It is my friend Laura's wedding on July 27th, and for the last few months I have been desperately on the hunt for a dress for the occasion. As it is the first wedding I have been invited to as a 'friend of the bride' as opposed to 'daughter of the couple we're actually bothered about seeing' I have given myself a comfortable budget of £150. This is with the premise that the dress must be exactly what I want, and make me feel like a million dollars, as the event is not only to celebrate the lovely union of Laura and Dickon (who I am crazy excited for) but also a mini university reunion (including an ex) as well.
I like to think of my personal style as being quirky, so I want a garment that reflects it, as opposed to opting for a traditional wedding style knee length muted coloured floral dress from a generic department store. My first trip was in March, and I thought I was being pretty prepared beginning to look then, but I am glad I did. I tried on three dresses on that jaunt:
1. A navy blue structured bodycon from French Connection with thin straps, £130. I was happy at the fact that I managed to comfortably fit into a size 8, but unhappy at the dress's complete lack of proportion for my body - the parts to cover my boobs were so nipple grazing I felt like an extra in a porn film.
2. A pale rose textured shift dress with a full skirt from Reiss, £159. This was a little over budget, but looked really expensive as it was made out of good quality thick material, and I loved the 50s style skirt, which was quite puffy due to a two layered underskirt. Again I fitted into a size 8, and it clung really nicely in all the right places, giving a lovely silhouette. Unfortunately the pink shade did nothing for my colouring, making me appear slightly like a Barbie who had been put in the tumble dryer and had her brightness turned down.
3. A pastel blue, yellow and peach pleated dress with a waist tie from Ted Baker £129. I originally saw this in John Lewis before Christmas, and had been coveting it ever since, so was excited to try it on. I love the colours, as they are bang on trend and also apt with the wedding having a Summer date, but I was disappointed with the shape as it was quite sack-like. Even with the waist tie (which was too thin to actually pull anything in) it didn't accentuate my middle enough, which coupled with the high neckline and past knee length, made it seem almost matronly.
After that unsuccessful attempt, which was in Manchester city centre and ended with wine in Harvey Nichols (which is always a good way to drown your shopping sorrows) I gave up for a while. My next go was again in Manchester, this time with fellow wedding attendee Claire, who has had her dress for ages, just to rub it in.
I didn't even see a dress I wanted to try on until we were in the last shop, Zara, but the £39.99 price tag made up for it. It was a lovely bright orange/coral colour, which I have quite a few things in as it suits my skin tone and hair colour, and although it was a plain shift shape, it had a completely cut out back, which I thought jazzed it up a bit for the evening party. I tried on a Medium, and couldn't do the zip up, so didn't even bother with a Large, as I knew the proportions would be wrong then (too big on the chest and legs, but snug on the hips). It is a problem I often have with Zara dresses, which are clearly designed for European girls with boyish frames.
At this point, I was nearing surrender and considering just wearing a dress I already had. In a last ditch attempt, I tried online shopping earlier this week, and went a bit crazy, spending £352 on four potentials using my credit card, and fully intending making use of free returns! Two were from ASOS, an electric blue floorlength jersey dress with a low cut back, and a navy blue silky cotton shift dress with two pleats at the front. The first was nice, just not very formal and looked quite cheap (it was only £30) and the second fitted really well, but was quite plain and didn't really have the wedding factor I wanted, so they were swiftly returned.
The other two were from House of Fraser, one is a navy French Connection shift dress (there seems to be a pattern occurring) with a pink faux collar and jewelling detail at the centre that was £112 in the sale, yet it is made of linen so doesn't look that expensive, and it doesn't fit me snugly enough around my back and waist. The final one was a purple Phase 8 number with cream swirly piping detail that was £140 reduced from £175. The latter was my favourite upon purchase and when I first tried it on, as it fitted really well, and was quite unusual and felt like it was my kind of style. However, the more I look at it, the more I feel it is a little old for me, and also as the detailing on it is cream I feel I would need cream accessories, which I don't think I would make use of again. I swayed back to the former, before eventually deciding to return it and stick with Phase 8 unless I find something better or change my mind in the two week cool off period, in which case I will start from the drawing board again.
The search continues...
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