Say Yes to the Dress!

I had been a fan of the TV show "Say Yes to the Dress" before I got rid of my tv, but I could never imagine spending so much money on a dress.  Still to this day, even though I know Mark and I will renew our vows at some point, I just could not bring myself to spend more than a few/couple hundred dollars on a dress I might not, I mean, I will never wear again!  So it's been interesting to start shopping for a "Mother of the Groom" dress.


I guess I found out I'm a fan of lace! Seriously, I did not know that!  But with the choices I made (all online at Nordstrom) they all are lace.  I ordered one (on sale) and was impressed with the quality of the label (Tadashi) so I went ahead and chose a few more to try on.  Keeping in mind I really did not want to spend a lot ($250 would have been fine), AND fingers crossed I had shoes already.  Originally I wanted sleeves for a couple of reasons. To cover my tattoos, and so I wouldn't have to buy a jacket.  I'm not embarrassed about my tattoos, and if it were MY day it would be different, but it's not my day.  The day and the attention belong to our son Gabe, and his new wife Lilly.  I don't want any eyes on me.  Okay...on to the choices (so far, lol)

The first was navy/nude, and sleeveless (#1, picture above).  It was on sale for about 40% off...big incentive!  But although I really like it, and I would be totally fine with it, it was slightly too big in the chest and shoulders (I know, can you believe it? lol)  The nude background was a different shade than the nude shoes I already own, and it would require a wrap or jacket.

I ordered four more to try on.....


The next is again, sleeveless (#2).  The color described as "Paprika" but it's much more orange than I expected.  Orange is a good color on me, but I'm not sure it's "Mother of the Groom" color!  This dress would require shoes and a wrap/jacket, but I liked it the second I put it on.  When I tried it on for Mark, at first he wasn't a fan.  The color was a bit more vibrant than he thought appropriate.  Nice dress, but possibly, probably not the one, but priced around exactly what I wanted to spend.

Then came the one I thought would be perfect! (#3)  And it was!  Lots of good things about this Navy/nude 3/4 sleeve dress (I know it may look black, but it's blue). The navy is the same as the first dress, but the nude is a shade that matches a pair of shoes I already own.  I'm not 100% the style of the shoes matches, but the color is (in person) the same shade.  No wrap or jacket required, and I like the top 1/3 because it's sheer underneath the lace.  I like the boatneck cut which shows just a little bit of the tattoo I have across my shoulder.  But it was past the top end of what I wanted to spend....with tax almost $350.




#4.  Va va voom! Zow!  When I put this dress on I was looking for a party!  The color described as "Smoke" with gold/silver sequins.  Priced the same as the Navy 3/4 sleeve dress, but this one was too much with slightly padded shoulders.  But I'm not going to a New Year's Eve party, I'm going to a late April, day time wedding ceremony!  But this dress tempts me to change my lifestyle!  Kind of hard considering I go to bed by 8:00pm!  lol  Gorgeous, but thank goodness it's $350 because there is no way I want to keep it!




And last... (#5) I had high hopes for this "blouson" dress, in a color called "Shell".  In person it's more tan-ish than pink a very pretty shade.  Looking at a side view it looks pretty nice!  But full on front view it makes my mid section look twice as big as it is....sad face.  It's the least expensive, but it's just not going to work.  I don't have shoes to go with it, but I felt the cap sleeves were acceptable without a wrap/jacket.

Final conclusion?  Mark liked the Navy/nude 3/4 sleeve straight away!  No further choice....until we both looked at the pictures/ video I took modeling all of the dresses.  Personally I think the sleeveless "Paprika" dress is the most slimming and complimentary to my body, and to be honest I was shocked!  I thought I could get an accurate feeling by simple looking in a mirror, but when I saw myself in video and how the overall fit and style of the dress looked on my body I'm torn....because now I'm kind of liking the last dress again...but seriously it doesn't look as good in person....okay...that one's gotta go....(to see the side view go to my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=645542388827264&set=pcb.645542648827238&type=1&theater)

The bottom line is that dress #3 is probably the dress.  The color, the sleeves, the wearability, and the conservative color meets all my requirements.  But for now I'll keep dress #2 until I get the opinion of the bride.  Could I find another dress for $300 or less that looks better?  Maybe.....I'm not 100% saying yes to any of these dresses!  What do you all think?

ps, yes, that is a rumble roller in the background!  Our living room is covered in 100 square feet of the padded tiles, left over from our studio, Girya, so we can roll around and stretch anytime we need to....I mean anytime Mark needs to!  Because I'm lazy....too lazy to stretch!