I was a bit of a tomboy growing up. I liked climbing trees and galloping through my backyard riding my imaginary horse, Lightning. I didn’t ask for dolls for Christmas, I asked for train sets and slot-track racing cars. I never liked wearing skirts and dresses because they showed the scabs on my knees; they weren’t very practical for scaling fences and they collected brambles when I went walking through the open fields close to our house.
When I got older, I wore dresses when I had to — school dances and family weddings, mostly. But I’ve never felt comfortable in a dress. I feel like it’s a sport of never been able to master. I am just as awkward as I was when I first learned to ski except there’s no bunny slope and no way to snow plow my way through it. I’ve almost never liked the way I looked in a dress, save my rather fabulous senior prom ensemble (forgive the hair… it was the 80′s.):
So why did I find myself suddenly, almost deperately, wishing I could wear a chic white gown on my wedding day? In part, I blame So You’re EnGAYged. Prior to stumbling across this website and the website that bore it, Two Brides, I hadn’t seen many pictures of two brides both in dresses. But every time I do… well, I know it sounds cheesy, but my heart skips a beat. Maybe there’s something about the undeniable homosexuality of that image. There’s no chance of mistaking one of the brides for a man, even momentarily.
I talked to my fiancee about these “heart palpitations” and we discussed the possibility of me wearing a dress, briefly. Ultimately I decided that I don’t want to feel anything less than fabulous on our big day and no matter how often I thought about it, I knew I wouldn’t feel confident and sexy unless I was wearing pants. Still, I looked longingly at every Real Wedding that Kelly posted, a little heartsick at the loss.
And that’s when I stumbled across a photo in an old copy of a bridal magazine that my partner’s sister had loaned her. The tux was formal but in a champagne/khaki color and looked like a million bucks. And I thought, yeah, that might make me feel more, well, bridal. The style is similar to the one I’m wearing in this photo, but the jacket and pants are beige:
I’d choose a sage green vest and a blue tie instead of the pink my friend Nate dressed me in at his wedding.
Now you might be wondering, why post a picture of me in a black tux when I’m talking about a champagne colored one? Because I have been having no luck finding a good specimen anywhere on the web. I am hoping that by some miracle a local brick-and-mortar will carry one, but the extensive internet research I’ve done suggests that may be a long-shot.
Not sure if it’ll help, but I was just look at a beige men’s suit from J.Crew that might do the trick!?
I’m really hoping to find a tux, though. I might have one made for me if I don’t have any luck finding one to rent. :)
I’ve been looking as well, with no luck. It’s rather disheartening. I decided I was willing to settle for even just a normal suit with matching vest…and haven’t had any luck. The only one I found that was even remotely close, the pant legs became gargantuan starting at the knees, which made no flippin’ sense to me. The legs entirely covered my shoes with room to spare for a couple small animals.
Oh no, Monica! I guess I will have to keep you informed if I find anything. And I’ve recently decided that all the bridesmates on my side should be wearing matching Converse sneakers (the bridesmates are still wearing black tuxes) so I have to be sure my pants don’t swallow my shoes so everyone can see that we’re all matchy-matchy. :)
Have you thought about doing an alchemy request on etsy? We’re doing that for my fiancee’s post-wedding suit and it’s really super affordable! And doubly awesome b/c it’s going to be custom made! Also I did a big ol’ post on women’s suits a while back on my blog- maybe some of the info would be helpful? Lots of inspiration pics + ways you could pull them off the rack of your local store. Tag: Suit.
Good luck and I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
You know, if you want those romantic, bridal-type images, you could always dress up for a photo shoot. It would give you an opportunity to create some really beautiful, obviously two-bride moments without worrying about feeling uncomfortable on your big day.