other people's weddings are an excuse for pretty clothes

Dear Stefie,

You are awesome. You are one of my blog's biggest cheerleaders and for you, I blog again! You're a maid of honor in a wedding, so of course I have spent time procrastinating searching for a kick ass bridesmaid dress for you to (not so subtly) suggest to your bride-to-bride. (Well, not your bride-to-be, but your friend who's getting married. You know what I mean!) Since you haven't yet given me specifics (not that you asked for help, but let's gloss over that.) I took a quick shot over to ModCloth. Here you go:

First up is my favorite, the Romantic Incarnation dress ($90).

Next is the Standout and Deliver dress ($60).

Then comes the Dianthus Fields dress ($90).

Apparently I'm in a pinky purple kinda mood. Anyhow, wedding aside, I'm pretty sure you just need this one for nights on the town.

Love you,

Shayna

awesomesauce

Between this insane dress and hat combo

via once wed

and this insane floral display

via truly smitten

it's been a good day in blogland.

wowza

Please.  Somebody wear this dress.  This is a dress meant to be rocked.  Duuudes... please.

Tadashi Shoji from Nordy's.  $548.  He-llo.

covet

With as many wedding blogs as I read, it's sometimes hard not to think "what if I'd done it this way instead?"  Especially with dresses.  There's just so much goddamn-badass-prettiness out there that it's hard not to covet more than just the dress I've got.  But the fact is, some of it is just pure fashion lust, and really, we can combat that pretty easily by sharing the love.  So here you are, my current wedding dress obsessions.

First up is Sydney-based Australian designer Rachel Gilbert.  If I had about 70 billion more rock 'n roll points, I'd've gotten married in one of these:

Next up is an etsy vendor, Peppermint Pretty.  Her style is a little more rockabilly than my taste, but her Pictures of Lily dress just slays me.

Lastly is Romanian (if my google-fu serves me right) designer Maria Lucia Hohan.  Her style reminds me of an Amsale and Romona Keveza having a baby that likes to go to Heart concerts.

There.  I feel better already.

the city so nice they named it twice

When I was home visiting my folks, I happened to remember that I had been planning to visit M & J Trimming (6th Ave btn. 37th and 38th).  I remembered when I was standing at 5th Ave and 10th street... and decided to walk.  Not such a bad thing, but perhaps Birkenstocks weren't the best choice in footwear.  Anyhow, I punctuated my walk with a few stops, on of which was Anthropologie.  Now, while some of their stuff is overpriced to my mind, walking into their store is always a spectacle of loveliness, so well designed.  Needless to say I walked out with a couple of goodies.

A little sparkle never goes amiss.

Not sure where I plan to use them, but I got an A and an S to use for the wedding.  Plus, really, I can never have enough mugs.

And my piece de resistance: my guest book.  When I told the cashier that's what I was buying it for, I got a brief, but clearly incredulous stare.  I don't really care (she did recover well) though, I think it'll be really cool.  It's a kids book all about New York from 1960.  It just tied into my gently New York themed wedding, and it has lots of empty space on the pages for signing.  Here's hoping it'll be a hit!

BCBG, and why it's awesome.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again, BCBG rules.  Seriously.  Their stuff is so rock 'n roll, it's ridiculous.  If I were planning a different kind of wedding, you can be sure my dress would have come from here.  Plus, right now they're running a 30% off sale through the end of June 1 (PDT).

This one is perfect for a sweet little city hall wedding.  $418, on sale for $292.60.

A sweet number for those of us who can't decide between satin and lace.  :o)  $498, marked down to $348.60, on sale for $244.02!

The next two are are so rock 'n roll it's obscene.  I can vouch, in particular, for the first.  I made my sister try it on when we were prom shopping for her just because I loved it so much and they didn't have it in my size.  Trust me, it's beyond awesome.  (Full disclosure, I might be biased by the hi-lo hem that I am moderately obsessed with.)

$498 on sale for $348.60.

$358 on sale for $250.60.

This lovely gown looks like a whole lot of trumpet bridal gowns out there, and for $598, it's a steal, but on sale it's only $418.60!

This one I'd buy for myself in a hot second if they had it in my size.  Never mind what I'd wear it to, rehearsal dinner maybe.  Who knows?  In any event, it rocks.

$384 marked down to $174 (not on sale because it's final cut outlet).

And not to bring the conversation back to shoes or anything, but, in the case I am so picky about what shoes to wear, I end up picking something boring that needs some pizzaz.  At 18 bucks ($12.60 with the sale), these shoe clips seem like a worthwhile investment to me!

That said, the only thing I'm really sure I will be buying today is this baby.  Razzle, dazzle, indeed.

Happy Memorial Day sales to you and yours!

Everyone's feeling the squeeze

Times are apparently so tough that even world famous fashion designers are going budget.  Vera Wang announced recently that she'll be offering a line through dress chain David's Bridal starting next spring and that dresses will range from $600-$1500.  Personally, I'm curious as to whether the quality will be the same (obviously the fabrics won't be identical, but will they still be good quality).  To my mind, to maintain the design aesthetic, the dresses would still have to be produced by the same skilled designers and seamstresses and... uh... whatever the masculine form of seamstress is.  Time will only tell, I suppose.

Now, if only Oscar de la Renta would get on the bandwagon and offer cheaper versions of his wedding dresses.  I'm totally smitten with this perfect little bell-shaped taffeta puff of awesome.

OMG Shoes.

These shoes are so ridiculous I think I need them.

Shame on you, J. Crew.

Since getting engaged I have had the good fortune to make some incredible internet friends.  (Shout out to Adriana who's getting married in two days!)  One of my new, lovely friends, has had a really bad experience that I wanted to share with you.  Like many other brides looking for something simple, elegant and not outrageously priced, she found her wedding dress at J. Crew.  She paid in full when she ordered it (plus, a dress for her shower, two pairs of wedding shoes and her five bridesmaids bought there as well). When it came in, she went to pick it up, a sales person told her they store it for free and suggested she leave it.  My friend lives in a small apartment and agreed.  When a bridesmaid cleaned out a closet and had room for her dress she went to pick it up and was given the same advice.

About a month before her wedding she went to pick up her dress, and get this, they had lost it!  Her wedding dress!  That they told her to leave there!  In her words:

"They sent it back to the factory. They called it unclaimed property. They said they didn’t know they had to get in touch with me. They didn’t have my phone number. It wasn’t their fault. They offered me a $25 gift card for my troubles.

I threw an epic tantrum in the middle of the store. A bridesmaid came down and held my hand. The staff promised me the dress would be in the next day by noon.

I take the next day off work. [My fiance] takes the day off work. We sit in the J. Crew and wait. And wait. Noon passes: NO DRESS.

The dress finally arrives about 2:30 in the afternoon. I got a discount on the dress (not yet applied to my debit card yet); my bridesmaids got a discount on their dresses and I got a $50 gift card. The kicker? When the new dress arrived I would have to PURCHASE THIS NEW DRESS and they WOULD REFUND THE EARLIER DRESS. The first dress got sent back and they never even bothered to see if someone might be out SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS."

 That was last week.  This week, rather than refunding her (because they charged her again when the replacement came in), they charged her card AGAIN.  She ended up paying THREE TIMES for her dress and is currently in the process of reporting them to her bank, Consumerist and the BBB.

I've got to say, I had kinda been a J. Crew fan.  If their stuff if your style, it really works.  But this kind of customer service?  They're opening up their first dedicated bridal salon in Manhattan next week and I'm just worried for all the people who could fall victim to their lack of coordination and apparently terrible accounting and customer service.  It all makes me very glass I picked out and took home my dress all in one go.

Please exercise caution if you're considering or planning to order your wedding gown (or anything else, for that matter) from J. Crew.

White For Less Green

I'm not sure what compels me keep looking at dresses online, I love mine, I guess the hunt is too much fun.  An online excursion recently turned up this beauty:

I think for a real modern wedding, this dress would be a total knockout.  Plus, it's pretty impossible to beat $178.

As for stuff I might actually be able to wear, I've been after a white cotton eyelet dress for about two years with no luck.  They pretty much universally make me look country and chubby.  So the search continues.  One of these might work, though.

I was thinking something like this first one as a "getaway" dress or the second as a rehearsal dinner outfit, though that's likely going to just be people in the wedding party, not out of towners (at least 2/3 of our guest list is from out of town), so it might be a little dressy, but who knows.  I think it's pretty clear that I need to hit Nordy's in real life!

Mish mash of epic proportions.

I'm kind of all over the place today, so I guess this post will be too.  Brace yourselves!

• My camera arrived!  It's another Canon 20D (my last one had a bad error message).  It has a grip (very cool, a grip serves 4 purposes: extends battery life with extra battery storage, allows for the usage of AA batteries, gives you a place to rest your pinky finger and has a vertical shutter button for ease of shooting vertically) and came with the kit lens.  I haven't got a new CF card yet so I haven't had much time to play with it.  From what I can tell, I'm very happy with it, only problem is that the whole kit smells like smoke (guess I should have asked if the seller was a smoker, but that's on me for forgetting), but I think that should air out eventually. 

• We picked our photographer and have a verbal agreement.  More on them once t's are crossed and i's are dotted.

• Save the dates are sent.  More on that once I upload my photos.

•  These cakes are beyond amazing.  This one especially.  To heck with Gabriella Marie, god bless whoever made that awesome cake!  That christening gown is crocheted with... something edible.  Anyone who crafts knows how totally labor intensive and talented that is.

•  Love Affair Workshop is giving away a cool Davina Fear Insight Kit.  Check it out.

• Went to visit some of Ari's family in Minnesota this weekend.  It was fun, but exhausting.  I got my ring resized while we were there.  I no longer worry that overly emphatic hand gestures will cause it to go flying and be lost forever, which is quite nice.

• I'm on a boat!

• Whoops.

Images by James Moes via Green Wedding Shoes.

• Went rollerskating with Ari on Thursday.  It was awesome (seriously).  Still haven't bought my skates yet.  In all truth, I was a bit intimidated by all the other people there (who were really good skaters), but I'm determined.  Though I will wait until I have some wrist guards, the one time I did fall, I went down hard.  I got pretty good at crossovers and got some real speed.  Still haven't ordered my skates.  I've been spenderella lately.

• Ari wasn't such a fan of skating, but he was, in fact, the best sport ever.

• The coolest hats I've ever seen.  Seriously.

But it's so sparkly!

The bracelet I've been crushing on for the wedding has gone on sale... for half price.  I'm having a hard time not just buying it.  I keep telling myself that this week is for a camera body and roller skates.  Saving sucks.  But look, it's pretty!

@BCBG

A new take

Bumbling around net-a-porter the other day and came across this.  What a cute alternative to a diamond engagement ring!  I admit, the price is still up there ($1500), but it's super cute!  It spells out "marry me" in a pretty little cursive.

Silver on the brain

{Prepare yourself, Erik.  More shoes lie ahead.  Don't say I didn't warn you.}

So Mouse posted these shoes yesterday, and I am loving them.  And of course, I spent the next hour trolling Nordy's for more shoes.  What did we learn from this?  I am feeling silver shoes.  Here's the results of my search, in decreasing order of comfort:

Mouse's pick, the Seychelles 'Get Outta Town' Sandal for $79.95.

At first I thought these looked really awesome, now I'm not as certain.  What do you think?  The heel is a really perfect 2" but they are mules, which complicates things a little (though my favorite shoes are too, so I guess it's not as big a deal as I thought).  They're the J. Reneé 'Parisa' Peep Toe Mule for $89.95.

Last are the ones I love the most, but probably couldn't wear successfully for more than 10 minutes.  I mean, they do have a 1.5" platform, but they have a 5" heel.  I know myself, and 3.5" is just too much to ask for me to wear all night of my wedding (where priority #1 is dance my face off) and I can't justify the $355 price tag for shoes just to wear for the ceremony, even these lovely Stuart Weitzman 'Avalon' Platform Pumps.  Plus, that would complicate things for dress hemming, so really they're just eye candy.  Please buy them so I can live vicariously through you.  Please?

Which is your favorite?