Wedding dress shopping

[mrscushion]

Would you go wedding dress shopping by yourself?

I''m dying to start dress shopping and get a feel for what''s out there. Problem is, my mom is overseas and none of the MOH/BM (whom I haven''t even officially picked yet) are in my city. I would never commit to a dress without my mom being part of the experience, but I''d like to get started. I''m not sure, though, what to expect from going by myself and whether that is even done. What are your opinions?

 

[mrscushion]

Whoa, I so posted this in the wrong section, my bad. I''ll get it moved.

 

[bee*]

I definitely would go by myself. My mam met me at one of the shops so I was there by myself for a while and it''s nice to browse through them and just think of what you like instead of what everyone else likes.

 

[violet3]

Date: 4/27/2009 7:08:19 PM
Author:mscushion
Would you go wedding dress shopping by yourself?

I'm dying to start dress shopping and get a feel for what's out there. Problem is, my mom is overseas and none of the MOH/BM (whom I haven't even officially picked yet) are in my city. I would never commit to a dress without my mom being part of the experience, but I'd like to get started. I'm not sure, though, what to expect from going by myself and whether that is even done. What are your opinions?

Ummmmm......YES! I went a ton of times - a couple of times with my sis, a couple of times with a friend, a couple of times with my mom, and at least three times alone. These were my favorite times in shopping, and i'll tell you why. A smart PSer said to me that people would have an idea in their minds of what they'd like to see on you - i found this to be very true.

What i found when i went alone was that i guided the choices of dress styles (rather than whomever was with me) and the employees/owners of the salons brought me things that were similar that i wouldn't have picked out. Also, i liked hearing what they had to say b/c they didn't know me and their opinions are therefore unbiased - pretty easy to take the criticism from them that is

As a preliminary measure, i highly recommend it. i generally know what i like and what i like ON ME, and these alone times were less confusing for me than when i was with other people... (this is probably not the case with everyone, however, but it was for me).

 

[OUpearlgirl]

I work in a bridal boutique. I would say about 1/3 of our brides come in alone. Sometimes they have an initial appointment alone, and bring in mom, friend, bridesmaid, etc once they have it narrowed down to 2-4 dresses.

You should be fine going in alone!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I would definitely go by myself, but that''s just the kind of person I am.

 

[mrscushion]

Thanks for all the input, ladies, particularly the stat that 1/3 come in by themselves. I appreciate it.

I ALWAYS go clothes shopping by myself, actually kinda dislike doing it with other people, so I think it will be fun if I go alone at least this once.

 

[JR320]

I started out by myself too so that I could get an idea of what I was really looking for. Then I took my sister and FI''s sister back to the same shop with me, and then I took another BM on a separate occasion to confirm. There are so many dresses out there it can be overwhelming. Going by myself helped me to narrow it down to start with!

 

[Octavia]

I promised my mother and aunt that I'd wait until they could come with me to go dress shopping. We had a fun weekend and went to a couple shops, but I didn't find the dress. I went by myself to a different shop a couple weeks afterward, and found the dress then. My parents were coming to visit the following weekend, so I took them to the shop and showed them the dress I'd chosen -- but by then it was a done deal, so I was clad they liked my choice! I'm looking forward to having my best friends come with me to the fittings, but it was really nice and low-pressure to go shopping alone.

 

[katamari]

I wholeheartedly recommend shopping by yourself, at least until you get an idea of what you like and the style of dress that looks good on you. I started taking friends and it was so frustrating because the dresses are all so beautiful, but there is such a range in style and what looks good on you. Plus, of the three friends I took, all have significantly different styles than I do, and they only loved the dresses that they would love on them.

Once I knew what I wanted (style-wise), I went with my mom and FMIL once, just to give them the experience of it all.

I will admit that I kind of felt awkward the first time I went alone, but it faded very quickly; it only took until I approached the first SA to say I was there for an appointment alone. I also honestly don''t think I would have ended up with the style that suits my body best had I kept shopping with others.

 

[House Cat]

I went with friends a couple of times and I went by myself even more times. I like to shop by myself because I believe that shopping with me is really painful. I have to try things on a few times, look at everything in the store to make sure I haven''t missed something spectacular, and then stand in front of the mirror for a very long time to make sure I really love the item. I was no different with my wedding dress and honestly, a friend or two would probably become bored with me if they had to deal with my shopping process.

And honestly, my friends have their fashion tastes, and they are very different from mine. I wanted my gown to reflect ME. In the end, shopping alone proved to be the best idea.

 

[kama_s]

I think I did majority of my dress shopping myself. Twice I took my mum, once I took my MIL and once I took a friend, and for the most part they only came to see the dress I''d chosen.

I love shopping on my own, even if it''s just groceries!

 

[elrohwen]

I took FI with me because I really didn't want to go by myself. Not that I couldn't make a decision alone, but the fun just wouldn't be there without someone to share it with. FI was perfect though because he really didn't have many opinions on clothes, so I had all the perks of going by myself and the benefits of having someone to share it with.

It's also a bit different for me because I was going into NYC which is a 70min train ride and then a bit of a walk from the train station. Going to the city alone is kind of a chore with all the train time and no one to talk to. If the shop was close to me I don't think I would've had any issues going by myself.

 

[LadyBlue]

My mom was in another country as well, so I went shopping by myself and choice the dress by myself. She luckly came the day I pick it up, so she got to see the dress on me that day, and was nice to have her there. but I did not feel bad shopping alone eather.

 

[princessplease]

After going the first two times with my MOH, and then my mom, MOH and sister, I would have to say that I definitely would love to go alone, lol. Everyone was constantly poking this and moving that. I guess when I was trying to gauge dresses and styles, I felt like I was trying to make everyone else happy about what I tried on. Violet said it all: when I went with everyone, they kind of guided what I tried on based on what they thought I should wear. I also felt rushed because if someone had to leave, I wanted to get all the dresses in before that. I think I''ll definitely go alone next time. Granted, I did love some of what I tried on, but a lot of it was mom saying "Oh, I like this, get her this one". I;ll definitely bring mom and MOH with me when I have it narrowed down to a few dresses.

 

[marchswallowbird]

I went wedding dress shopping by myself quite a bit. In fact, I was alone when I chose my dress. It was actually easier being alone, because I wasn''t influenced by anybody else''s opinion.

 

[chibride10]

I WISH I had gone by myself the first time! I brought my FMIL, mom, FSIL and sister. I ended up feeling pressured and listening way too much to their opinions...and I ended up buying a dress I didn''t like! About 4 months later (I was lucky I had that kind of time), I realized I was very unhappy with my dress and went shopping alone. I was so much more able to figure out what it was I really liked...and then when I found 2-3 dresses I brought my mom and a friend. They helped me choose one I really loved. The other one is now for sale!!

 

[Kelli]

Heck yes I''d go by myself! I didn''t, but I have lots of people nearby that wanted to go help me choose. But I love shopping by myself, so why not wedding dresses?

 

[caribqueen]

I work in an industry where a lot of my peers have moved around because of their jobs and so living far from family is the norm. I know many who ended up picking out and then buying their dress alone. I''m not sure that I''ll do that but I know I don''t want a crowd with me. But that''s because I know what I like and I believe and trust my eye that tells me what looks good on me. In this situation, I look for my mother (who has a good eye as well) to give me some feedback outside of myself and that''ll be it for me as far as the input that I''d want.