super brave.

Haha - fo'' shizzle

 

[Deelight]

Good luck , I was reading yesterday in an article that due to the crap economy that Filene''s has more stock .

I wish they had that sort of thing in OZ it could be fun

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Dust, dust, dust, have a great time!!

 

[honey22]

What are you doing? Can someone please explain to the donkey over here that doesn''t get it?

 

[luvbug]

You''re so brave

Good luck, you''re probably amidst the chaos right now!

 

[ash313]

Ooohhhh, fun! Please report back with an update!

 

[Clairitek]

Date: 1/30/2009 2:18:04 AM
Author: honey22
What are you doing? Can someone please explain to the donkey over here that doesn''t get it?

Aw Honey! You''re not a donkey!!

ROTB aka Running of the Brides is an event held in various Filene''s Basement locations throughout the year. They sell designer gowns at a heavily discounted price. They call it "running" of the brides because some brides line up in the wee hours of the morning before the store opens to have the best chance at getting their hands on a dream gown at a bargain basement price and then sprint to the dresses once the doors are open. Sort of like the running of the bulls in Pamplona. Before I found my dress I was considering doing this in Boston in a few weeks.

Its supposed to be pretty nuts at first because the brides and their helpers all go running in to grab whatever they can get their hands on. The brides settle in to try stuff on and then once they reject a dress the helpers will go and try to trade it for something the bride might want more. You basically have brides stripping down in the aisles to try stuff on.

Look it up on YouTube. There are a few videos out there of the action.

 

[lliang_chi]

Kata, I found my dress @ the Chicago RotB. I went in the afternoon after all the craziness died down. I found a Stephen Yearick for $500. It ended up being $550 because of Chicago ridiculous 10% sales tax

Honey, It''s not actually that crazy if you go after 10AM or so. I went at 3PM and it was actually quite calm. YOu''ll need at the very minimum one helper, someone to stay with the dresses you like, and someone to look for more dresses. You can be the "guarder" or the "seeker". I went with my mom and had her stay with the dresses and I looked for the ones I liked. Those wedding dresses can get REALLY heavy!

 

[panda08]

Date: 1/30/2009 10:20:47 AM
Author: Clairitek

Date: 1/30/2009 2:18:04 AM
Author: honey22
What are you doing? Can someone please explain to the donkey over here that doesn''t get it?

Aw Honey! You''re not a donkey!!

ROTB aka Running of the Brides is an event held in various Filene''s Basement locations throughout the year. They sell designer gowns at a heavily discounted price. They call it ''running'' of the brides because some brides line up in the wee hours of the morning before the store opens to have the best chance at getting their hands on a dream gown at a bargain basement price and then sprint to the dresses once the doors are open. Sort of like the running of the bulls in Pamplona. Before I found my dress I was considering doing this in Boston in a few weeks.

Its supposed to be pretty nuts at first because the brides and their helpers all go running in to grab whatever they can get their hands on. The brides settle in to try stuff on and then once they reject a dress the helpers will go and try to trade it for something the bride might want more. You basically have brides stripping down in the aisles to try stuff on.

Look it up on YouTube. There are a few videos out there of the action.

Oh my gosh, thanks for the explanation, I totally didn''t know what ROTB was either! This makes me think of that commercial where two women were pulling on the same dress... but I think it was a car commercial or something totally unrelated! LOL!

Katamara, good luck! Hope you out-muscle the other BIW and score your dream dress! Please post pics if you get something!

 

[Aloros]

Katamari, here''s hoping you live up to your screen name and steamroll all those other brides!

...now I''m imagining a big rolling ball of struggling brides.

 

[Winks_Elf]

Get a good night''s sleep, wear thin long janes (like cuddle skins) over your undies so you can strip down without fear of showing unmentionables, and a camisole over your bra. Oh, and a good pair of tennis shoes!

Good luck and have fun!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Ooh - TONS of dust, I hope you find your dress, can''t wait to see pics

 

[katamari]

I DID IT!

I lived through the RotB, and I got a dress! YAY!

The recap: We got there a little before 8 a.m. to see the craziness, but there were women wrapped around the shopping center where our Filene''s was. I pretty much knew I wasn''t going to get my hands on anything great off the bat. We ran in (or at least by my point in the line, more hurried walked) and by the time I got in the racks were stripped. My mom and I stayed for a bit, but when it became evident that the only dresses available to us were going to be early 90s monstrosities, we decided to go get breakfast, run around the city a little, and then come back.

Even though it was crazy at first, it was still fun. There were DJs set up and some other vendors (at least until Filene''s was actually open for other customers--which, by the way, I thought it must be horrible to just be going to get some jeans or something and stumble onto this). And, when someone would find "the dress" there would be eruptions of cheering and announcements over the PA. Cool, but not worth negotiating all the b*****s who were semi-naked in an aisle hording 100 dresses.

We left around 9:00 or so and came back closer to 11:00. By this time, even though it was still a little crazy, there were a ton more dresses on the racks, and by noon most of the hoarders and bridezillas were gone. I seriously must have tried on close to 100 dresses (on top of the 100 dresses I had already tried on previously). But I got one!

As a note for others who are thinking about going, go later! Also, it is about 90% dresses that are WAY out of style/fashion. (Like, I saw very few mermaid/trumpets as this is a relatively new style). The VAST majority of the dresses are ivory or gold-ish ivory. And, many need serious cleaning and alterations. But, I would still recommend it.

 

[katamari]

Oh, would you like some pics? (hehe).

Well, first, here are the dresses that were my front runners before the RotB. The Mikaella 1367:

 

[katamari]

And, the Pronovias Diamante:

 

[katamari]

Now for the one I didn''t get (but loved and would have also bought had my mom not put her foot down--she would not let me be a two-dress-in-one-trip bride). An Ulla Maija:

 

[katamari]

. . . that had pockets:

 

[katamari]

Instead I went with the Mikaella 1233:

 

[Blair138]

OOH very pretty! I would so love to go to the RotB but I already have my dress. I''m glad you didn''t get trampled!

 

[katamari]

It needs some alterations (and will need more, once I lose 10 pounds) and a serious cleaning. I am going to have the train cut off (instead of just being bustled) so it is all one length and have the crinoline removed so it hangs better. I am also going to do some other things to dress it down, since we are having a simple, private ceremony.

 

[katamari]

. . .

 

[katamari]

. . .

 

[katamari]

And, the best part (drumroll, please):

 

[katamari]

Date: 1/30/2009 10:28:37 AM
Author: lliang_chi
Kata, I found my dress @ the Chicago RotB. I went in the afternoon after all the craziness died down. I found a Stephen Yearick for $500. It ended up being $550 because of Chicago ridiculous 10% sales tax


Honey, It''s not actually that crazy if you go after 10AM or so. I went at 3PM and it was actually quite calm. YOu''ll need at the very minimum one helper, someone to stay with the dresses you like, and someone to look for more dresses. You can be the ''guarder'' or the ''seeker''. I went with my mom and had her stay with the dresses and I looked for the ones I liked. Those wedding dresses can get REALLY heavy!

Lliang, I wish I would have posted earlier, because this is the best advice ever! It is fun to see the craziness, but it is certainly not worth participating in. I definitely got an arms workout by lugging those dresses around. By the end, my mom was calling my style the "3 to 5 pound range."

Yay for RotB Brides!

 

[katamari]

Date: 1/30/2009 12:32:10 PM
Author: Aloros
Katamari, here''s hoping you live up to your screen name and steamroll all those other brides!

...now I''m imagining a big rolling ball of struggling brides.

That would be the biggest ball of tulle and taffeta ever! I love it!

 

[katamari]

Thanks to everyone for the dust. PS dust always works!

 

[Deelight]

Congrats on finding the dress it looks amazing on you

and the price

I am shocked what a bargin.