A little bit after we got engaged my mom and I stopped into a David's Bridal just to look around. We had never been in one before and thought we'd check it out. As soon as we stepped in the door I told the sales girl we didn't have an appointment and just wanted to check the place out. We weren't interested in trying anything on and weren't buying anything that day. Honestly. we didn't want to take her away from a paying customer or her commission. She sort of left us alone. I looked at a couple dresses, and we asked a couple questions about time frame. Then she started on us. It was like vultures descended. She insisted that if I liked something I should put a deposit on it that day because they go through dresses so fast. (even though I hadn't tried anything on at all.) Especially since I needed a plus sized dress. Which, by the way, run around $200 more. (I'd like to point out that she never measured me either.) She went on and on about how I really should put a deposit down today on something. I could always change my mind later, but she couldn't make me any promises about a refund. I could just transfer that deposit to a different dress.
I was done. I was irritated. We left.
I was warned by a friend that David's Bridal likes to push girls into plus sizes because they cost more. Along with the alterations charges to make the dress fit. What they don't tell you is that the 14w is the same size as a 16 and 16w is the same size as an 18. I really didn't expect it to happen. I thought by making our intentions clear we could have made a quick sweep through the store and be on our merry way. Not so.
I put off dress shopping for several more months. I knew I needed to find something soon. I'm very busty, and I knew I'd be a hard fit so I needed to order early enough to have alterations done. A friend of mine suggested Formal Affairs in Pendleton. My cousin had gotten dresses there a few years beforehand and it was near our venue so we decided to go in. Again we explained we just wanted to ask questions and weren't buying that day, but Jean gave us her full and undivided attention anyway. She answered every question, measured me, explained details of ordering to me, addressed every little concern I had. Right down to my bridesmaid's needs. She gave me a hug and said to come back after the first of the year and she'd get us all set. I walked away feeling confident and actually excited to come back and try dresses on.
So we returned at the beginning of April with bridesmaids in tow. I was stressed. It's just my nature. To my surprise we had the entire shop to ourselves. I didn't have to try wrong sized dresses on in front of anyone but my loved ones. She told us to go around the store and pull out the dresses we liked and she'd hang them in the dressing room. I stumbled around. I thought I knew what dress I wanted going in but she only had it in a size 22. I decided to try it on anyway since she had those clamp things to pinch the dress shut in the back. At least I could see what it looked like from the front! It was horrible. There were three words I did not want to hear about how I looked, "Princess, pretentious, or pregnant." The third one came out of my mother's mouth. The dress came off.
I went back through the racks half crying, and not wanting to hurt my mom's feelings. She wasn't trying to be mean. It just came out, and honestly I'd rather someone say the dress isn't flattering before I bought it than after. I asked Jean about one of the new spring dresses. I didn't have my hopes up because they had just come out and I really didn't expect her to have it already. She pulled out the catalog and said no. She grabbed me by the arm and escorted me through the racks making suggestions for my body type. (The woman knows what she's talking about.) Then she stops. She rips a dress off the rack, runs to the front and whips open the catalog. She shrieked, "I DO have it, and it's in YOUR size!" She then proceeded to shove me into the dressing room dress in tow. She had to have Angela come in to help, but she had that dress on in under three minutes. She whips me around in front of the mirror. I just stood there with her and Angela's heads bobbing over my shoulder. It was amazing.
We went out to show everyone. No one said a word. They just reached for their cameras. That's how I knew it was perfect. My chatty entourage was absolutely silent. I didn't try on any other dresses. I didn't have to.
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| Alfred Angelo 2181 |
I really can't sing Jean's praises enough. In under two hours we had tried on and ordered one wedding dress, two bridesmaid's dresses, and my mother's dress. Everyone walked away thrilled. We had expected to spend an entire frustrating Saturday trying on dress after dress, but we were in and out with time to spare for lunch and fun.
Oh, I didn't even remotely need a plus size.
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| My Mom's Dress |
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| Megan's Dress |
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| Angela's Dress |
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