My Dress: Final Answer!

So after I blogged about how I got so lucky and found my dress for $50 I decided it's really not what I want.

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I've never been one to dream about being a princess but remember that whole never-say-never thing? I realized that this dress, while very pretty, wasn't special enough to me. Thanks to my grandfather I have gotten to go to some very special events and this dress wasn't any more interesting than some of the dresses I had worn before.

In 2000 my grandfather was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics and he brought his family along. (I wish I could dig the photos up for you. They're pretty entertaining as I was at the wonderfully awkward age of a late blooming 17.) The awards ceremony and banquet were probably the fanciest events I will ever attend in my life.

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(That's the King of Sweden handing Grandpa the award.)

I wore a long black dress that laced up in the back and even had a little train. It's basically the equivalent of the bridesmaid's dress I found for $50. And while I don't remember what exactly they wore, I was most impressed with the princesses. They were stunning.

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(You can just see her to the right of the Queen.)

That's when I realized that I don't want to look like a Disney princess, but I wouldn't mind having the presence of a real one and a $50 bridesmaids dress just wasn't cutting it.

I logged on to bravobride.com just to see what was out there when I saw that a dress I had wanted to buy earlier was still available. Not only that but the price had dropped. It had originally been listed for $500 which was a little more than I was comfortable paying. I had decided I would offer $400 but it wasn't accepted. Lo and behold, there it was, down to $400.

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Casablanca 1831. Ivory. My size. Unaltered except to add a french bustle.

I practically stalked this dress when I was visiting bridal shops. If a store carried it I ended up trying it on. It always made it to the top two.

Despite all this I wasn't sure enough to buy it. I was embarassed that I wasn't making myself go with what I had originally decided and it's pretty flippin' hard to argue against a $50 wedding dress. I showed my mom and sister/MOH and they convinced me that I wasn't crazy to want it. I emailed the seller and said that if she still wanted to sell it to me despite my earlier flakiness I would buy the dress. She said I was just in time. Another girl had emailed her that same day but since I was first it was mine for the taking. I took that to be a sign and sent her the money. It should be here on Friday and I haven't stopped grinning about it since.

**Photos by my mother if not otherwise credited.