The most important dress - part 2

A few days ago I blogged about getting married and of course THE DRESS.

Well my very good friend and I (more about her later) have since been shopping. I would like to say it was a pleasant experience but in the most part it wasn't..

We had both been looking forward to our day out for a couple of weeks. We had booked appointments with a few boutiques (which is a necessity) decided on where we were having lunch and booked the day off our day jobs.

Katie, my shopping companion, is the friend I shop with. She gives a good opinion and is one of the few people who has got the stamina to shop with me, she is also on the cusp of bridezilla and since her wedding 2 years ago has had wedding withdrawals. It was my duty as a good friend to take her along.

So the first shop we were told to pull out all the dresses that we liked to try on. Faced with 2 walls of white dresses, we started ploughing through. Now nothing wrong at this point, just a feeling of being rushed. Every dress I put on the lady said how amazing it looked, now I have a problem with that. While they were all lovely, and none of them looked bad, it was obvious that some of them were not right for me. Well after our hour, which a large proportion was spent stood around while the owner answered the phone, the next client came in and my time was up. See ya then.

So en route to our next shop we decided to double check the time of the appointment "oh you are coming in today?", "Erm yes! have you double booked us?". Turns out we were not exactly in the book, but it was OK she would let us come down. Thanks, you're so kind. It was raining, we turned up at the time she requested. "I'm busy at the moment, wait outside - I'll be 5 minutes, there's a cafe down the road if you want to wait there". It was raining, we had just come from a cafe, we were discussing how customer service did not seem a priority.

To counter these 2 boutiques, Timeless Bride in Poynton was a completely different experience. Michelle sat down with me, after offering me a drink, asked me about my likes and dislikes, what my wedding was going to be like and then started to show me her stock. We chose a few to try on to start to see what direction we would end up going. One of the things I liked about Michelle, was she was honest, if something wasn't right she would say and also the reason why. It was a lovely experience and so far my favourite dress is one I tried on that day.

I often shop for outfits for guests for weddings and mothers of the bride and groom, but my experience of wedding dress shopping is limited. I am wondering what my other experiences will be like. I spend a lot of my time shopping and have great relationships with local independents and I know that their levels of customer service is a million times better than I experienced in the first 2 shops AND they're not flogging dresses for £1k+. As far as I'm concerned if you go into the business of wedding dress sales, you're not just selling a dress your selling an experience. If you go to a beauty salon, they don't just slap some cream on you, they pamper you and ensure you have a lovely time. Choosing your dress is an important part of planning your wedding and will form part of your wedding memory and some shops it seems would do well to remember this.

What are your experiences of wedding dress shopping? How many did you try on before you found the one? I'll keep you posted on the progress...

The most important dress of my life?

I'm so excited to say that on Saturday I'm dress shopping, not for a client but for me.

And this dress has got to be special. You see after the kids, the mortgage, the pets, the extension, the new kitchen etc etc, we are finally getting married.

So the dress (I want to keep roughly on the blog's topic although some wedding talk may sneak in). What do I want from my dress? Well I have curves and hey I'm ok with that, but I need the dress to flatter them. I want the dress that represents me and not a 'brides costume' and obviously I want to feel amazing in it and of course for Mr Style to like it.

There is something niggling away at me though, and here's my conundrum. Wedding dresses cost a fortune, they don't go with anything else in your wardrobe and (in theory) you will wear it for a day and then never wear it again. This goes against pretty much everything I believe clothes should be and after all we are talking about a dress.

Don't get me wrong, I am lusting after a few dresses that would make the bank manager's eyes water and I want to feel special, but hundred of pounds on a dress? - oh who am I kidding, Mr Style won't read this - thousands of pounds on a dress! There's no getting away from the fact that weddings are a dear do.

So what style do you think I'll go for? What was your wedding dress like or if you're not married what's your dream dress like?

I'll keep you posted on the dress hunt.

Wedding dressing (guest)

So you have been invited to a wedding, you have bought the gift but have you decided what to wear? Nowadays weddings are not the minefield of etiquette that they used to be. It was once considered improper to wear black to a wedding but nowadays it would be perfectly acceptable, however why would you want to when the shops are full of vibrant beautiful colours?

The first steps in deciding what to wear is to consider the venue. Is it a particularly formal affair? Is it outside? Is it an early wedding? Whatever you wear should feel good, you could be celebrating for up to 12 hours depending on the ceremony start time, so shoes and anything you wear should be comfortable.

Whatever you decide remember you will be having your photograph taken, so make sure whatever you wear will not date. In a few years time you won't want to see yourself on the bride and grooms mantle piece and wish you wore something else.

If you would like help dressing for a wedding or any other function. Please get in touch 07980 789602.

Love is in the Air...

It's exciting dressing for a date or an evening of romance.  Whether it's with someone you're in a relationship with or going on a first date, you want to look your best and impress that special someone.  You want to get the balance right between looking sexy but not tarty and you don't want to look like you're trying too hard, but on the other hand, you don't want to look like you have just rolled out of bed.

Firstly, consider where you are going, if it's a surprise ask for an idea of whether it's going to be formal or casual.  You want to be comfortable, if you're out with someone new is now the time to be wearing super high heels that you can barely walk in?  Make sure you feel confident in what you're wearing, you don't want to feel distracted or self conscious.

Restaurant:
Dress and heels, you can't go wrong with a LBD (little black dress) use your accessories to add interest and colour.

Cinema
Skinny or slim fit jeans with muted tones keeps the outfit from looking overdressed.

Drinks
Again, jeans are acceptable but try adding a bit of embellishment or sparkle to add a little glamour to your look.

If you would like any help choosing an outfit for a special occasion please get in touch.