Formal Dress Shopping By Mail
We've got a wedding in Florida at the end of February and none of my formal dresses currently fit. So instead of the frustrating, lonely and depressing experience of spending a few hours in the dressing room at Nordstrom or Lord & Taylor, I've been experimenting with online dress shopping.
I've been using mainly Amazon and Zappos, because of quick and free shipping. And I found quite a lot of dress options. In fact, I spent WAY TO MUCH time browsing through dresses and imaging how they'd translate from the model's size 1 body to my, er, larger one.
In the end, I found there were some advantages and disadvantages to doing this kind of very-targeted shopping ....
Pluses:
- Try on is at my house, in my bathroom, with my own shoes and undergarments, etc. I had ALL the space to move around and take each for a test drive.
- My house has better, natural lighting and several mirror options.
- I could take pictures of myself in the dress to send to my sisters without seeming like a creeper.
- And my daughters could zip me up ... while not giving me a hard time about taking "so long can we go now."
- There were likely more options online. And I was able to quickly sort my size (or my guess at size).
Minuses:
- It took a few weeks! In between try on, sending it back, ordering other sizes -- it's not just an afternoon at the mall.
- I think I got lucky, but you really don't know what you'll get when the package shows up.
- Falling down "dress" worm holes that would take hours of me scrolling and considering ... lots of screen time. I was making myself a little nuts.
- Keeping track of all the boxes, and shipping them back (errands, ugh). It can be a lot to manage.
- I'm not sure, but it is probably going to be slightly more expensive when all is said and done. (However, I used my credit cards with points ... so that's a win).
Overall, I'm happy I did it so I didn't have to deal with the limited selection and dressing rooms at a department store. And I think I found THE dress!
Because I took photos of each of the dresses and sent to my sisters for their opinions, I have the whole story of this dress search in pictures! ..
Here's where I started ... this very pretty black dress with the criss-cross front and sparkles! Loved it in the photo ...
But then I got it and ... not soo much. The sleeves were so long and it was NOT flattering on my far-more-petite body than the tall, skinny model.
I wasn't thrilled, so I ordered a gold strapless dress that arrived and didn't fit (wasn't even close to zipping) even though it was the same designer and size as this one. Boo.
Then I tried on this black strapless dress. The length felt right. The strapless design was such a fun idea and the top hugged my frame, so it was NOT going anywhere. The only issue was this odd seam near the bust that bulged in a very unflattering way. Hmm.
Then, I got nuts and ordered this plunging v-neck dress in red. VAVAVOOM! It was just a bit too much for me ... not to mention loose around the chest. So, yup, clothing mishaps were guaranteed. However, I really liked the style and I don't actually mind a plunging neckline.
So I ordered the same dress a size smaller in black. A little more classic. And tighter around my frame and a lovely fit overall. Hello chest! But ... check out that cute tea-length skirt that twirls and moves beautifully. Black heels and a wrap, and I'm DONE.
I got the best comments from my sisters for each dress, and Dave and the girls. And even showed the pictures to my female coworkers for extra opinions. It's been a saga but a fun one.
In the end, it comes down to one of these black dresses. And as much as the plunging neckline is slightly risky, it's also the most fun and unique option. So it's probably the winner.
And, coincidence, I have two swimsuits with the same type of neckline, so clearly I'm not averse to a plunging look.
So there you have it! Being a girl, dealing with body changes and finding formal dresses is a PAIN. But I'm lucky I had options and lots and lots of opinions to get me through it. And a patient delivery person.
(Should I go through and link all the dresses? Do you want to know?)
Related links:
More of my Shopping posts.
I've been using mainly Amazon and Zappos, because of quick and free shipping. And I found quite a lot of dress options. In fact, I spent WAY TO MUCH time browsing through dresses and imaging how they'd translate from the model's size 1 body to my, er, larger one.
In the end, I found there were some advantages and disadvantages to doing this kind of very-targeted shopping ....
Pluses:
- Try on is at my house, in my bathroom, with my own shoes and undergarments, etc. I had ALL the space to move around and take each for a test drive.
- My house has better, natural lighting and several mirror options.
- I could take pictures of myself in the dress to send to my sisters without seeming like a creeper.
- And my daughters could zip me up ... while not giving me a hard time about taking "so long can we go now."
- There were likely more options online. And I was able to quickly sort my size (or my guess at size).
Minuses:
- It took a few weeks! In between try on, sending it back, ordering other sizes -- it's not just an afternoon at the mall.
- I think I got lucky, but you really don't know what you'll get when the package shows up.
- Falling down "dress" worm holes that would take hours of me scrolling and considering ... lots of screen time. I was making myself a little nuts.
- Keeping track of all the boxes, and shipping them back (errands, ugh). It can be a lot to manage.
- I'm not sure, but it is probably going to be slightly more expensive when all is said and done. (However, I used my credit cards with points ... so that's a win).
Overall, I'm happy I did it so I didn't have to deal with the limited selection and dressing rooms at a department store. And I think I found THE dress!
Because I took photos of each of the dresses and sent to my sisters for their opinions, I have the whole story of this dress search in pictures! ..
Here's where I started ... this very pretty black dress with the criss-cross front and sparkles! Loved it in the photo ...
Then I ordered a group of three dresses...
That stripped one on the right didn't zip, so that got shipped back the next day. The others fit!
This one was by the same designer at the first dress and I liked the color and style a lot. However, it's not super flattering ...
Then I tried on this black strapless dress. The length felt right. The strapless design was such a fun idea and the top hugged my frame, so it was NOT going anywhere. The only issue was this odd seam near the bust that bulged in a very unflattering way. Hmm.
Then, I got nuts and ordered this plunging v-neck dress in red. VAVAVOOM! It was just a bit too much for me ... not to mention loose around the chest. So, yup, clothing mishaps were guaranteed. However, I really liked the style and I don't actually mind a plunging neckline.
So I ordered the same dress a size smaller in black. A little more classic. And tighter around my frame and a lovely fit overall. Hello chest! But ... check out that cute tea-length skirt that twirls and moves beautifully. Black heels and a wrap, and I'm DONE.
I got the best comments from my sisters for each dress, and Dave and the girls. And even showed the pictures to my female coworkers for extra opinions. It's been a saga but a fun one.
In the end, it comes down to one of these black dresses. And as much as the plunging neckline is slightly risky, it's also the most fun and unique option. So it's probably the winner.
And, coincidence, I have two swimsuits with the same type of neckline, so clearly I'm not averse to a plunging look.
So there you have it! Being a girl, dealing with body changes and finding formal dresses is a PAIN. But I'm lucky I had options and lots and lots of opinions to get me through it. And a patient delivery person.
(Should I go through and link all the dresses? Do you want to know?)
Related links:
More of my Shopping posts.
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