Unplanned dress shopping (The dress part 2)

My second dress shopping experience was completely unplanned.
My car was under repair and my husband dropped me north of downtown were I had an interview. I had been planning to take the bus home, not realizing that here on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, public transportation was not functioning. It was a cold day, I was all bundled up, and while I walked downtown to catch a bus (I still though there was one) I went by this very cute boutique that I had always wanted to go in:

Wedding Inspirations
Just the look of the boutique had always made me want to go in it.
But when I face the door I found out that they were not open on Mondays. I was ready to turn around when a sales person came and opened the door just for me. She had an appointment coming up that morning but offered to take some time with me.
I couldn't believe my luck.

She quickly asked for some information about me and our wedding and then explained how things worked. She pointed at the rack sales spot, showed me around the other rooms and then gave me several red ribbons that I was to attach to the dresses I liked.
What a difference from David's Bridal where I had to select gowns from a catalogue. This time I could feel the fabrics, feel the weight, look at the details and the shades.

The atmosphere was warm and cozy, I didn't feel pressured by the sales person and I took my time to look around and select gowns that caught my eyes. I was then escorted to the dressing room (a former bathroom) that made me feel in a boudoir. She then brought me a few dresses at a time.

Because I was on my own and didn't have my camera, I never took any pictures and I didn't think to write down the names of the dresses I liked either.
I had been looking for halter top, ivory color and trumpet shaped dresses. I didn't want really want an A line dress that seemed to puffy to me. There were few. So my selection included anything with straps.
No underskirt or bustier to struggle with made my experience much more pleasant.

I really like the second dress I tried. It was a Jasmine Couture gown made with silk. I mention to the salesperson that I like natural material, she says she is not surprised because all the dress I selected are like that.
I feel pretty in that dress, the trumpet shape is definitely flattering, the décolleté looks good and the natural silk color and texture looks great against my skin.
But when I look at the price back inside the dressing room, I read $1080 on the tag. Oh dear, natural fabrics means luxury tastes!

I try an other dress with an interesting structure but it's obvious that the color does not work with my complexion. The sales person uses the opportunity to tell me that I have a skin with blue undertones and that I should therefore avoid fabrics with too much yellow in it as well as diamond white that would wash me out.
So off white and ivories are my colors. Good that was what I had in mind anyway.

I also tried this Alfred Sung style 6631 wit organza and sateen ribbons, it's an A line but I do like it.
Nothing more catches my eyes after that so I headed downtown after thanking the salesperson and promising to come back with friends next time to get their opinion.

That's when I find out that there are no bus. I will have to walk miles to get back home. Not so exciting when it's close to noon on a cold January day.
On my way I stop by David's bridal with the simple goal of picking up their new collection brochure. It's close to 2pm and I wasn't really in the mood to try things on, but the sales person there insist that I should.
I get the same sales assistant as the last time. I don't like her. She makes me follow her, has me sit down on a chair and then leaves me to wait. I start chatting with a mother of the bride, a wonderful mom who will end up helping me out more than the sales person throughout the experience.

I spotted a new dress in the brochure that I wanted to try. It's far from what I had imagined so far: covered with lace when I was thinking of a simple gown.
The dress as select is Style: T9512, it's an all over lace, trumpet shape with an illusion halter top and a ribbon with the color of your choice in the middle. I love it, the shape falls so well on me. I want to try it with a coper colored belt but of course the closest they have is chocolate. I like it but the near-by mother of the bride tells me it makes it look more casual. The only thing is: it's way too long and it does not exist in a petite size, not to mention the $800 price tag.

The sales person believe then that she knows what I want and brings me an other dress. It simply looks awful on me. The sales assistant obviously does not understand what I am looking for nor what works with my figure.
I do try one last dress though, the one that my neighbor had been trying: Style: CV226, it's pretty too with it's empire waist and beaded lace sheath.
I like it too although not quite as much as the first one, and again it's close to $1000. But with little energy left I have to put a halt to my dress shopping and head home.

But the visit was not fruitless, it did help me again to define what I was looking for, and the T9512 made me realize that I do love lace and that maybe it's part of what I would like for my wedding dress.

Did you ever go shop on your own? Do you think it made it easier or harder to select gown without a close friend's opinion?