Friday, March 20, 2009

The Dress Saga

My dress is purchased and getting ready to be made! I never thought it would happen, I must admit. I tried on dresses at David's Bridal and liked a few of them, but I always felt like a cream puff. Then I tried on this dress from The Cotton Bride at a small boutique in Vermont and almost passed out from the sticker shock (about 12x what Andy and I had budgeted for my wedding dress). But I loved loved loved it. I felt beautiful and comfortable, despite the dress being 6 times too small. The words cream puff and marshmellow didn't come to mind at all. The best part? It's made from cotton, and yet still so elegant. 



Knowing I couldn't aford even the zipper on the dress, I looked into other options. I could buy it used, but I have been on the preowned wedding dress curcuit for months now and never came across a Cotton Bride dress as they are still a fairly new designer. I considered outsourcing to China...you send them a picture and you get a dress for the low, low price of $250. But that left a bad taste in my mouth when I thought about sweat shops, young women working in a factory towns hundreds of miles away from home, and my money (however small) going to China instead of staying in the United States. 

So I considered making my own with my new sewing machine (!) and this pattern with some alterations:




I'm not seamstress. The last piece of clothing I made was a tank top 8 years ago and I threw it away. My lack of confidence led me to Porshe's Place, a seamstress named Femia who adores vintage clothes. We had two weeks of conversation about the pattern, the fabric and how to make the belt, so it really feels like my dress.  The order has been set, the measurements have been taken, and, with the help of friends (thank you, thank you, thank you), the bill has been paid! 

Now I just need shoes and linens and dishes for the dinner and invitations and music and...

No comments:

Post a Comment