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!
I think you should dye it, but maybe try to find a similar fabric to practise on first?
ReplyDeleteI think you should dye it. It's what you want so go for it. It will work out the way it is supposed to. (I'd dye it soon though, just in case you need to look for another dress. I don't want you to be worried, just prepared.) Can't wait to see it.
ReplyDeleteI think you should dye it. Eyelet fabric is easy enough to find that you could do a few trials with your dye color and technique before you take the actual plunge. Aaaaaand you seem to be really good with colors so why not mix a few dye colors to make the one you have in your head? You can do it! Good luck, and I can't wait to see what you decide.
ReplyDeleteI think you should leave it white. You can add colour with a ribbon belt and perhaps a corsage on the shoulder.
ReplyDeleteI dont think the difference between pale blue and white will make much difference in making you look less pale....I do however think some bold coloured accessories would be amazing! I would probably do red and orange on the white...or red on the blue! or brown on the blue! or blue on the white! I'm no help. If everything goes awful in the dye you could just dye it dark brown? The trick is probably to not have a set idea of how you want it to look. If you have an image of green and then it turns out bluish you will be sad. BUT if you just let it go then that turquoise might be wonderful and pretty!
ReplyDeleteI'd leave it white, but if you do really want to dye it, maybe just dip-dye the bottom of it a pale blue.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think the white is just a very simple, pretty thing. Add a colourful shawl/veil with matching shoes and it would be super. :)
One thing to consider: It's not that I don't think it would be pretty dyed, but I am willing to bet that even if the fabric is cotton that the thread that the eyelet is sewn with is at least partly if not entirely polyester and it won't take the dye. So you might end up with a colored fabric and blotchy/white stitching.
ReplyDeleteAnd whatever you do, please please don't use RIT dye. (I don't know how much dyeing you have done...) Check out www.dharmatrading.com. They have so many colors of very high quality dyes and many sheets of instructions for how to use them. You want the fiber reactive dyes. Pale colors can be a little tricky - you will want to test first to make sure that you really have it as light as you want it. A little dye can go a long way.
All that being said, I think it is so pretty in white. It is just so classic with the shape and cut of the dress. I would go with bright colored jewelry and shoes and have fun with that.
Do you ever know what you're talking about! I was a little worried about the chance that there is polyester thread used on there and you've sold me on leaving it white for the big day. Looks like I will have to accessorize this one to jazz it up!
DeleteI teach dye classes at the art center where I work, so I get these kinds of questions a lot. ;)
DeleteI think it is lovely! A colored sash would be amazing with it!
ReplyDeleteI am pale as a ghost, but I am pretty glad I did the whole white wedding dress thing. It ended up being special and beautiful. Just get a nice makeup artist or a rad friend who is good at it and they can make you look less washed out with a few strokes of a brush.
i dyed a dress last weekend! It started grey and is now a purpley colour. I was very pleased with how even it came out of the washing machine.
ReplyDeleteI would highly recommend dying. the aim of the game is so it's not white right?
Have you seen refashionista? google her if you havent - she often mixes dyes for different results.
I like it as is, it's really pretty. And I agree what Becka was saying above. But If you really like the idea of dying it why not do it after you have worn it to the ceremony?
ReplyDeleteSuper cute dress!
ReplyDelete