Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

I have a problem. You see, I bought this very expensive and very fancy dress that I adore. I put aside a good amount of money so that I could have this dress, more than I have ever spent on a single article of clothing. I cleaned and pressed it, had alterations done so that it fit me perfectly, and bought the perfect accessories to go with it.

I love this dress. I feel absolutely stunning in it and everyone who saw me the day of and in my pictures agree. But the problem is this:

I can only wear it once.

I mean, it is not like I can get married again (I sure hope not) and I certainly would not use the same dress if I did. I also can't think of a single instance when wearing my wedding dress like this would appear to be appropriate, because let's face it: It looks like a wedding dress. I could save it for a daughter that I might have one day, but who is to say she will be sentimental enough to WANT to wear an out of date dress that probably is now sort of yellow-y instead of white. Oh, I bet she would love that. Maybe. Who knows what is in style by the time I have a daughter? What I have might look pretty awesome, but twenty, thirty years down the road?

So, instead of letting it sit in a box for years and years, I have been looking at a few options to see what I could possibly do for this dress that I love so much.

I could have trashed it for my wedding photos. I suppose I could have jumped into the small lake with the koi or rolled down a giant hill.  Or dove from a plane and dropped myself into the nearest jungle with my love to play Survivor: BRIDAL STYLE or I could have thrown myself and my new husband into a shark pool and pet the fishies. Lots of super fun options to choose from!

I speak for myself when I say that that ship has already sailed off into the sunset and I am happy I forgot my ticket. I am a practical sort of girl and don't have it in me to destroy my favorite and most expensive dress anyway. Besides, I could already see my parent's glaring red beams of death at me for even proposing such a wasteful act. Yeah, not flying, at least for me.

I could resell it, I suppose. That was my parent's first option they suggested to me. That I should give it to someone who may not be able to afford a wedding dress. This seems like a good option, but I don't really know of any online or real business who dedicates themselves to that sort of thing...Ebay, maybe. Selling it usually means it is half price now (less than half for me). The price has dropped to the more than half off since I bought it.  Selling it hardly seems worth it, Do you know of any good bridal resale or donation places?

The option that is the most exciting to me is to remake my dress into something that I could wear again. I love the idea of taking a piece and giving it new life. Take a peek at my dress again. I was considering cutting off the floofy part on the bottom so that the dress sits a little higher than my knee and then hemming the dress so it looks clean. Then, I want to dye it a sort of antique pink or maybe green. Or grey. The top half would make a fabulous cocktail dress. I am excited to do it myself! I will keep you updated with any new details on my wedding dress remake!

Do any of you want to remake your wedding dress? If so, what are your plans? Are you going to do it yourself? Or have a professional designer do it for you?

Picture courtesy of DavidsBridal.com

Shut the front door, mom!

Ahhh...The American Dream. What was it again? Right, a white picket fence, a nice house, 2.5 kids, and a dog barking in the back yard at the squirrel who has taken up residency in the 50 year old oak. Oh, and don't forget a husband working all day at the office while the wife stays home with the kids who are busy twisting oreos apart and licking off the frosting...mmm...oreos.

Sorry, but they ARE good! Back to the thought I was working toward: What does the American dream look like in terms of fashion?

In 1950 America, women usually had eight or nine great pieces in their closet that were meant to last for eight years and then some. It was a classic piece that could be changed ever so slightly to fit the current trend. A chameleon, if you will. Just add a new scarf or broach....maybe sew on a decorative button or add a cuff. Whatever makes your skirt fly up.

Now, in the naughts, it doesn't take a lot of observing to see that we have been trained to buy new clothes every season. Just check out any Target or shop you can find at the mall. If you look at them closely along with your own experience, you know that not too many of of their clothing lasts long. I know I bought a skirt last summer for somewhere in the ballpark of $20 and I have already had to mend it a few times.

On a quest for higher quality in my clothing, I began to seek pricier pieces at higher end boutiques and whatnot. I won't drop any names, but it seems to me like the clothing I see are merely replicas of something I have seen for $30, jacked up to double or triple the price. Really, I just can't justify buying a $120 jacket that is made of thin fabric and is not lined.

So I have had to change tactics once again, and I think this one has more merit than my first. Instead, when I look at a garment, I try to assess how long it is going to last me based off of the quality and the bones of the fabric, how often I expect to wear it, and how it works with the rest of my wardrobe. Some call me cheap or picky, but I am just trying to find something I love and has a quality that matches the price (and to be perfectly honest, if you don't love it in the store, then you won't love it in your closet).

Now that may have sounded intense, but don't give up on me yet. It is a lot easier than how I wrote it. This is called “cost per wear” in some circles and it sounds exactly how it is. You just take the overall price and divide it by the days you wear it.

For example, I have this pricey-ish shirt from The Limited (around $40).

I decided that I loved this thing and I must have it. It looks good on me and flatters my figure substantially--Fab. It would be a good addition to my business wear collection and it will also easily go with anything I own. Okay, then I look at the fabric and it's build. It is fairly thin, but I often wear sweaters or jackets over my shirts, so it would be great for layering. It is made of satin on the front (ugh, water and deodorant stains beware...) and cotton on the back. Although I have beef with the type fabric, I think I can manage it. I expect to wear this maybe once a week or every other week year round. If I were to keep to that goal, the shirt should have paid for itself in six months or so.

Here is the math if you are interested (I didn't believe my math teacher when he said it, but word problems CAN apply to real life if you try hard enough!): It cost me $40.00 for the shirt and if I wear it 3 times a month (so 40/3). You can divide it 6 times until the numbers go in the .00's.

40/3/3/3/3/3/3= .05...

Just reading this, it may be hard to think about all that math while you are shopping, or maybe you already do and you just haven't noticed it, but in either case, it really keeps from wasting money on something you will never wear or something that simply is so flimsy that it does not last.

Here is a challenge for ya'll. Next time you go shopping, try and check out the inside of a shirt to look for a sturdy lining and compare shirts and prices. Or look at the clothes you already have and see if they are worth the cash you spent on them.

Happy trails, ladies and gents!

"Schmucked! Now that's a fashion term for you!"

Bolero party in the studio!

Many of you may not know this article clothing by its name, but I bet you would know it when you see it. If you want to investigate more on your own, Google search "bolero clothing", because when you just search "bolero", you get "BOLERO-RAVEL" (which is apparently a one-movement musical piece composed by a guy named Ravel), Bolero (as a type of slow tempo Latin music, not related to Ravel's Bolero), or Bolero (a 1984 movie directed by John Derek). Good try, Google. You did your best. 

Here is a (really) brief visual history lesson on the bolero for you. When you think of a bolero, think of this guy's jacket:

Now that you have that image in your head, picture it lacier, frillier, and just down right cuter on a woman, specifically on her wedding day. Like this:

Yes, men wear boleros even today, although not so commonly outside of traditional dressings. It is certainly a more common dress for women thanks to forward thinking fashionistas like Coco Chanel. It's not the only thing women borrowed from men's fashion, either. Really, women have been borrowing from men's fashion for years. See also: makeup, tights, high heels, pants, suits, haircuts, hats...More on that another day :) 

Anyway, back to the party. With the help of our homemade frou frou coffee, we have been working tirelessly on this seasons fall line of wedding boleros. As I type, Shannon and Katie are busy creating frills, flowers, and trying not to schmuck up ruffles to adorn these lovely jackets. Take a look at what we are churning out today!

**Mantador and bride images do not belong to us! Courtesy of 7GoldSpanish.wikispaces.com and wedding-wardrobe.com