On dresses
It's not really that I have so little to say. It's more that there's so much, I feel buried by it, so I've been dodging. Maybe I can break it down into small pieces and do it that way.
First of all, the poofy dress expedition went very well. (By the way, it turns out that I made life hard for RogueHistorian--he explained it to people that way and then had to dodge while telling several folks that I'm the one who coined the term. Including his mother). We looked at lots of different dresses, and I found myself torn between one that I really liked, and another in a very different style that everyone along said looked very good on me. I could acknowledge that, but I just couldn't warm up to it, somehow. I think because, despite having good elements, as a whole, it just wasn't the right dress.
So I did what any good computer geek would do. I went online and looked at hundreds of dresses. Literally. Until my eyes bugged out. I marked all the ones with the right elements, and then I opened them all in tabs (the first time this feature of Firefox has really proven handy for me) and flipped back and forth. And was amazed to discover that I'd found the perfect dress. And yes, I believe I'll be ordering it in the light gold.
Of course, that complicates my life. Why? I decided I should dress my bridesmaids in burgundy. I like rich, saturated colors, and there's actually a possibility one might wear a burgundy formal more than once. Alas, burgundy falls into a very broad category called "wine," which is sometimes broken down into claret, burgundy, and bordeaux. Claret is a very true, rich red. Burgundy is a red so dark it's almost brown, without ever turning purple. Bordeaux is a red that has just turned purple. I base these explanations upon having looked at color swatches from dozens of companies. The catch is, any given company's "burgundy" may be somewhere between a very light burgundy and a medium bordeaux. And by picking a light gold dress for myself, all of a sudden, I can't invoke any hint of purple in the bridesmaids' color. It begins to evoke easter eggs.
Additionally, my sister has pointed out, "satin shows every bump." She's got a point. And something matte is so much more re-wearable than something shiny. So I am now looking for a crepe or chiffon true-burgundy that will work on bridesmaids of three very different body types. Oh, and I have a self-imposed price limit, because I'm not into torturing my friends. So far, the lead contender for a dress is this cowl-necked number. But just yesterday, I found a new style I think would look wonderful on everyone. Catch is, it's so new, I can't even find a retail price on it, yet, let alone a discounter.
And while I was grousing, I found a line of separates with some new pieces, including a top I actually like, as opposed to just a "yeah, whatever" top. One of the things I thought would be nifty to do, since the venue we're aiming for is a kind of a Spanish-colonial-mission-style and the veil I want evokes the flavor of a mantilla, is to pick up a Spanish flavor with the bridesmaids' dresses. This could do that, with the right skirt. So lookee, I found a sedate, matching skirt I don't despise, a middle-of-the-road skirt with just enough flair to complement the top, and a skirt with flair which I really love, but which might get my friends arrested. I need to consult with my sister on whether we could discretely reduce the slit on that last. But I can just see Amy wearing her combat boots with it.
The whole point of separates, I'm told, is to let your bridesmaids have a great deal more freedom in what they wear on their very-different-bods. But, dammit, I'm picky! And, truly, there are some other tops I don't object to--I'm just not wild about them. But I'd still have to reserve veto power, because some of them are just odious.
When we were doing the poofy dress expedition, my sister described me as "regal," and then didn't-quite-backpedal trying to explain that that wasn't quite what she meant, but it evoked something in particular to the saleswomen in the bridal shops that steered them toward better dress selections. I thought of this again on Saturday night, when I saw all the little girls in the restroom at P.F. Chang's dressed up for prom, and pulling awkwardly at bits of their dresses and complaining about their shoes. No one teaches girls how to wear dresses anymore.
kenilyn is regal. When I think regal, she is what comes to mind. Her picture should be in the dictionary next to the word. What I have is just a little different. It's more that I tackle every small thing in my life a little bit like going to war.
Including dresses.
First of all, the poofy dress expedition went very well. (By the way, it turns out that I made life hard for RogueHistorian--he explained it to people that way and then had to dodge while telling several folks that I'm the one who coined the term. Including his mother). We looked at lots of different dresses, and I found myself torn between one that I really liked, and another in a very different style that everyone along said looked very good on me. I could acknowledge that, but I just couldn't warm up to it, somehow. I think because, despite having good elements, as a whole, it just wasn't the right dress.
So I did what any good computer geek would do. I went online and looked at hundreds of dresses. Literally. Until my eyes bugged out. I marked all the ones with the right elements, and then I opened them all in tabs (the first time this feature of Firefox has really proven handy for me) and flipped back and forth. And was amazed to discover that I'd found the perfect dress. And yes, I believe I'll be ordering it in the light gold.
Of course, that complicates my life. Why? I decided I should dress my bridesmaids in burgundy. I like rich, saturated colors, and there's actually a possibility one might wear a burgundy formal more than once. Alas, burgundy falls into a very broad category called "wine," which is sometimes broken down into claret, burgundy, and bordeaux. Claret is a very true, rich red. Burgundy is a red so dark it's almost brown, without ever turning purple. Bordeaux is a red that has just turned purple. I base these explanations upon having looked at color swatches from dozens of companies. The catch is, any given company's "burgundy" may be somewhere between a very light burgundy and a medium bordeaux. And by picking a light gold dress for myself, all of a sudden, I can't invoke any hint of purple in the bridesmaids' color. It begins to evoke easter eggs.
Additionally, my sister has pointed out, "satin shows every bump." She's got a point. And something matte is so much more re-wearable than something shiny. So I am now looking for a crepe or chiffon true-burgundy that will work on bridesmaids of three very different body types. Oh, and I have a self-imposed price limit, because I'm not into torturing my friends. So far, the lead contender for a dress is this cowl-necked number. But just yesterday, I found a new style I think would look wonderful on everyone. Catch is, it's so new, I can't even find a retail price on it, yet, let alone a discounter.
And while I was grousing, I found a line of separates with some new pieces, including a top I actually like, as opposed to just a "yeah, whatever" top. One of the things I thought would be nifty to do, since the venue we're aiming for is a kind of a Spanish-colonial-mission-style and the veil I want evokes the flavor of a mantilla, is to pick up a Spanish flavor with the bridesmaids' dresses. This could do that, with the right skirt. So lookee, I found a sedate, matching skirt I don't despise, a middle-of-the-road skirt with just enough flair to complement the top, and a skirt with flair which I really love, but which might get my friends arrested. I need to consult with my sister on whether we could discretely reduce the slit on that last. But I can just see Amy wearing her combat boots with it.
The whole point of separates, I'm told, is to let your bridesmaids have a great deal more freedom in what they wear on their very-different-bods. But, dammit, I'm picky! And, truly, there are some other tops I don't object to--I'm just not wild about them. But I'd still have to reserve veto power, because some of them are just odious.
When we were doing the poofy dress expedition, my sister described me as "regal," and then didn't-quite-backpedal trying to explain that that wasn't quite what she meant, but it evoked something in particular to the saleswomen in the bridal shops that steered them toward better dress selections. I thought of this again on Saturday night, when I saw all the little girls in the restroom at P.F. Chang's dressed up for prom, and pulling awkwardly at bits of their dresses and complaining about their shoes. No one teaches girls how to wear dresses anymore.
kenilyn is regal. When I think regal, she is what comes to mind. Her picture should be in the dictionary next to the word. What I have is just a little different. It's more that I tackle every small thing in my life a little bit like going to war.
Including dresses.
posted by Journey | 9:48 PM
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