I am not a big fan of my arms. Even when I was riding horses multiple times a week, mucking stalls and really working those biceps and triceps, I still had a strong distaste for my appendages. They are palest of pale and prone to stress induced eczema breakouts. So, you can imagine that I started looking for jacket options the minute I ended up buying a strapless wedding dress.
Also, I wanted something that would cover my tattoo on my back. Is that weird? Don’t get me wrong, I love my ink! I just never really show it off. My tattoo is of the Tudor Rose, so it isn’t obscene; unless you find the merging of the Lancaster and York lines to form the greatest royal blood line ever witnessed in England’s history* offensive. However, with family there and all– it just seemed appropriate to find a jacket that would go ahead and cover it all the way.
I’ve looked at local dress stores, but only found oddly stiff satin jackets that made me resemble the giant marshmallow man from Ghostbusters. Finally, after months of searching, I went back to the first jacket I saw on Etsy from Crimson Empress. I’ve had this piece on my favorites list for over six months now!
The Camellia Silk Ruffle Shrug from Crimson Empress.
Every time I look at it I drool a little bit! It was just such a monetary commitment, that it took some major justification and number crunching to make sure we could afford it in our budget! Thankfully, we still have enough in our dress budgets, since both of our dresses were half the price we were expecting! So, I bit the bullet and emailed the shop’s owner, Countessa, to ask a few questions and how much time was needed to make the garment. She responded quickly and was so professional and really excited! I’ve never had anything custom made before, so this is a whole new experience for me. Next week, I’m making the deposit and she is going to start working on collecting some color swatches for me to pick from. I cannot contain my excitement! This is such a beautiful work of art, and I get to wear it!
*this is a personal opinion, and relatively subjective as my area of concentration in college was Tudor History.
Wow! It is so lovely. Good on ya for not compromising and getting the one you loved! And it’ll be great that you’ll have something from your wedding day that you can wear again. A nice shrug is a good investment if you’re a werer of dresses anyway, right?
I totally hear you on the “hating your arms and wanting to cover yor tattoo” wedding dress dilema. I hate my arms, and have a big tattoo on my back (which unfortunately, I do NOT like anymore – though thanksfully it isn’t obscene). But I never found a good solution and am just gonna have to bare it all and pretend I’m not totally insecure :P
The shrug looks awesome! Cannot wait to see how it turns out! I get so excited ordering things from Etsy too.
Maybe this is weird, but I have no tattoos and looking through all the wedding blogs with tattooed brides makes me wish I did.
I love it too! I am going strapless in December, so I’m also in the market for some type of arm covering. What colors are you leaning toward??
I love it too! I am going strapless in December, so I’m also in the market for some type of arm covering. What colors are you leaning toward??