Part un

Part deux

Part trois

After placing my order on the big red phone in-store (getting reduced express shipping since ground is free when you order in-store), it was merely a matter of time before my dress was to arrive.

It came to my office in the tiniest box a wedding dress ever came in.  I think I still have it at my parents’ house in PA–if I can find it, I’ll amend this post and add in a picture.  Suffice it to say, it was your pretty standard J.Crew box.

On the plus side, this made it vastly easier to lug home on the Metro North–as someone who has brought a whole pizza home with her one Friday night and a bulky box of wine another evening, I always appreciate ease of transport.  And because I’m compulsive, the second I got home I had to try it on, and the RG had to wait with our dinner as I admired myself in the mirror.

Needless to say, I slipped it on effortlessly….

And I loved it.

Wanna see it?  (though no picture of me in it, sadly).

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RELUCTANT GROOM, THIS IS A DO NOT PASS GO POINT.  IF YOU PROCEED, YOU WILL GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL.

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I MEAN IT!!!!!!

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Image:  Brides.com

C’est voila!  The Caroline from Fall 2007.  Sadly (or maybe not so) it’s discontinued, but J.Crew has created a replacement halter style for those looking for a similar alternative.  I still like mine better, though. 

What do you think?

Part un

Part deux

Having made what I thought was my final decision, I decided to take advantage of the J.Crew within walking distance of my apartment and made my way over there, along with my local bridesmaid (with the promise of lunch after purchase).

(From the New York Times)

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I adore this location–the whole staff is wonderful and friendly, and I’ve probably spent way too much there in the time I’ve lived here on account of that alone.  Moving on…

Going in, I knew it would be a complete crapshoot on whether or not I would be able to try any dresses on, but at the very least I could order the one I thought I wanted and get free shipping to boot.  So when we approached one of the associates and requested help in ordering a dress, instead of being directed to the red phone to order it immediately like we thought would happen, we instead were presented with the personal shopper to assist us as they happened to have every silk tricotine dress in their “returns” closet, in ivory, and close to my size.  More importantly, the short version of the dress I wanted was in my size, so I knew that this would bode well for me.

Being that it was around noon on a Saturday (and somewhat unseasonably warm for early March), the store was undertandably crowded; ideally we would have been put into the large room that they have, but since that was occupied, we squeezed into a normal-sized room and quickly stripped.  I didn’t even think to take a camera with me (since it wasn’t the actual dress), but we kept popping out of the room to take a twirl in the 3-paneled mirror, and the second I donned my dress’s shorter sibling, I knew I would be making the purchase.  Which I did…about a half hour later.  I think the other shoppers thought we were nuts (as in, “who on earth buys a wedding dress here?”) but I didn’t care–it was the first decision I had made on my own terms, and I was thrilled to the core.

As for lunch, we toasted my purchase and my BM’s brand-new engagement with a glass of champagne each, followed by a stronger cocktail at Scoozi.  And, you know, food.

As for the dress?  Well, I didn’t think to bring a camera with me (besides, given how crowded it was I would have felt even weirder about taking pictures), but I promise to post a picture by June–the dress is currently in PA, and I need to gather the rest of my undergarments in the meantime.

Perhaps…if you’re lucky…I’ll post a picture of the model in the dress.  But only if you’re lucky.

How did you mark the event of purchasing of your wedding dress?

Part un. 

So, once I figured out where I wanted to buy my dress, I then had to go and pick it out.  The same weekend I made my initial visit to the reception site, I also started browsing on J.Crew’s website and paging through one of the five catalogs that had piled up at my parents’ house between Christmas and…then.

Aside:  seriously, J.Crew–figure out your damn customer database and stop sending multiple catalogs a month to the same household!  It’s a waste of paper!

Anyway…

 I had already picked out a few contenders online while browsing the Flash-heavy “Weddings and Parties Shop,” which, for an online retailer, makes for a relatively painless browsing experience–depending on who in the party you’re shopping for, you can narrow it down by silhouette, fabric, and/or color:

At the time when I was browsing, one of the “special editions” was an eyelet lace silk gown with an empire waist that looked pretty, but for $1,200, seemed a bit much to buy without at least trying it on:

  (from Brides.com)

It wasn’t even that it wasn’t pretty–it just didn’t feel like me.  As someone with a defined bust, wearing a deliberate empire waist gown like that would make me look as if this was a shotgun wedding (and I hate to be a nitpicker, but if you go to the closeup on Brides.com, the teeny-tiny model even looks like she has the beginnings of a swollen abdomen).  As someone who is tall but not supermodel thin, I just knew that this dress wouldn’t work on me.

I therefore turned my attention to the silk tricotine dresses that are J.Crew standbys and much more accessibly priced, putting two dresses into contention.  Showing them both to my mom (who I know probably felt bad about missing out on “shopping,” but knew that this was what I wanted and that it would be easier than having to come back for alterations–besides, I was involving her during the important decision making process), we both definetely gravitated to the same dress.

The one that lost?  The now-discontinued Avery:

I actually purchased the short black version when it was on its way out, and while I do like it, my “ladies” are just a wee bit too large to wear this anywhere close to a church on its own. 

But while it was fun looking with my mom for dresses online, I certainly knew that I would have to try them on.  Knowing that my local J.Crew usually stocked returns of these special occassion dresses, I headed up back to New England to try my luck and to see if this dress was truly, in the words of the Squirel Nut Zippers, meant to be.

To be continued…

ETA:  OK, I know I said I would talk about trying dresses on, but this post was getting too long.  So we’re going to save that for part trois.  Besides, it’s the journey, not the destination, right? 

Anyone else out there go the non-conventional route when shopping for a bridal dress?  Was anyone upset that they didn’t get to go along with you to a store to pick it out as a result?

This is not intended to knock the bridal shop channel, because every one I’ve been to has had great service and were relatively friendly (depending, of course, if I was THE BRIDE or a mere bridesmaid).  But almost from the moment that I learned that J.Crew offered not only adorable bridesmaid dresses but also bridal dresses I was all but certain that my dress would at least look like one from the preppy retailer.

Ah, I remember years ago when the Vivian strapless popped up in the catalog: 

My maid of honor’s younger sister scooped this up last summer as it was going out on clearance for $75, and added a pink sash around the waist to add her own take on it.  She looked absolutely adorable, and it’s pretty difficult to argue with the price.

Even prior to that, a dear friend and colleague chose the Sadie silk faille strapless dress for her low-key Boston loft wedding:

                                (Imagine this, only in ivory)

The tulle peeked out from the overskirt, and she wore the cutest little black stilletto pumps.  It was absolutely adorable and carefree, and from that moment I was determined to follow in her footsteps–after all, I am a loyal J.Crew customer and fit into their clothes well–it was more than worth a shot to try.

Coming up in part deux:  misadventures in the J.Crew fitting rooms. 

All images from j.crew.com