I desperately need to find a dress, asap! August 2010 wedding

[Carats]

Hi everyone,

I really need help finding a dress. I''ve been to several places in the northeast and i just can''t find anything that is perfect. I''m so confused and realizing quickly that time is running out for the august 2010 date. I know we have some experts on this board, women with tons of experience in this area, so I''m deferring to you guys for some help.

I want something beautiful, sophisticated, tighter fitting (i''m petite with a curvyish body type). Our wedding is going to be at a very formal city venue as well. There were a few amsale dresses and a bunch of priscilla of boston dresses that I liked but nothing seems perfect or really eye catching. Sometimes i like plain dresses (but ones that are really architectural and sophisticated, not like boring plain jane) and other times I like ones that have more detail work (but only if it isn''t tacky).

Anyway, I''ve gotten to the point where I feel like I''ve seen a lot, haven''t liked anything and am totally discouraged. At this point, are the collections designers have now different than what was available in December? In other words, would trunk shows bring about new options that I haven''t seen already?

Any advice, suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[CharmyPoo]

From my experience, I don''t think there will be a lot of new stuff that you haven''t seen yet. What I suggest is to look at discontinued styles or older styles - perhaps I am out of date but I love a lot of designs from 2008 and 2009. I am not in love with a lot of the new 2010 collections out there.

The most important thing is to narrow down what you are looking for. For example, do you want lace or satin or tulle? Do you want a fit and flare style? What type of neck line? All these factors will help you slowly narrow down what you like.

 

[Carats]

I want either mermaid or fit and flare with preferably a sweetheart neckline (either way, strapless). In terms of material, I''m not really sure? I don''t like too much lace though. I also don''t like anything that is cheap looking; one of the things I liked about amsale for example was her materials were really high end.

So basically no hope of finding any new designs?? Hmm, interesting idea but I feel off about going back in time? Maybe I will try that though...

 

[Carats]

Another thing I was thinking - maybe I need to find new designers I haven''t looked into before????

So far I have gone off of what I have seen on theknot.com however one designer that I really liked elizabeth fillmore isn''t even listed on the site - it makes me think if there are others that I would potentially love that I just havent found yet? Any comprehensive list out there?

 

[CharmyPoo]

You sound just like me in terms of what you are looking for in your dress. Only difference is that I love lace and tulle .. not a fan of satin.

My favorite gowns are from Enzoani, Pronovias, Christos, Melissa Sweet, Elie Saab, Monique Lhuillier, Anne Barge, and Augusta Jones. Beautiful material.

I know Maggie Sottero is pretty popular but their material and workmanship urkes me.

It will be very difficult for you to find a comprehensive list and check them all out. There are just too many out there.

Check out this blog - http://fashionbride.wordpress.com/. I love it and gives you lots of great gown and designer ideas. Many I have never heard of before.

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

Hi Carats! You also sound similar to what I like, except I''m like CharmyPoo in that I love lace and tulle also. I purchased the Enzoani Brazil. Here''s a link to a thread with pictures of me in it. I like that it''s detailed without looking over-done or cheap. It''s very romantic. The price was around 2K, but I think it looks like I spent more.

If you want a more simple look that''s DEFINITELY not boring, I would totally do the "Fanal" by La Sposa. Oh, it''s just dreamy. Classic and simple, yet IMO, jaw-droppinly gorgeous. If I hadn''t already purchased mine, I would have loved to have tried this one on. There are a lot of PSers that have purchased the Fanal. Here''s a link to lots of pics in different ladies in this gown. I really love it.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Date: 2/13/2010 11:29:00 PM
Author: Travel Goddess

I purchased the Enzoani Brazil. Here''s a link to a thread with pictures of me in it.

I tried on the Brazil and loved it too - it was on my short list. Did you try on the Eva? I didn''t like it when the lady took it out but it looks amazing on - so elegant.

 

[farfrompro]

I LOVE pronovias and a new one (to me) that i found when dress shopping was anjolique. They have very elegant dresses and seem to go more towards the form fitting style. They dont sell them really anywhere near me but its worth checking out the website atleast. another option is to check recycledbride.com, preownedweddingdresses.com or bravobride.com and look at dresses people are selling. This might widen your range because there will be older styles on there as well.

 

[marlie]

hi carats...
i''m a petite bride too! some suggestions i have are rivini (the website is hard to search though). i tried on a couple of her dresses and they felt really nice and were proportioned well for shorter brides. priscilla of boston has a ton of gorgeous dresses and a bunch of new ones just were made available at their salons. my last suggestion is selia yang. it''s where i got my dress. they custom cut them to fit your body exactly (priscilla can do that to). a lot of the dresses are very architectural and the fabrics she uses are amazing. my dress is more on the simpler side but there are a bunch of others that you might like. check out www.seliayang.com. they are so amazing in person and the website doesn''t do the dresses any justice. for some reason the fit and flares don''t look as ''flared'' as they do in real life.

lots of luck!

 

[NakedFinger]

Wow your post could have been written by me. I am getting married in July and still havent found anything! I keep getting the "your running out of time" bit from salon people, but I have yet to find anything I love. Everything is pretty, but no "this is the one" moment. I am also petite, and also am very concerned with fabric. I refuse to buy a cheap quality dress. Like I said…your post could have been mine! lol

Based on the designers you are mentioning, its sounds like you have a pretty good budget for your dress. Off the top of my head....

-Kenneth Pool
-Oscar de la Renta
-Jenny Lee (sounds like her stuff is your style)
-Jenny Packham
-Vera Wang
-Angel Sanchez (very simple, classic styles)

(many of the aforementioned designers can have dresses upwards of $20k, but there are plenty in the $5,000-10,000 range).

My suggestion though, would be rather than go to Priscilla of Boston or Amsale boutiques, go to a bridal salon that carries several different designers of the same caliber. This way you wont just be looking at Amsale dresses; you’ll be exposed to a whole bunch of designers you may not have thought to try on otherwise. Having an attendant fish out dresses and make suggestions is so helpful, and you may end up falling in love with a dress you never would have picked up yourself. (you said you are in the northeast….are you near NYC by chance? If so check out Mark Ingram’s Bridal Atelier or Bridal Reflections. Or, you could always go to Kleinfeld’s which carries TONS of designers ranging in price from $1,000-$20,000.)

My mom claims that I am not going to have a "this is the one" moment cause "everything looks good on me" lol. She's like "You dont need to find 'the one' that makes you look great, because your body is great everything you put on looks wonderful". I thought she was just being a mom, but if you're petite too and cant find anything, maybe its the truth! lol

 

[E B]

Have you looked at Alvina Valenta/Jim Hjelm Couture gowns? One of these might fit the bill. (Don't miss the 'alternate view/more images' buttons to the bottom right of the photos):

AV 9002

AV 9900

AV 9083

AV 9854

JH 8662

JH 8850

JH 8857

JH 8801

JH 8814

There are quite a few more at the website. Def. worth checking out. HTH!

 

[CharmyPoo]

Date: 2/14/2010 11:19:00 AM
Author: NakedFinger

My mom claims that I am not going to have a ''this is the one'' moment cause ''everything looks good on me'' lol. She''s like ''You dont need to find ''the one'' that makes you look great, because your body is great everything you put on looks wonderful''. I thought she was just being a mom, but if you''re petite too and cant find anything, maybe its the truth! lol

This is suppose to be a good problem to have but I think it puts it in the situation we are in. I am also petite and not to be vain but everything looks fine on me - maybe not stunning but the gowns typically don''t look bad (unless they are the huge gowns that overwhelm me and make me look short). I had some sales people comment that most gowns will look good on me .. it is trying to figure out what I like and narrow it down. I was also told that many people don''t ever get the .. "this is the one" moment. I can tell you that I had the this may be the one moment twice - first with the Pronovias Nemesis (which I had to give up on because it has been discontinued) and the second one is the Melissa Sweet Dora.

 

[caribqueen]

Just to throw something out there, do you think you're expecting too much from yourself? Before I went dress-shopping, I had seen brides on television get emotional and start crying and their mom would cry and so on and so on... But that didn't happen for me. I don't know that my dress stopped my heart, but I did feel like I could be happy being photographed in it and wearing it for my special day. And that was enough for me to stop shopping. Don't get me wrong, I'm satisfied with my dress and love it, but I know that there's always going to be something better out there. I have no idea how many dresses you've tried on or looked at online, but I do think sometimes you can drive yourself crazy if you shop around too much.

If this is not the case for you, then good luck finding your dress.

EDIT: Have you tried trunk shows? I'm not sure, but maybe they could expose you to new dresses not ordinarily seen in the salon? I got my Priscilla gown during one, and it's yet to show up in salons.

 

[cakegirl]

I am an August 2010 bride as well, and I have to wait until mid March to try the dress I want. I saw dress in the new Vera Wang Fall 2010 collection that I loved and I have to wait for the trunk show. I do have a 2nd choice that I will order at the same store if it doesn''t work out. Have you looked at Fall 2010 collections online? They would be the newest possible dresses.

It sounds like you have covered most of the big designers-maybe there is a shop in your area that would carry some smaller more independent designers that you haven''t yet seen, like Amy Kuschel.

 

[OUpearlgirl]

It depends on when the store chose to have their Spring 2010 collection delivered. Most delivery dates don''t even START until December. A lot of stores are probably still receiving new gowns in every day. They wouldn''t be trunk show dresses, but gowns you can order. While I do think you should order by March 1 at the latest, you still have time! It''s definitely worth going back or calling to see if the places you looked had new shipments since December. In fact, I''d say 90% definitely will have new things!

Also, it depends on the store. Where I work is small, and we have several gowns we are willing to sell off of the rack at 10% off but we don''t advertise that unless someone is in a hurry to get a dress.