Saying YES to the Dress: Part I

Have you ever channel surfed, landed on a channel, looked at the clock, and realized that 4 hours of your life had gone by? TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress never fails to trap me into one of those binge-fests whenever it shows up in my crosshairs. Paired with some sweet background music, manufactured drama (man, some of these loved ones are mean!), and well-timed commercial breaks, they make the hunt for the dress is so exciting.

Now, do not get me wrong, I had a lot of fun wedding-dress shopping, and I met a real gem of a saleslady that I will be sharing in another post. However, without a personal production team and all my best friends (with really different tastes) around, the whole ordeal was less drama and more “sure, why not?”.

Now that I have an online production team (read: me), I am going to spice up the story of my hunt with some Bruno Mars. This song puts me in such a good mood, it sets the perfect tone for my dress hunt journey. Listen along as I dance in my seat, recounting Shopping Excursion I.

Around this time last year, I went thrift shopping with one of my best friends, Greg. We were actually on a treasure hunt for some picture frames that I could use as decor, and other random knickknacks just for fun. Since this particular Value Village was a bit out of our way, we decided to explore the rest of the store. Walking around, we passed through the ethnic wear* rack and landed in the Evening Wear section. Low and behold, we found this gem:

Thanks to Greg for snapping this for me!

Pros:

1. It was so cheap! At $69, a complete steal
2. It had pockets, which are super hand-y (heh heh heh)
3. It has a bit of bling, and I love sparkly things
4. It was the right colour, as I did not want a bright white dress
5. A random couple shopping saw me try on the dress and told me, “You look so beautiful” with a sheen in their eyes

Cons:

1. There was a stain in the middle
2. It was probably 4 sizes too big (I Macgyvered a hanger to pin it in the back)
3. It was not the style I was looking for
4. It was not sparkly enough
5. It does not look too long, but I am actually wearing 5 inch heels in this picture, which I happened to find beside the change room

With so much time to keep looking, we decided to pass on the dress, but it was a lot of fun to try it on. It just goes to show you that you do not necessarily have to go to a bridal store to find a great dress. In another life, I would have nabbed this one for sure!  Have you made some amazing finds while thrifting?

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* This has nothing to do with my wedding, but why was the ethnic wear under the costume section?! Check out STARS’ campaign if you are interested in learning more about why this is an important issue, especially as Hallowe’en rolls around. Refinery29’s Alden Wicker has written an easily digestible Hallowe’en reminder as why this cultural appropriation is unacceptable.