Welcome to Part I of our DIY wedding!
I hadn't planned on a vintage dress. I have been to the nice Bridal Salons, had champagne and cookies while being shown oodles of puff and boring strapless sheaths. They all look alike to me. None of them got me excited at all. Wedding date - April 2nd and still no dress - Tick-tock!
Then on Tuesday night I happen to be driving down Fairfax Avenue in LA. Fairfax is full of second hand re-sale shops. I thought to myself 'wouldn't it be amazing if I could find a great deal on a really gorgeous one of a kind dress in a thrift shop' well, no sooner did I have the thought then I passed Out of The Closet, and the entire window was full of wedding dresses. Talk about instant manifestation!
The next day my Maid of Honor, (my daughter), AKA The Teen Fashion Police, and I set out for a little wedding dress hunting fortified with lunch from our favorite French Cafe. My theme, as usual, maximum style on minimum bucks. As with all my shopping, it's the thrill of the hunt.
We weren't crazy about the dresses in the window but asked if they had any others. The sales girl said she'd take us in the back but "excuse the mess". That was an understatement. There were piles of clothes from floor to ceiling and then on a table in the corner, a huge pile of wedding dresses! We picked 5 and went off to the 'fitting room' which was a 1/2 curtain attached to the wall. I barely fit in with all those dresses. The Teen Fashion Police stood guard reminding me to stop bending and poking my butt out of the curtain and commenting on the need to wash her hands. Yes, thrift stores are not exactly sterile, you need a strong constitution to be a bargain hunter!
All of the dresses were beautiful, unique and had the character I'd been looking for. And then I put on dress #3 and WOW, this was the dress! I opened the curtain and she said YES get it! Now let me just say she is one tough cookie, especially when it comes to my fashion choices, she has sent me back to the closet on many a day, I don't call her the Teen Fashion Police for nothing! So for her to love it was huge.
And there in less then 10 minutes in a messy thrift shop on Fairfax Avenue I found THE dress. I asked how much (not that it mattered, I was going to buy it) the sales girl said $100 but if I gave them my e mail $85. Good enough for me. Then the register girl stuffed my beautiful new (to me) wedding dress in a big green garbage sack! No fancy shopping bag, no cookies, no champagne, just one gorgeous rocking wedding gown.
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| My gorgeous wedding dress went home in this! lol |
I have heard it said that it's not about the dress, it's about how you look in the dress, and I have to agree, however, when I got the dress home and examined it I discovered (with glee) that although the designer tag had been taken out the content tag was there. Turns out my new $85 wedding gown is 100% silk! It also has tons of hand sewn pearls all over the bodice and skirt. I'm convinced that when it was new my lovely dress must have cost it's original bride a few thousand dollars. I won't be sharing pictures of the dress until after the wedding but I will show before and afters then. Like before and after the amputation of it's gigantic puffy sleeves and the removal of a gazillion yards of crinoline.
Next week I will share pictures of the amazing finds on DIY 'stuff ' we've collected for the ceremony and the reception keeping with our beach theme, and as always my Get Your Bargain On theme
Now I'm off to hunt for some amazing shoes, the kind that would make Carrie Bradshaw proud.
Happy Hunting!
xoxo
