Formal Dress Update

OK. Despite having ordered the pattern and her loving the fabric (we went and saw it in the shop), we bought a dress yesterday!

This is how it happened.

After soaking our senses at the Eastern Silk shop the BA expressed concern that we might spend a lot of money on the fabric and dressmaker, only to find that she didn't like the dress. She had a point. Mind you, just being in that shop with all the amazing embroidered dupion, georgette and crepe-de-chine made my creative juices boil. I am still thinking of doing a shorter version of the same dress for her 17th birthday....

So it was onward to the next dress shop. Here she tried on this.

I thought it was lovely. They didn't have her size but she wouldn't even let me get as far as asking about it. It was 'too much the same as what everyone else will be wearing'. Oh the cross of having to be 'different'. I am afraid it's in her genes.

At the next two shops (quite uninspiring, some of the ugliest combinations of fabric and lace I have ever seen!) she didn't even try anything on and we ended up in a heated discussion over the relative merits of going with what suits you vs trying to be individual. She was starting to come down heavily in favour of a fitted fishtailed dress similar to the first one she'd tried on. I'm not even going to go into my thoughts on the matter.

We decided to go for lunch and rest our brains. Calling into a nearby bistro in a fashionable area of the eastern suburbs, we passed another shop with dresses in the window. It wasn't a shop I'd heard of before and it was off the main road so it was a complete coincidence. Had we not eaten at the bistro we would never have seen it. Of course you know where this is going don't you?

We came home with a dress. It was in the mid price range, is more of a fitted sheath (although soft enough to please me) and fits her like a glove. It's black, which the assistant reliably informs us is not the general trend. Many girls are buying gowns in shades like the one above: coffee, champagne, apricot. Anyway, it's done. For better or worse! :-)

As for photos.....not sure if we're going to let you see it just yet......after all , there is hair and makeup to consider :-D

But what do I know? She'll probably post it on facebook today!

She Moves In Mysterious Ways

It has been another hard day in the dress shops. The BA teeters from one extreme to the other.
"I want red. I want feminine. I want structure. I want chiffon." And through it all the phone is snapping pictures.....snap, snap snap.
Mummy is there, purse at the ready and today I almost thought we had it!

It was a bright red Marilyn Monroe style halter top with a pretty ordinary skirt but the shop could make it up for her with a georgette overlay on the skirt......

Putting aside the five other dresses she'd tried on, we went home to Himself for a designers opinion.

Big mistake.

Himself's trouble is that, like most men, he favours a dress which demonstrates all the wearer's assets.
"What's that?" he exclaimed. " It looks like she's hiding."

Realising we could not rely on him for an objective opinion we went back to the photos. They all looked sadder and less inspiring on the computer screen. In fact, I was leaning back towards this one...
So I went on a pattern search. And found this.

Now I know that Vogue patterns are not well known for their accuracy of line drawing but I did also find a picture of the dress made up which inspired me.....

So then I was on a search for fabric....how about this embroidered silk dupion????

I am thinking: the halter top in a soft silk chiffon or georgette, perhaps in red to pick up the flowers in the skirt or just black. What do you think?

The BA is keen. Now to find a seamstress.

WHAT? You thought I was going to make it????????? hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Retail Cheer

How about this?

Himself goes to buy a basketball at a well known sports retail store. He carefully selects a mid range ball suitable to our needs and reasonably priced at $36.99. At the checkout the cashier announces that the ball is $90.00!
"There seems to be a mistake," says Himself, "this ball was marked at $36.99."
"Oh, no," says an arrogant young man behind the counter, "this is a $90.00 ball."

Himself took the young man to the shelf and pointed out the 4 identical balls still in the rack, fronted by a card that read G534 $36.99 (or some such number.. I don't know...it's a basketball!). He pointed out the matchnig serial number on the balls.

"I'm sorry sir, I'm afraid this is a $90.00 ball."

"Look," says my incredibly patient husband (hahahahahahahahahha), "these balls are clearly marked at this price, if you have made a mistake, that's really your problem. It says $36.99 and that's what I'm going to pay for it!"

At this point the young man snatched, you read me right, snatched the ball out of Himself's hands and announced,
"Oh no you're not!"

Himself told him in typically colourful language where he could put his ball and what he could go and do with himself in the meantime and left.

He got a perfectly good ball from K Mart for $20.00. And everyone smiled at him!

Now, I like to ensure that youngsters are aware and educated in the art of life. I think someone needs to have a word with this young man, for his own edification of course. Therefore I went to the internet to try and find a way to send a message to the company. On the webpage I tried 'customer service' and went down several links before reaching a dead end. Then I tried' contact us', which only gave me the option 'orders@....', in frustration I typed 'complaints' into the site's search box.

This is the message I received:

Unfortunately an error has occured on the site. The Rebel Sport technical team are aware of this and are working to fix the problem. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Do you think there is a programmer somewhere having a bit of a laugh???????

Because She's Going To The Chapel...er well ...the parklands actually.

Is that one happy bride to be?
As some of you know, my Bestie of many, many years, is getting married again in November. She has been on a weight loss regime to fit into a fabulous dress and yesterday was the appointed day for seeing 'what was out there'. She had a vague idea of what she wanted but she was willing to be open minded and see what suited.

We started the day with a 9am champagne breakfast at a swish restaurant on the east side of Adelaide. There were eight of us: Bestie and her mum of course, the BA and I, three other close girlfriends, one from as far back as school days and the Bestie's cousin. Our instructions were to be brutally honest up until the point that she was a quivering wreck because nothing looked right, after which we had to reassure her that she looked fabulous. Pretty straight forward really.

We hit the first shop like a whirlwind. Like my Bestie and I, her friends and family are nothing if not vocal and voluble however, the staff were unfazed. Bestie announced her need, her colour choices and her desire for a dress which could be 'worn again'. Rather than laughing us off of the red velvet settee, the ladies selected two or three faaabulous and voluminous 'frocks' and the Bestie tried them on.

Meanwhile several of the party were combing the racks for something for the BA and I. My choices were limited as the other witness already has her fabulous dress and we have decided to link together through colour. The BA's choices were limited by me.

"No, too old. Too short. Too black. Too see through. Too sophisticated. Nope. Nope. No. No. No."
But then with a smile, "Here, what about this nice pink, chiffon number?"
"MU-U-U-UM!!!!!!!"

Back at the massive, velvet cutained change room, the Bestie had a second dress on (the first having been summarily dismissed!). We gathered for a viewing.

Wow. Pretty stunning!

Could it be done in the unusual (for a wedding anyway) colour choice? Yes. The fabric? Yes. The time frame?????????
Phew, don't look so worried Bestie, they could squeak it in on this particular style although most others in the shop took 6 weeks to order.

So everything was looking good. Even the price was not completely out of the question!
Alright, maybe some people thought it was out of the question :-)

Meanwhile, back in the bridal party section I had tried on what could only be described as a 'matronly' number. The support group were horrified. "What are you thinking?" squealed the Cousin, "we need to sex you up!!!!!!"

I will admit to being a little disturbed by the prospect but in the spirit of keeping an open mind I agreed to try a little black dress on.I was pleasantly surprised. Of course I had to take my glasses off so perhaps I wasn't seeing clearly but no, everyone assured me it looked lovely. And the price was also not out of the question! Amazing. It was still only 11.00am.

(note glasses hidden behind my back)

But we are seasoned shoppers. We know not to fall at the first hurdle and so it was on to other shops to see what else was on offer. Not a lot as it turns out!!

Having decided pretty much that our first stop was the best, we spent a bit of time trying things on the BA who has a small but crucial role in the proceedings. I didn't get a photo of the dress we loved on her but it doesn't matter because with a price tag of $550 she wasn't getting it anyway! At least we have a style in mind however and I will probably end up making her something once The Musical frenzy is over.

And so onto lunch.

What a lovely day we had; all girls together in the spring sunshine. There's nothing like a wedding to lift everyone's spirits. The Bestie's mum whom we all adore kept us entertained with stories of her own wedding and how much things had changed since her day. I wonder whether I will be a calm and collected mother of the bride when it is my turn?