Saturday, February 26, 2011

The search is on.

My mom is a rockstar.  And as such, she won a top award in her field, to be presented at a black tie gala in Washington DC this May.  My father, the man who won't travel without his Folgers, dog, and leather recliner, decided to remain behind, so I get to be my mom's plus one for the evening.  She'll be wearing this absolutely stunning gown:

 (and my mom is going to look miles better than the vampire-cougar in this photo, no doubt)


And me?  I have no idea what to wear.  While I do have the dress I wore to prom and Presser Formal (flashback!) ---it is beautiful but uncomfortable to sit in, given the structured boning and drop waist.  It's much more of a stand-up-and-talk dress.  I made the mistake of wearing it to the six hour performance of Wagner's Götterdämmergung, and the discomfort was intense. 

(the very gallant prom date and I)

Something to keep in mind is that this isn't an awards show, it isn't a costumer's ball, I'm not going onstage....which means if any single person would look at me funny, it reflects badly on my mom, which I would never want.  Basically, it's not high school, where I wore formals over jeans just for fun.  I'm going for class, elegance, and something that will make me feel beautiful.  Which also means no conventional prom dresses (ew, neon) or mother-of-the-bride dresses (I am 25, not 55).  I want a dress that I would see Natalie Portman or Rachel McAdams would wear.  Well, I dress I would see them wear, but one that doesn't cost ten thousand dollars, of course.  I've thought about the dress rental sites, as well as Etsy/Ebay, but it just does not sit well with me to spend money on something I am not able to try on.  I buy tshirts online, and shoes that I wear with socks, which give me wiggle room.  A $300 ballgown has very little room for error, and while I do have the money to spend that much on a gown, I don't have money to spend that much on a gown that ends up not working at all.  But--both Etsy and Ebay have given me some ideas on what I would want to wear:





I've also been looking for a replacement for this dress, a homemade dress I found at my favorite consignment shop in the Twin Cities during high school - it was just so loved that it fell apart.  I've been looking for another bronzey-metallic dress ever since, to no avail.

 Gosh, I miss this dress.

So, what to do?  Visit every thrift and consignment store between here and New Hampshire, I think.  The wealthier suburbs might yield some gorgeous dresses, you never know.  I guess my worst nightmare is having to wear a David's Bridal bridesmaid dress, so as long as it doesn't come down to that, I'm fine.  But it means I need to get going and find one, that's for sure.

6 comments:

Britt said...

I really love the first of the three dresses, but the second one is a little bit more special and elegant. You have such good taste, I'm sure you'll find something lovely. I wish I could be of help in this area, but I admit, it's not my forte. I can say good luck! You look good in everything, so just find something comfortable, classy, and rock the hell out of it. And take photos of your mom in that dress! I want to see you two dressed up on the town!

me said...

oooh, what a fun project! and i know you are the queen of vintage, but david's bridal has some beautiful stuff these days, no longer just plastic-y disasters...i swear! what about outlet malls? i found an awesome stretchy velvet thing (from my junior recital) that will NEVER wrinkle for $20 bucks.

meanwhile, you could look gorgeous in a potato sack. don't sweat it!

- ariana :)

me said...

ps. congratulations to your mom!!! and may i just say, congratulations on her gown as well...that is FIERCE. :)

muffin said...

I agree with Britt about the first dress. I think the silhouette would really flatter you, and that orange color would definitely look great with your hair and eyes. It's a nice way to have color when most people will probably be wearing black.

Also David's bridal has gotten better, but I feel like you'd find some gorgeous vintage gem. Can't wait to hear about your thrifting adventures, I wish I had that much success when I went out.

Don't you wish the original Downtown Crossing Filene's Basement was still around? The other locations have nowhere near the quality and selection the original offered.

Miss Outlier said...

You would look gorgeous in any of those choices!

Well I will take any excuse to hit up the local Poor Little Rich Girl shops... I love browsing the vintage there! Although sadly, my life in the machine shops offer me no opportunity to wear vintage...

I also just wanted to mention that I've ordered from eShatki before, and they do a fantastic job. They customize to your measurements (I'm a little too curvy and too tall for normal juniors clothes, so it works well for me...) and the prices are good, and the quality is great. Don't think they have anything quite formal enough, but just to keep in mind for the future.

http://www.eshakti.com/clothpdpage.asp?catalog=Clothes&srch=long+dress&productid=CL0021013&pcat=

bridgetwhoplaysfrenchhorn said...

Thanks for all of the comments, everyone! I'm sure there will be an update sooner or later on what I try on, what I find...I have high hopes for finding a gorgeous dress, that's for sure!