I thought I was done with dress crises – despite my lingering lust for a fairy-tale train, I’d figured out a solid list of “musts” and “wants”, and spent many, many weeks trolling dress stores and online options for a magical, one-of-kind, yet practical dress. My “musts”: must be re-wearable, to justify the cost; must be wearable all-night and on the beach (meaning nix the train); and must be “wedding-y” – in other words, must stand out enough to signify that I am the bride, and not someone just attending the wedding. Somewhere in my searching, I stumbled on the BariJay “Shimmer” collection, and fell in love. Except for one teensy tiny problem – I was in love with a fabric, not a dress.
The fabric was a silk charmeuse watercolor print, and it came in three dress options:
All images by BarJay Collection
Discarding the third one immediately as too casual, that left me with two choices – neither of them perfect. But this fabric is everything I’d been searching for. After a lot of consideration, and advice-seeking from friends, I decided on the middle option. But there are some cons: I’m not crazy about the beading detail or the cut of the back. However, I think I can alter both of these things myself with relative ease. Also, it’s a $600 dress – which is my entire “outfit” budget. A bigger con is that I cannot find a single store that carries this dress within a three state radius of Texas. I’ve called everywhere to try on a sample, with no luck, and since it is a “special occasions” design, bridal shops won’t order a sample for me. So I’d have to commit to the purchase blind.
Here is a picture of the back as is, and an example of what I would like to change it to:
All images by BarJay Collection
Still, despite the extra work, I was sold… and then came my recent bout of flu-inspired dress hunting. I’ve always loved the “Amara Royale” dress by Maggie Sottero, but since it only comes in white, ivory, or scarlet (a color I wasn’t really considering), AND it boasts a $1000 price tag, I hadn’t given it serious thought. However, in my flu-induced delirium, I was suddenly craving “white”… and then I found the dress, in ivory, in my size, on two different resale sites for $600, the same price as my floral dream-dress above.
—————————Crisis!!————————-
Here is the Maggie Sottero dress - (there are no pictures of it in ivory/gold, so use your imaginations… basically, the bodice is the same as the ivory dress shown below, but with the lace train and underskirt from the red version…)
All images by Maggie Sottero Collection
Confused yet? Because I sure am! Which dress to choose? The pros of the ivory gown: I actually got to try it on at a bridal salon, and it fits me PERFECTLY. My body was apparently designed by a trumpet gown as its ideal mannequin. (Unfortunately pictures were forbidden.) It obviously meets my “must” of being wedding-y – but although I could bustle the bulk of the train, I would still be dealing with a lot of excess fabric throughout the night. And it definitely fails the re-wear criteria….
So, why, oh why, am I so in love?
Thoughts? Comments? Opinions? I would love to hear ideas and observations! Which do you like better, and why?
I really like the watercolor fabric, but I think I actually like the second option better. Usually I am all about less traditional dresses, and re-wearing (that’s awesome!), but the second dress looks really special, you know it fits, and it sounds like you really like it. As traditional dresses go, that one is pretty hot!
oh man, I LOVE the dyed one. love love love! And after you wore it you could re-fashion it into a shorter dress to wear later (and probably have fabric left over to make a scarf or a shirt, too).
Also, you’d still have to buy it blind, but here it is for $477 with free shipping: http://www.frenchnovelty.com/p/BJS59026/Shimmer+Prom+Dress+59026+by+Bari+Jay.html
I think you should follow that “love” feeling and buy the second dress. I hear your practicality trying to argue for the re-wearability of the first dress. But it sounds like that second dress makes you feel fabulous, and you deserve that, my dear.
And I have to admit, I’d never before heard of a bridal shop that won’t let you take pictures. What is the deal with that???
I have also been waffling between rewearability and white poofy dress. I really like the middle dress, but I could personally never do the alterations on the back.
Most bridal shops do not allow people to photograph the dresses. They claim it’s protecting the designers designs. Some have other arguments. But I freakin hate that policy! It drives me up a wall.
Oooo, Emily Kate! You are a search engine goddess! Only $477… I am so torn! Who knew all this bridal stuff would be so hard?
I wish I could weigh in with an opinion, but they’re all so lovely. Good luck choosing!