Dress Shopping - I
I would have written earlier, but I was so tired by the time by mom and sister-in-law left, I was in hysterics. In a good way. Seriously, I was hilarious last night. I found everything so amusing. Just ask J. Unfortunately, not good for getting some writing done, schoolwise or blogwise.
Saturday morning saw us up bright and early (I have not slept in since September and it's slowly having an effect on my well-being). I had planned ahead and put money on a metrocard so my mom and K. and I could easily slip onto a train to our destination. I planned on zipping around on the subway all weekend so we could save money. But silly me - it's the weekend! And the subways in New York are a nightmare on the weekend. This is why I don't leave Brooklyn. So the train took us as far as West Fourth and decided to go express. We got out and walked upstairs to the C/E, since we needed to get out at 23rd St. We waited 10 minutes, but that C or E was not coming. It was dangerously close to 9:30, the time of our first appointment, and I hate being late. It was also raining out and I feared there would be no cabs at such an early hour and with the weather what it was. I had to take a chance. So we walked up and of course there were a thousand cabs and we made it to Kleinfeld's right on time. First breakdown averted.
At Kleinfeld's we were assigned to Rita. Rita has been working at Kleinfeld's for 11 years, she knows what she's doing, as she isn't afraif to tell you (again and again and again). Also, Rita can "know" a person within three dresses. That, however, is about all I could understand from Rita because she talks so fast and in such a thick accent that most of the time we just nodded our heads and smiled and hoped that made sense to her.
I made the mistake of showing Rita my folder of pictures of dresses I had torn out of magazines. A few were Monique Lhullier's lace masterpieces, which immediately set our budget in Rita's mind at $5,000. She brought out the very dresses I had pictures of. While gorgeous, they did not look particularly good on me (I'd show you pictures, but photos are not allowed until you purchase the dress.) I also had a picture of this amazing Angel Sanchez dress with a high boatneck and pouffy skirt - not my usual style, but this dress has a '50s feel and there's something about it that makes me think it would look amazing on me and is possibly the perfect dress for me. Kleinfeld's no longer carries Angel Sanchez. They don't have that dress. But, we asked, do they have something similar? Something with a boatneck? Something with a natural waist? Something in organza? "We don't have that dress," Rita said. "You don't want a high neck. I know you." How about somehting in organza? Rita started to get exasperated with us: "We don't have that dress."
"Forget the dress," I said. "Forget it." (It's possible my voice was raised slightly.) "Can you bring me something in organza?"
"Sure," Rita says, and she comes back with more silk.
I also had a picture of an amazing Vera Wang empire dress. Rita informed me that empire waists make you look pregnant, as if I didn't know this was a possibility. I told her I knew that, but I would like to try one on anyway, just to see. "No," Rita said, "I know you. No look good." She scrunched her nose. I asked her to please bring me one anyway. She never did.
Rita brought in a Jessica McCaffrey silk strapless dress with a gathered skirt. It looked beautiful, especially when we tied on a goldish sash. The skirt was huge, but somehow it worked on me. I liked it. Rita made me put on some shoes and go out in the hallway and stand in front of a bigger mirror. I watched all the other brides walking to and fro in their gowns. There was even a model in a flapper wedding dress smiling at everyone and pacing the floor.
Rita insisted on putting a veil on me. "You cry," she promised. "Everyone cry with veil. You see."
"No thanks," I said. "I'm not really into the veil."
"You do no veil?" Rita asked, shocked.
"I don't know yet," I said. "Maybe, but I really don't need to try one on."
"You must. You cry. You see." I waited for it: "I know you."
Rita dug the comb of the veil into the front of my head. The lace trim fell to either side of my face. I looked like the Virgin Mary. Or possibly like I was getting my first communion. I started to laugh.
"No," Rita said. "Wrong one." She put a plainer veil on and again I made a face. I felt absurdly uncomfortable. I wanted out of the veil, out of the dress. I wasn't sure why we were still standing there. Rita moved the veil from the front of my head to the back, digging ever harder to get it to stay in place.
"There," Rita said, "that's better."
Still, no tears.
"Okay," I said and stepped down off the box in front of the mirror. "Maybe we can see something in organza now."
Our second appointment was at Selia Yang's. It was much better. They had organza! And lots of it. Nancy was incredibly nice and there were no veils involved. They also had their dressingn room behind the mirror, so I only had to stand in my underwear for short periods of time with Nancy, who helped me in and out of the dresses, while my mom and K. waited out front. At Kleinfeld's I got to stand around in my underwear in a square box a room with everyone packed in together. Not fun. I saw two possibilities, but as I am not ridiculously in love with them, I'm pretty sure they're not right for me.
I've come to realize that a wedding dress equals a certain shape. I'm not sure I want something that big and unoriginal. I want something that's me.
Next up: Adrienne's (my friend B. discovered an amazing dress in the window and was so kind to call and tell me about it), Vera Wang Bridesmaid, and Nicole Miller. I will be dragging B. to all of these appointments. It was so nice to have my mom and K. to shop with this weekend and it makes me sad they won't be able to come with me every time. I wish it were easier to get here from Maine (read: cheaper).
On another note, we found an amazing bridesmaid dress for K. at Bloomies. It's brown with a sheer overlay that has a floral embroidery over it. "I like it because it doesn't look like a normal bridesmaid dress," Kristen said. I beamed at her. She had it right on the money, what I had been trying to explain about why I was disappointed with all the bride's dresses I had tried on so far. "Oh," she said. "Now I'm starting to understand."
Saturday morning saw us up bright and early (I have not slept in since September and it's slowly having an effect on my well-being). I had planned ahead and put money on a metrocard so my mom and K. and I could easily slip onto a train to our destination. I planned on zipping around on the subway all weekend so we could save money. But silly me - it's the weekend! And the subways in New York are a nightmare on the weekend. This is why I don't leave Brooklyn. So the train took us as far as West Fourth and decided to go express. We got out and walked upstairs to the C/E, since we needed to get out at 23rd St. We waited 10 minutes, but that C or E was not coming. It was dangerously close to 9:30, the time of our first appointment, and I hate being late. It was also raining out and I feared there would be no cabs at such an early hour and with the weather what it was. I had to take a chance. So we walked up and of course there were a thousand cabs and we made it to Kleinfeld's right on time. First breakdown averted.
At Kleinfeld's we were assigned to Rita. Rita has been working at Kleinfeld's for 11 years, she knows what she's doing, as she isn't afraif to tell you (again and again and again). Also, Rita can "know" a person within three dresses. That, however, is about all I could understand from Rita because she talks so fast and in such a thick accent that most of the time we just nodded our heads and smiled and hoped that made sense to her.
I made the mistake of showing Rita my folder of pictures of dresses I had torn out of magazines. A few were Monique Lhullier's lace masterpieces, which immediately set our budget in Rita's mind at $5,000. She brought out the very dresses I had pictures of. While gorgeous, they did not look particularly good on me (I'd show you pictures, but photos are not allowed until you purchase the dress.) I also had a picture of this amazing Angel Sanchez dress with a high boatneck and pouffy skirt - not my usual style, but this dress has a '50s feel and there's something about it that makes me think it would look amazing on me and is possibly the perfect dress for me. Kleinfeld's no longer carries Angel Sanchez. They don't have that dress. But, we asked, do they have something similar? Something with a boatneck? Something with a natural waist? Something in organza? "We don't have that dress," Rita said. "You don't want a high neck. I know you." How about somehting in organza? Rita started to get exasperated with us: "We don't have that dress."
"Forget the dress," I said. "Forget it." (It's possible my voice was raised slightly.) "Can you bring me something in organza?"
"Sure," Rita says, and she comes back with more silk.
I also had a picture of an amazing Vera Wang empire dress. Rita informed me that empire waists make you look pregnant, as if I didn't know this was a possibility. I told her I knew that, but I would like to try one on anyway, just to see. "No," Rita said, "I know you. No look good." She scrunched her nose. I asked her to please bring me one anyway. She never did.
Rita brought in a Jessica McCaffrey silk strapless dress with a gathered skirt. It looked beautiful, especially when we tied on a goldish sash. The skirt was huge, but somehow it worked on me. I liked it. Rita made me put on some shoes and go out in the hallway and stand in front of a bigger mirror. I watched all the other brides walking to and fro in their gowns. There was even a model in a flapper wedding dress smiling at everyone and pacing the floor.
Rita insisted on putting a veil on me. "You cry," she promised. "Everyone cry with veil. You see."
"No thanks," I said. "I'm not really into the veil."
"You do no veil?" Rita asked, shocked.
"I don't know yet," I said. "Maybe, but I really don't need to try one on."
"You must. You cry. You see." I waited for it: "I know you."
Rita dug the comb of the veil into the front of my head. The lace trim fell to either side of my face. I looked like the Virgin Mary. Or possibly like I was getting my first communion. I started to laugh.
"No," Rita said. "Wrong one." She put a plainer veil on and again I made a face. I felt absurdly uncomfortable. I wanted out of the veil, out of the dress. I wasn't sure why we were still standing there. Rita moved the veil from the front of my head to the back, digging ever harder to get it to stay in place.
"There," Rita said, "that's better."
Still, no tears.
"Okay," I said and stepped down off the box in front of the mirror. "Maybe we can see something in organza now."
Our second appointment was at Selia Yang's. It was much better. They had organza! And lots of it. Nancy was incredibly nice and there were no veils involved. They also had their dressingn room behind the mirror, so I only had to stand in my underwear for short periods of time with Nancy, who helped me in and out of the dresses, while my mom and K. waited out front. At Kleinfeld's I got to stand around in my underwear in a square box a room with everyone packed in together. Not fun. I saw two possibilities, but as I am not ridiculously in love with them, I'm pretty sure they're not right for me.
I've come to realize that a wedding dress equals a certain shape. I'm not sure I want something that big and unoriginal. I want something that's me.
Next up: Adrienne's (my friend B. discovered an amazing dress in the window and was so kind to call and tell me about it), Vera Wang Bridesmaid, and Nicole Miller. I will be dragging B. to all of these appointments. It was so nice to have my mom and K. to shop with this weekend and it makes me sad they won't be able to come with me every time. I wish it were easier to get here from Maine (read: cheaper).
On another note, we found an amazing bridesmaid dress for K. at Bloomies. It's brown with a sheer overlay that has a floral embroidery over it. "I like it because it doesn't look like a normal bridesmaid dress," Kristen said. I beamed at her. She had it right on the money, what I had been trying to explain about why I was disappointed with all the bride's dresses I had tried on so far. "Oh," she said. "Now I'm starting to understand."
posted by hannah at 10:15 AM
1 Comments:
So I always thought I'd wear a fitted gown at my wedding and was surprised to find the full skirt was it. The same (though in the opposite direction) for a friend of mine. It is true that what you think you want and what will be perfect is totally unknown to you until you try it on.
Oh, and my first wedding dress fitting--picture a warehouse in Miami, lots of ruffles and a pink flower between the boobs. I cried--no veil in sight.
Post a Comment
<< Home