Bridal Binge: Wedding Dress Also-Rans

I found it. The Dress. It took four separate shopping trips and innumerable visits to sites like preownedweddingdresses.com and Once Wed, but I found it. I wouldn't dare post it, of course, in case the other One happens to look here (he doesn't want to see it till I'm walking down the aisle -- cue awwwwwwws). I will say that I got a gorgeous Anne Barge dress at the Bridal Garden, a not-for-profit resale boutique that sells only samples and donated dresses at heavily discounted prices and gives the proceeds to a charity for New York City children. I was hoping I would succeed there, and I can't tell you how great it feels to support that instead of the money-grubbing, bloodsucking wedding industry. (Getting a crazy bargain feels pretty good, too.) Here are some of the other dresses I bookmarked, tried on, or otherwise drooled over in the course of my weeks-long quest for The Dress:

Watters "Monclova" dress, about $1400. This was one of the first dresses I tried on. I love love loved the folds and ruffles at the bust; it's exactly the kind of organic detailing I was after and had a hard time finding amid all the beading and bling. And it made my waist look small. Ultimately, however, I didn't think that cool bodice was enough, and I wasn't crazy about the huge skirt. Or the price (even though, in wedding land, that is considered one-dollar-sign).


Watters "Torrean" dress, $1300-ish, I think. I started off against strapless but ended up liking a few of them anyway. And I discovered I liked lace, although in retrospect I think it might have been more that I just preferred lace to beading. I'd done my research and put this one on my radar, but it was a little too sparkly in person.


Mary L. Couture bias-cut gown, sadly unavailable. This would have fulfilled one of my major requirements: boob-flatteringness. I wanted something like that: sexy but not slutty. My mom and I might have disagreed on whether this dress falls into that category, but it's worth noting that she, a proper Englishwoman, opined without prompting that I would want something "sexy" and seemed to agree that that was okay. I do not believe I ever heard my mother utter that word before in my life, and I was mildly scandalized. Moving on...


Alfred Angelo style 1127, price unknown, but you can get it on discount sites for a couple hundred bucks. Another boobalicious style. Loved the top, wasn't crazy about the length. Would be perfect for someone who wants a shorter dress but prefers something more modern than the whole vintage/tea-length look, though.


Nicole Miller aqua one-shoulder gown, $620. Not technically a wedding dress, but who cares? I love the one-shoulder look and the crinkliness, and this definitely has a wow factor. Nicole Miller has a ton of sleek, elegant, white wedding dresses in addition to this series of stretch metal ones, too.


BCBG one-shoulder silk gown, $358. So elegant. Hilariously listed as a "mother of the bride" gown.


Jessica McClintock "Charleze" dress, $167. Before I got my dress, I was thinking how fun it would be to have a costume change and be able to dance freely, in a short dress, at the reception. Now, I just can't imagine taking off my dress for anything.


I even think it's better than this Oscar de la Renta embroidered number, a heartbreaking $10,500...


...which sort of reminds me of this Kelima K gown. We saw a whole bunch of their pretty dresses this weekend at the New York Wedding Workshop Signature Event this weekend, and by we I mean Tamar and me, not me and my betrothed, although there were plenty of couples walking around sipping the cocktails and tasting the cupcakes and sitting on the rented white furniture. Only one person, who shall remain unnamed, was blithely tossing piping-hot crab poppers hither and yon. Good times!


But I digress. There were a few dreses I ripped out of magazines more than once (note: I LOVE wedding magazines! weird!), so that I now have multiples taped into my all-important wedding binder. This Melissa Sweet Cosimma dress is one of them. God, I love floral appliqués.


This crazy Betsey Johnson gown also appears several times. I just love the ruffly ridiculousness!

Another heavy hitter in the bridal world is Lela Rose, whose feminine dresses are so pretty and unusual (for bridal). I saw a couple of her dresses at the Bridal Garden, but unfortunately, they were too small. Some examples of her work:







Finally, there is a Seattle designer who makes some truly amazing nontraditional gowns. Tamar, you must get one of these Wai Ching dresses! It's a little scary ordering a custom gown over the Internet, but if they did it right, how awesome would some of these gowns be? The color, the detailing, the sheer fun!

Three For Tuesday

Some super quickies:


($34, BCBGirls, Overstock)
I'm not usually into muted colors, but this is really cute!




($86, BCBG Max Azria, Overstock)
I've definitely resisted the cropped jacket trend for a really long time, but for some reason I'm into this one. Prolly because it's not too swingy or boxy.



($68, Mike & Chris, Chocosho.com)
So stylish and soooo comfy looking. And there ain't much Mike & Chris available for under $100, nomesayin'? Total steal.


Okay. Must finish prepping for an interview -- I'm going to go talk to the Hearts Challenger peeps!! Tasty!

And It Was All Yellooooooooooooowwww...

CERTAINLY you're aware that Cami D has been gallivanting about Paree in some seriously yellow stilettos, no? While I'm not always a huge fan of a LOT of, say, all-over yellow on white-white girls like myself, yellow accessories and footwear can be fabs, and I actually do like her simple spike heels. Observe:



Now go get some of your own...


($29, Amazon)



($28.50, Amazon)
Love the cut.



(BCBG, Amazon.com)
I love these BCBG Open-toe Library Pumps, but they're becoming increasingly harder to find in yellow. Boo.



($54, BCBG, Overstock)
These pale yellow BCBGirls heels are really cute. And I like that they're called "Sunshine." Tee!



($38, Amazon)
Pale AND slutty!



($18, Soda, Amazon)
Totes cute slingbacks. It's odd -- I usually can't stand high-heeled slingbacks. Only low heels. I know you feel better knowing that.



($241, Loeffler Randall, Shopbop)
The dots are so subtle that they're not barfily little girlie. Yay! And, also, yay to Jesse Randall for Loeffler Randall's win at the CFDA Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent Accessory Design. Check out this adorbs photo of her:


(Photo credit: CFDA.com)



($102, Matiko, Couturecandy.com)
Very very cute.



($60, Tribeca By Kenneth Cole, Piperlime)
Cute! Courtesy of Mary-Kate's Websleuthing skillz.


And now for some yellow non-footwear:


($341, Julie K, Couturecandy.com)
Funs!



($28, Amiciaccessories.com)



($30, Asos.com)
Tee! In the style of Lily Allen.



($57, Bebe, eBay)



($48, Santeealleythestore.com)


And now for something heinous...


($237, Nina Ricci, DesignerExposure.com)
What they DON'T want you to see: the unfortunate purging side of bingeing.

I Do... Want These Dresses

A few of you have been up in arms and legs about what to wear to upcoming weddings. Well, fear not, Binge-oids. I've been hording some absolutely gorgeous frocks, some affordable, and, again, many definitely not! Here's the first out of a series of two. This batch: the fancier ones:



($750, 3.1 By Phillip Lim, Bigdropnyc.com)
Completely beautiful, completely out of my price range. I'm consoled though, by the fact that I don't really like the bottom hem.



($629, Sofira, CoutureCandy.com)
I absolutely love this, and I am consoled by nothing. Boooo.



($360, Kay Unger, Saks)
Cuter than a flannel pillowcase with an all-over candycane print, and then you open up the pillowcase and look inside and it's filled with fuzzy, fluffy wide-eyed kittens mewing sweetly.



($340, Mara Hoffman, Shopfrock.com)
Would look gorgeous with some gold sandals wif heels.



($277, Calvin Klein, Saks)
Muy elegante. You'll look less trashy when you get wasted before the reception if you're wearing this deceptively elegant dress. (Hey, it's called a cocktail dress and a cocktail hour for a REASON!)



($136, Betsey Johnson, Overstock)
Okay, a few times this week, I came DANGEROUSLY close to almost ordering this to wear to a wedding in June. The couple is super cool and super not-stuffy and non-traditional, so this would be perfect. BUT when I showed it to a different friend, also a non stuffy person, she asked if, in all seriousness, I was having an early mid-life crisis. I'm not even 30, for Pete Wentz's sake! Anyway, if there's ANYONE who could pull off wearing this to a wedding, I think it's ME! I also think I might order it JUST to SPITE her! Because I'm just that sorta person!



($128, Betsy & Adam, Saks)
Since I've got a lotta red tones in my skin, I almost never wear red. But, if you can pull it off, this is totally adorbs.



($64, Max & Cleo, Overstock)
I usually don't LOOOOVE dots, but these look really subtle, and I like the cut and color -- sorta '40s. You might have to have zero curves to wear this, but if that's you, yay! Get it!


Byeee!

Dresses (And More) *to Die For

Let's jump to it, okay? Listed in the order in which I covet:


($795, Moschino Cheap and Chic, Saks)
Oh. My. God. Giraffes!!!! Oh. My. God. $795!!!!


($242, L.A.M.B.)
If loving Gwen Stefani is wrong, I don't wanna be right. I don't know exactly how to Holla Back, but I'd be more than willing to learn in exchange for this dress.


($438, Issa, BlueBee.com)
Issa makes just absolutely gorgeous dresses. More here, for lotsa paper stacks.


(Price upon request, Vintage James Galonos, Decades in L.A.)
LOVE this. It's so "Dallas" and SO delicious. And my size (if I blow my nose a few times and then suck in really hard).


(Price upon request, Vintage Pierre Balmain, Decades in L.A.)
I know it's ridiculous, but I would make it work. I'd wear it to the supermarket and the bank in hopes of being 'razzi stalked.


($299, Tufi Duek, Bluefly)
Oh Tufi Duek. Oh I love you. Love the Deco-meets-ethnic situation here.


($179, Abate, Bluefly)
I don't often go mad for Mod (har), but this is lovely and elegant. Prada-esque for the working girl. The working girl who DOESN'T work at Vogue, that is.


($290, Betsey Johnson, HouseofStyle.com)
LOVE this! It's very Jan-Brady-Goes-To-School-But-Forgets-Her-Pants. Um, seriously, could you spare us and put on a pair of tights, or even LEGGINGS if you must?


($82, Betsey Johnson, Vibetheboutique.com)
A-dor-a-blay. House of Style (WTF is that, by the way??)has 'em but for way way more.


($89, Stop Staring, Modcloth.com)
Very "Looo-Seeee?? I'm HOOOoooo-M!" Love the waist action.


($89, Jenny Han, Modcloth.com)
Super cute. Picnic-perfect!


($253, Erotokritos, Shopatmilk.com)
Better in theory than practice??


($305, BCBG Max Azria, Bluefly)
Also cute only in theory? Too Vanna-White-And-Nancy-Reagan-Circa-1984-Play-Dress-Up?


($109, BCBG Max Azria, Bluefly)
The cutesiness of the ribbon situation is offset by the sexiness of the keyhole peekaboo action. And I like that the color is referred to as "Napa wine." I've never been to Napa, but I do enjoy wine, like, a lot, so, I'll drink to that!


OK. Time to discuss kimonos, k? Do we love 'em or not so much? Of course my first pick of the litter, if i HAD to own one, would be a Kara Janx kimono dress:

($185, Kara Janx, greenapple.com)
My fave's totes the black and green one, sadly out of stock, but I'm sure she'll be whipping up more. I also like the grey (doy) dress on this site. Too lazy to post yet another photo, so here you go. It looks weeyahd at first, but zoom in, and I assure you, additional cuteness will become apparent.


Now, here are some expensive kimono items:

1.

($260, Single Dress, Bloomingdale's)
Super pretty, but pretty pricey.

2.

($148, Abby Z, Nordstrom)
Pretty and plus-sized, but with a plus-sized price tag too. Boo.

3.

($216, Harkham, CoutureCandy.com)
I know it's not a dress, but it falls neatly into the kimono sub-genre, so deal.

NOW... FOUR AFFORDABLE kimono situations, all under $40:
1.

($39, Giannascloset.com)
The whole no-brand thing is suspect, but who cares? It's a $40 no-brainer.

2.

($32.18, asos.com)
Another no-brander, but again, who cares?

3.

($38.50, Lulusfashionlounge.com)
I'm loving this because it LOOKS really 'spensive. Also comes in a red situation.

4.

($29.99, Meron, targs)
Just another reason to <3 Targs. I'm not positive I'd wear this, but it's a great deal, and it's good for work.


Now back to non-kimono stuff...


($26.50, Lush, Lulusfashionlounge.com)
How cute is the blue-and-pink color combo? Lulu, whoever you are, ya done good.


($34, Soundgirl, Lulusfashionlounge.com)
You don't have to be rockabilly or emo or "scene" or whichever ebay descriptor you identify with to love lil cherries. Yay, again, Lulu! And I'm a fan of about 90% of what Soundgirl does. (The music on their site is always right on, too.)

And finally...

($43, Scrapbook, Modcloth.com)
I think I'm gwongo buy this, though I fear it may look like overwashed cotton in person. I'll report back.

Oh wait... here's the "and more" section:


($116.40, Dreamland by Joystick, Playhouse Clothing)
I know this is super young, but it's so cuters.


($66, Dreamland by Joystick, Shoprumor.com)
And here it is in t-shirt form. Cute cute!

Donations gladly accepted for any or all of the above.


*Remember kids: fashion is NOT worth dying for. It's just a turn of phrase