Finding the Perfect Wedding Dress When You’re Not Shaped like Heidi Klum

Dress shopping…eek! I automatically begin hyperventilating every time this subject comes up.  Yesterday my sister and I trekked into the city to visit what apparently is THE mecca of wedding dress stores…Kleinfeld Bridal on W 20^th Street.  Mandy, an avid wedding show connoisseur and a die hard “Yes to the Dress” fanatic, insisted upon getting the “Kleinfeld Experience”. 

Usually you need to make an appointment with Kleinfeld’s for bridal however on February 6^th they had their annual blowout sale with dresses marked down and an additional 25% off at the register.  Doors opened at 3pm.  This link is what a friend from college sent me…(thanks Tracey!)

http://www.kleinfeldbridal.com/blowout-sale.cfm

I have heard horror stories about lines wrapped around blocks for sales like this and I was extremely apprehensive about waiting in line outside that long, (I have terrible patience!).  On top of that, it was snowing pretty steadily, and no one wants to be a wet bride trying on dresses.  One amazing thing about Klinefeld’s, which I wish other companies would adopt, (hint stores on Black Friday) was give each bride-to-be a number and instruct them to come back at 3pm when doors open.  Genius!  No camp outs, no folding chairs on the curb, just a number and a time.  After doing some investigating on the computer I found that they start issuing numbers as early as 9am, so you can try and beat the crowds that are all clamouring for numbers at 3pm.  I also found that you could arrive a bit earlier at 2:30pm for the initial door busting rush. 

So, like a bat out of hell, I left my house at 6:45am to pick up my MOH Mandy and we flew to the city.  I practically pushed her out of the car when we pulled up to W 20^th so she could get the ticket as I parked.  She arrived at Klinefeld’s at approximately 9am and was given #25.  I felt like Charlie from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with my Golden Ticket.  I kept checking my bag every half hour to make sure it was still safely tucked away.

 

To kill time, we went to David’s Bridal on 6^th Avenue where I registered as a walk in appointment.  David’s Bridal is one of the few places where you actually do not have to make an official appointment for and will not be unceremoniously turned away at the door.  I figured I could at least get an idea of the type of dress I wanted there, and who knows maybe even find THE dress. 

My attendant was very nice, and asked for my shoe size (9 ½), height (5’8”) approx. dress size (10), and bust size (36B).  She left all of the items I requested in my fitting room and instructed me to change into the slip and corset top.  Slips, ughhhh.  The size she brought me was a 32A.  I didn’t understand why I could not fit comfortably into all those itty bitty clasps until I took it off and saw the tag.  My MOH asked for the right size and again I tried it on without looking.  This was a size 32B.  Still definitely NOT what I needed but I sucked it up and sucked it in and squished into the corset top.  Thank the Lord I was not born centuries ago where these kinds of garments were a staple in women’s wardrobes. I must have tried on 12 different dresses and none of them grabbed me.  I was extremely happy to find that in many dresses I needed a size 8.  The attendant told me that the average size bride is size 10, (MADE MY  DAY!).  My problem is my 40” hips, so some dresses that were snug on my hips wound up being loose on my bust.  Instead, Mandy and I had more fun goofing off in the fitting room and sneakily snapping pictures, (a no-no) of me in each gown. 

 

At around 2:00pm we made our way back to Klinefeld’s.  A number of women were beginning to swarm the lobby.  I saw one lady with a #4 and another with a number #115.  Some women were there for accessories only; one number I saw was #507!!  

 

We all sardined into Klinefeld’s grandiose lobby.  The store itself is impressive, high ceiling with decorative floral arrangements hugging close to the walls.  They finally called numbers 1-30 at 2:30pm.  YESSS first dips!  They gave each bride a personal attendant and said we would be with 3 other brides in a fitting room, only 3 dresses at a time.  Mandy and I walked, (to put it mildly) to the heavy hitter dresses, the 5k plus ones that would definitely be taken by someone if I did not try them on first. 

I was ecstatic to find the one dress I LOVED online as the first dress I saw.  What are the odds of that?!  When I tried it on Mandy cried.  Such a dork!!!  It was a beautiful dress.  I just felt it did not fit my body type well.  The problem here is that these dresses are pay in full, no returns, take home NOW dresses.  There is no, “let me think about it”.  I tried on many other fancy name dresses, including Pnina Tornai, (which to my embarrassment and Mandy’s horror I pronounced Pinot Noir).  I randomly picked up one dress and a girl gasped and whispered, that’s a Pnina Tornai!  I thought to myself, “lady, I have no idea who that designer is but if you want it I’m taking it!!”

 

I shared the fitting room with a very friendly Asian woman and another woman who was getting married in Nigeria.  A worldly bunch were we!  My fitting attendant was one of the bridal consultants from the show, (Mandy remembers her vividly).  Some of the dresses were gorgeous.  You could literally hear screeches and shrieks from women who found their dresses.  It reminded me of the tip jar at Medieval Times, when someone finds a dress, all the workers clamour around and celebrate.  Mandy was in her wedding dress glory, picking me out dresses that had more glitter and glam on them than a damn disco ball.  Some of the dresses needed major alterations.  Yes, you could get a 6k dress for 3k, but you would probably spend over 1k in alterations.  One dress I tried on literally had a giant hole inside; others had makeup stains and missing sequins.  I get it, you are getting the old inventory they are trying to move out, and you may just score with a beautiful dress that needs minor work done, but I wasn’t to happy with the idea of wearing a wedding dress that countless other women pulled, squished, zipped and shimmied into for months.

 

Dresses ranged in the $700-15k range.  I had no idea how much shoes, hair accessories and veils were until the saleswoman said “this veil reduced to $600 is a steal!”  WHAT?!?!  I can go to Michael’s arts and crafts, get my own tulle and bedazzle my own veil for a fraction of that cost.  Headpieces-$500, shoes-$400, earrings-$200.  Overwhelmed by the reality of the potential true cost of wedding gear got me kind of down.  I felt even worse when I went home dress less; I was defeated!  So the search continues for the wedding dress. 

I will keep you posted!!!