dresses

[pauls girl]

So, have any future brides out there picked out their dress yet? I went on a whim trying on dresses about a month ago and found the dress of my dreams after only trying on 7 dresses or so. A bit sad really, because it was soooo much fun! Talk about feeling like a princess! My dress is up at my dad's house in Portland, so I can't even look at it until we go up there for Christmas. (weep weep

).




Mine is a strapless A-line, color: champagne (they call it "light gold" but it is basically champagne - not crazy about the color name & people usually look at me as if I just told them I am wearing a leather mini skirt & tube top to my wedding when I tell them my dress is not white). I tried on a bunch that were white & they just made me look so pale. I am Scottish/Irish/English in heritage, and my blond hair & pale skin just dissappeared into the dress. With the champagne color, I looked like I had been bathed in a golden glow & I knew instantly I had found my dress. There is side draping on the waist, which makes one's waist look about 3 inches across. The bodice is beaded, but the skirt & train have no beading and are very simple. I love my dress and it is probably best that it is 650 miles away from me, or I might try to wear it while washing dishes, watching tv, going shopping, or even taking my evening walks!

The funny thing is, I had a COMPLETELY different idea of what I wanted my dress to look like. I was convinced that I didn't want anything sleeveless & wanted more of a sheath dress than a full-on wedding gown - and CERTAINLY nothing with beads! But, I have heard that a lot of women start looking for dresses with one idea in mind, and end up with something completely different or opposite from what they thought they would like. Who'd of thunk it.

-PG

 

[Mara]

Congrats on finding THE dress!! I love champagne colored dresses or really any type of dresses that don't look like 'typical' wedding.




I have been looking ..and looking..and looking. Found one I adored, but it was $2k and there is no way I can justify that for an outdoor wedding in Hawaii! Maybe for a church thing here but not on a destination. So I kept looking..found a few silk sheath slip type dresses I like..very basic..silk with very small trains and beaded spaghetti straps. But haven't decided yet. I know I am lagging a bit, wedding is next May..but luckily some of these really basic dresses are 1) very cheap and 2) easily alterable so I don't have to worry as if I had a really elaborate dress that would need multiple fittings. The dresses I have found fit really well and are kind of like buy-and-go..hehee. Plus I'd much rather spend that extra $$ on things for the actual wedding (e.g. food!) as opposed to a dress I am only wearing once. I know that is girl-sacrilege talk ...not wanting to spend $$ on the dress..but it just doesn't make alot of sense for this type of wedding. I am more of a flower girl and/or food girl...and I also really didn't want to have to worry about this beautiful expensive dress being dragged all over the grass and sand in Hawaii.

If I had unlimited funds and could choose any dress I wanted...I would choose this amazing Badgley Mischka dress that I saw in the Town & Country bride issue early this year. This dress is magnificent. It's also $15000. Yes, expensive. I couldn't find a picture of it online so I bought the mag and scanned it in. I thought about having it made (its actually perfect for an outdoor type wedding), but I would be afraid that it wouldn't come out right and then I would be disappointed...because the picture is stunning. I still drool on it sometimes.




We'll see..I still have some other dresses I haven't tried on again...like a few Jim Hjelm visions ones in organza (very flowy!)--but I keep getting drawn towards the really simple basic style dresses..so that may be the way to go. Time shall tell!!

I wish I had just found something early but I guess since our plans changed, that wouldn't have been good either because then I would have had a fancy dress that didn't match the Hawaii plans..hehee.

 

[DancinGirl]

I have my dress - and it's not pure white either! I actually got this last year because I was engaged previously and it didn't work out - but I am still wearing this dress now that I am engaged to the RIGHT man - because it is my FAVORITE!

It's Ivory and Rum pink. It's a halter top, sweetheart neckline, tulle ball skirt with a cathedral train. I LOVE IT! I'll post pics in a reply post cause I already typed all this and now I can't upload.

 

[DancinGirl]

Okay - I have been trying to resize pictures I have to make them fit in here! UGH! This is a picture of the details on the bodice of the dress. I look like crap, so ignore me.

 

[DancinGirl]

Okay - and here is a full view of it. It has NOT been altered yet, and I need to shorten it because it's way too long for me. (thats why it's dragging on the floor)

 

[Mara]

Beautiful dress!!! It definitely looks like a fairy princess and you look lovely in it. The non-white color also very much flatters your skin tone. I love the band of satin/silk at the bottom there...I tried on a few banded dresses because I like the simple detail like that. Your waist is nice and small! I have a boxy waist so I can't wear anything that accentuates that...or else I look very straight.

 

[DancinGirl]

Yes, Ivory looks much better on me than pure white. And you are right about the small waist thing.. the dress is a Size 4! I could never fit into PANTS that size with my hips - but because of my small torso, I can fit into that dress size! But I need legs of a giraffe make it fit perfectly cause it is so long.

I have to let my fiance's Mom see the dress cause she wants to do the alterations, but I warned her she may not want to (with about 9 layers of tulle) - so I may be going to a professional.

 

[pauls girl]

Wow, Dancin Girl - Beautiful dress! I love it - and you look stunning in it. It is really amazing how when you find "THE" dress, you just know. I too have a small waist, so it comes in handy when trying on the dresses. Everyone told me that I should expect to wear a bigger size when trying on dresses (which never made much sense to me - why do wedding dresses run small??? a girl needs to feel like a size 2 on her wedding day!!! - come on designers! just label everything 2 sizes SMALLER than normal just to make a girl feel good!), but when I tried on the dresses I was a perfect size 6 in my dress. My hips are curvy, and annoying when trying on pants (need a small waist & roomy bottom), but since the waist is small, I was able to get away with a small size. Good thing. I didn't need to feel depressed when trying on my wedding dress.




Mara - I can SOOO relate to not wanting to spend a bunch of money on a dress we are going to be wearing for one day. My dress ended up being $550.00(it was on sale - nobody was buying it because of the color!!) - and I looked better in it then the 1500.00 dresses I tried on. We have a pretty strict budget, and anywhere that we can get away with spending less money is a good thing. This just means that I can have more flowers or more options at the bar for the guests. My initial dress budget was like 1k. Part of me wishes there was some excuse to wear it again after the wedding. What a waste to have it sit in a hermetically sealed box forever.

What does that 15k dress that you love look like? What kind of material? What kind of neckline?


I ended up getting my dress at David's Bridal - we went there on a whim, and it actually sang to me as I walked by. I was actually a little bit nervous about buying from David's - I have heard horror stories about lost dresses & things like that, but I knew that it was meant to be my dress.




Here is a link to it: (I still hear the angels sing when I look at it).

http://www1.davidsbridal.com/bridalgowns_detail.jsp?stid=1226&prodgroup=10




Take care!




-PG

 

[DancinGirl]

"I ended up getting my dress at David's Bridal - we went there on a whim, and it actually sang to me as I walked by. I was actually a little bit nervous about buying from David's - I have heard horror stories about lost dresses & things like that, but I knew that it was meant to be my dress."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey Paulsgirl,

Mine is from David's Bridal as well. I didn't order mine - I took it home that day. It was in GREAT shape, and I knew not too many girls would have tried on a Size 4!

I heard mixed things about their alterations department around here, so I am looking into having someone else do those. I just need a hem a bustle - but even so, all that tulle will be a LOT of work. There are about 9 layers to the dress. Another reason I am NOT getting married in the summer! HAHA - wedding date has been set for September 12, 2004 - a Sunday!

 

[DancinGirl]

I just went to see your dress and I like it VERY much!! Are you doing the white or the gold that it says? I love the look of strapless dresses, but I am so small chested, I'd have nothing to hold them up! I know I'd be pulling at it all night so I didn't get one of them. I keep trying to find the pics of the dresses I tried on when I bought this one, but I can't find them of course. If I do, maybe I'll post them here.

 

[Mara]

paulsg...lovely dress!

The $15k Badgley dress...I am trying to see if I have the picture here at home. I know I have it at work, I'll post it tomorrow for sure. It's very lovely. Basically a slip dress with a gathered shirred bodice and then plain all the way down with something like a sweep train. Silk and organza I believe. But then (and this is what makes this dress amazing), there are hundreds of organza 5 star flowers hand sewn at a loose angle (e.g. some are scattered) around the bottom of the dress and then onto the entire train. It's beautiful, SO gorgeous. Which is why I hesitate to have it replicated...I fear it would not come out 1/2 as gorgeous and then I would be disappointed.

 

[jenibear]

Hey! I am a davids girl too! And my dress is also off-white - champagne and ivory with a brocade bodice. I love it! I am also quite pale and looked dead in white. This dress made me glow!
I don't have pictures of me in it but I hope to look as good or better - hee hee - than the model!
I am getting married outside in a garden off a mansion. I thought I wanted a very simple dress - but I realized that the plain ones just didn't have it. This one is THE ONE

 

[jenibear]

Here's another photo!

 

[DancinGirl]

Ooohoohhhh verrry nice there Jenibear!!! I love things that aren't just plain white lately. I wonder why??!

 

[daboyzmomi]

Hi Everyone!

I LOVE everyones dress picks! They are very timeless and elegant. With our first wedding I had the traditional huge white dress with the high collar yadda-yadda. For the renewal I ended up with this Ivory dress and it was fabulous. The online pic doesn't do it justice at all! The beading is a rosey-gold color with some silver and clear as well. It was a steal online at 299 bucks! Not bad! I would recommend though to you all make sure that the beads under your arms don't poke and bug you,,,mine has left marks OUCH! As soon as we get the pics back, I will send one of me,,,yikes,,might be too old for this site though

.

 

[pauls girl]

Wow! What a dress!!

Please do post photos!! That looks a lot like another one that I had my eye on, but it was just a little too much $$ to justify. I can't believe you got it for $299.00!!!!!

Jenibear- I saw that dress on the David's bridal website - a truly timeless dress. I love it.

 

[Mara]

okay here is the $15k Badgley dream dress. What is hilarious (and sad) is that I was trying to access this file to post the dress and somehow something was corrupt in a directory and thats why I called MIS over to look into whats going on with my computer and MISSED the Richard 2000 post..AHHH.




So here is the dress..pretty isnt it? *sigh* My skin is the color of the model's though of course that is nowhere close to my bod....so I think it would look really purty on me!

 

[pauls girl]

Wow! Va Va Voom!

What a dress! Holy moly. I can't believe it is $15,000!!! Must be nice for those who can afford it. You know, Mara...I was thinking that from the photos you posted you look like the model who is modeling it. You would look amazing in it. I love the bodice & the skirt... what elegance!

*sigh*

Time to try to win the lotto again....

(and now I feel guilty that you were fixing your computer for my post!!!) Sorry about that!

-PG

 

[Mara]

the shirred bodice and the organza flowers and the lace edged train are what caught me right off. I could have it replicated but I am afraid it would not be nearly as nice and I'd be disappointed. But its SO up my alley!!!! I would just maybe make it a little shorter so the train wouldn't drag so far...

Hmmm...now I'm intrigued.

 

[jenibear]

Love that dress Mara. Not up my alley but it is a beauty.
I really love the bottom half.
I bet you could have it replicated if you found a VERY talented seamstress.

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 11/10/2003 11:33:16 PM jenibear wrote:


I bet you could have it replicated if you found a VERY talented seamstress.----------------

AND about three month to wait... or make that a team of very talented seamstresses

But it is worth it!

 

[ClownFishFunk]

Pauls Girl, I love that dress! I saw it first on theknot.com and it has always been one of my absolute favorites, just the kind I would want for my wedding dress as well! I am sure you will look stunning in it. Congratulations!

 

[pauls girl]

Thanks! I love it too!
Happy New Year!

-PG

 

[innerkitten]

I like non typical wedding dresses too. My best friend (Sahai) whose getting married May 22, and whom I'm the maid of honor for wanted something vintage. We checked like every vintage clothing shop around but couldn't find the right one. Anyway some really good news,a friend of my mothers who is a costumer and a great seamstress and specializes In the vintage look has said she will do it from a vintage pattern for Sahai.

p.s. My mother is like a secind mother to sahai so she has been very involved.

 

[Mari]

If I had unlimited amounts of money I'd buy this dress.
I love how simple it is and how ephemeral it feels.

Maybe I'll have someone make it for me.

 

[godiva]

Mara,
What a fantastic dress!!
That's exactly the style that I'm looking for... but not the price tag.