Well blog friends - as most of you know by now, I am getting married this summer. Fraser and I have decided to skip out on the traditional wedding type things (ceremony, fancy formal event, speeches and general sappiness) and instead are throwing a fun post-marriage party with close friends and family with good food and drinks! How perfect! We've got most of the details worked out (venue, invites, caterer, booze, lots of decorative pom pom bouquets) but with only a few months left until the big event I was feeling a little pressured to find something to wear. I wanted something I could wear over and over again, is flattering and tea length, and wouldn't break the bank. I found a few vintage dresses online (that of course were sold out/not even close to my size) and was aiming at something with a high waistline, flow-y bottom, cotton, and in a nice minty light blue or other light pale skin friendly tone. Then it was just a matter of finding the time and energy to attempt to find something suitable! Oh my!
Last week Heather and I were having our usual Thursday get together and decided to take a trip to Oak Bay to check out some little shops. She had told me about a cute vintage/consignment place there she read about and we thought it might be a good place to start looking for dresses. When we first entered the shop we were pretty confident we weren't going to find a single thing. We went to the back racks of endless fluffy wedding dresses and prom-like shiny formal gowns and looked at the hundred or so dresses that were pretty much polar opposites of what I was looking for. On the way out the door we searched through one of the more casual racks at the front (for a second time) and both came across a nice cotton summer dress that we had apparently missed during our first look over. It looked darling and even though it was far from my size (it was an 8 when I wear more like a 12-14 these days) but I tried it on anyways. The verdict? It magically fit! This wondrous mystery dress zipped up, was flattering and a nice modest "just past the knee" length! Oh dear! What are the chances? The time I rustle up the nerve to go dress shopping and the very first dress we find/try on works? Oh! To top it all off - it was a budget friendly $65. Score! Behold (in all its poorly lit wonder):
Oh I love it! It's so simple, feminine, comfortable, and fantastically cotton for that potentially scorching hot desert day in July! Heck - it even has pockets and is a lovely doily-esque eyelet material:
The downfall? It's white. Ok, so I know the majority of the western world is all about the white wedding gowns, but I'm really not. I imagine a coloured dress would look better on my super pale ginger skin and would certainly be more wearable in the future. I bought it with the intention of dying it, but now I'm waffling. I'm not totally set on how it would turn out from dying it (the fun mystery of dying pretty much anything) and haven't found any fabric dyes in suitable colours. I even researched places to get dresses dyed but nothing was local and no one could guarantee anything. Ack! I couldn't imagine trying to dye it and destroying it and then having to painstakingly find a replacement to fill its void! Oh decisions! So I thought I would plea to you, my wonderful blog readers, to help me with the dilemma! I also thought I'd share this ultra flattering picture of me and my dress for further dress related reference:
Ahaha! Always with my eyes closed. I'm so photogenic. So - what do you think? Should I take the plunge and dye it? Keep it white? Perhaps add a nice coloured belt or sash for a pop of interest? I'd love your input!
