Miss Peacock, Chicago
Age and Occupation: 26, PhD Student
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Internet Whiz
Engagement Date: December 5, 2006
Wedding Date: September, 2008
Blogging Since: December 13, 2007
Venue: St. Clement Church, Cafe Brauer (or a big church wedding and a fancy party at a cafe in Lincoln Park.
About Me: I am a grad student with a secret obsession for all things wedding related. I also love to read, travel, drink champagne and go for walks with our dog, Maisy, and Mr. Peacock. We are planning our very vintage wedding in the greatest city in the world, our hometown of Chicago. I am so proud to be a Bee!
The Perfect Dress, The Purchase (Part Four)
March 27th, 2008 @ 3:27 pm by Miss Peacock
I need to preface this post by saying that this whole thing has been a total tease. I am not going to reveal my dress. Mr. Peacock has been adamant about not wanting to see it. He subscribes to the Weddingbee feed and he is slightly absentminded in his internet reading habits, I have a feeling that he might accidentally stumble upon it. He would be very sad.
I did go to one more new dress shop- the Vera Wang salon on Oak Street. I brought a whole gang- my mom, my sister and one of my bridesmaids. I had a feeling that I was going to need a team to get talked out of a particular $15,000 VW Luxe dress.
Since the VW salon would not allow me to take pictures, I asked these very unhappy 14 year old girls to model the dresses for me. They all showed up without washing their hair or putting on make-up, but since I was on a time crunch, I let it slide. They were also so hungry that I was worried they would eat me.
This is Mrs. Strawberry’s dress. She looked WAY hotter in it.
The very friendly owner of the salon (who looked just like Charlotte York Goldenblatt, down to the pearl earrings and Chanel suit) joined us for the appointment. She was helpful and studied my face while I wore each dress. Based on my reaction, she nixed each of these dresses, one by one. She then pulled out THE DRESS. I put it on. I loved everything about it- the feel of the fabric on my skin, the way is swished when I walked and the look on everyone’s face when I came out of the dressing room. It was unlike any other dress that I had ever seen. I wanted to run out of the store and down Oak Street, jump in my car and peel off to Canada. I was not giving that dress back. I was totally sold… and then the owner started talking.
She started selling me on how wonderful the dress was and how great it looked on me. A series of unnecessary compliments followed. The color was great for my gorgeous skin. The bodice accentuated my tiny waist. My previously non-existent cleavage was rocking. She then told me that “it is perfect for a {insert my program here} PhD student.” I’m sorry, what?! What the heck does that mean? It means “I am going to say whatever I need to so that you will buy that dress.” I started to doubt myself. Everyone was still smiling at me and I still loved THE DRESS, but was I just being talked into it? Was I just a sale? I reluctantly took it off and told them that I needed to think about it.
The more I thought about THE DRESS, the more I wanted it in my hot little hands and the less I wanted to buy it from that store. I remembered that Macy’s also sold Vera Wang gowns and for fun, I gave them a call. I have some strong anti-Macy’s sentiments and until that moment I was participating in the boycott. The thought of getting a deal on my dress put me over the edge. I decided that if they could cut 15% or more, I would buy it from Macy’s. Otherwise, I felt confident that the difference in customer service would make up for the price difference. Here is how the phone call went between me and Ronia at Macy’s- aka, my angel.
Me: Do you have a Vera Wang dress with x, y and z?
Ronia: I think so. Can you email me a picture?
One hour later….
Ronia: We have it and our price is 10% less than the price at the VW salon.
Me: Hmmm… I need to think about it. I was hoping for more of a price break.
Ronia: Well, we do have a sample of that dress. It has barely been worn and it is in your size.
Me: {silence}
Ronia: We can give you 50% of our price for the sample.
Me: {silence}
Ronia: Are you there?
Me: Uhhhh…. yes. I will be there in an hour. {Tires screaching, cash register ringing, blonde girl goes happily bouncing down State Street with a huge white garment bag}
That is how my dream dress became mine- it was perfect for me, in my size and on sale.
35 Responses to “The Perfect Dress, The Purchase (Part Four)”
“Since the VW salon would not allow me to take pictures, I asked these very unhappy 14 year old girls to model the dresses for me. They all showed up without washing their hair or putting on make-up, but since I was on a time crunch, I let it slide. They were also so hungry that I was worried they would eat me.”
Ahahah! You kill me. That was the best story ever. I’m glad that you got your dream dress and not from the inauthentic salesperson. I hate that.
Haha. Awesome post, Miss Peacock. You had me laughing the entire time. YAY on finding the right dress at a discount! I have a love/hate relationship with Macy’s too, but I have to admit, they have the best deals.
Yay on finding your dream dress (can’t wait to see it!) and high-five on the sample dress discount! Although mine was only 20% off… 50% is amazing!
Oh you ARE a tease!
LOL that Mr Peacock subscribes…. another bee-male outed! (or is it bro-bee? bee-man? him-bee? master-bee-ter? we really need a term…)
I had almost the exact same experience at VW! The owner came in to “seal the deal” and it made me so uncomfortable once I realized how insincere she was being. I ended up getting my dress at Macy’s too. I had a great experience there, but even my mom mentioned how she wished it was still Marshall Fields…. sigh.
Can’t wait to see The Dress!
I love that feeling! I got my dress as a sample too. Tried it on at a place in NY. Fell in love. Came back to CA and started looking for it here. Found it at a place right by me that sold me a barely worn sample, in my size for half off the regular price. Took it home that day! Now I just have to resist the temptation to try it on every day, and watch TV while wearing it.
Oh, seriously - total teasing!! Can you throw a link to it in a comment? It would take Mr. Peacock a lot of completely lucky stumbling to read the comments AND accidentally click on a link! I want to see it after all the build-up =)
Ohmygawd I totally wanted that first dress!! I just couldn’t stomache the price tag. Don’t get me wrong–it’s an amazing feat of seamstressry, and probably worth every penny…I just couldn’t do it. But I love that dress with every fiber of my being!! I can’t wait to see what you picked out!
Beanchar, YOU are too funny. In the actual hive I think they are called drones, but that is a little derogatory.
Huge congratulations on your dress - and on your great deal! I can’t believe your crazy VW saleslady, although I suppose I wonder if there is a wedding dress out there that screams Inorganic Chemist!! or maybe Construction Management!!
The models are kind of unwashed and surly. Not incredibly bridal looking. Of course Mrs. Strawberry looked hotter - she’s got some awesome stuff to put in the dress!! And great hair.
I had the exact same experience at Belle Vie (same people that own the VW store now)! The owner also helped me and was way, way too pushy. Not to mention they called me, like, 50 times after my appointment to “check in!”. I felt like I was being sold a used car. I applaud you for going elsewhere — and you got a great deal to boot!
beautiful dress! this came up as a “recommended feed” in my blog reader — i don’t know how google knew that i just got engaged, but apparently they are spying on my email. 
i have an appt at Vera in a few weeks!
Ugh. I’ve been there. And I got that same schpiel except I didn’t know any better and found out my dress was 15% cheaper (and would probably better service than I received) at Macy’s. Oh well, dress was beautiful anyway. Service and being genuine definitely counts for something.
The third one is my dress!!!! Sorry, just excited to see my dress on Weddingbee. (p.s. I replaced the black belt with a pretty silver sparkly one).
Congrats on finding your gown at such a discount! I can’t wait to see which one you chose, though of course I will have to wait until wedding photos are posted I guess
I actually had a wonderful experince at the Vera Wang salon here in NYC, so I’m surprised to hear about your experience. But good for you for not giving them your business if you didn’t like the way you were treated!
Hahaha. Tease. Wanna see what you got, for realz! (Darlene - I’m drooling over your dress.)
Ok well yeah that is awesome congrats! But BOOOO that sucks we want to know what you picked!!!!!
lol, glad to see you managed to resist buying from that store with the job titled dresses. it makes me wonder what i would have been giving my my sport admin degree…a white jersey dress?
wow miss p! congrats and phenomenal luck with finding that sample!
You are very very rude for playing such a mean trick on all of us. But my happiness for you is overruling my desire to boycott your posts from now on so I will keep reading.
You guys are so sweet! Sorry for the tease. SRC is right, I can post a link here. Hope you likey after all this build-up. My dress also has a fabric strap around the neck, to keep me from pulling up it all night.
@Darlene: What color did you get for the tulle underneath the first layer? I tried it on with charcoal, but I thought the blush would be pretty, too. It was so flowy and gorgeous, nice choice!
TOO FUNNY! Thanks for the laughs!! You’d think for that price, they could feed the girls. Glad you got your dress, you’ll be pretty as a peacock!!
That is great news… I enjoyed reading this! I can’t wait to see the dress!
Miss P- what do you mean a fabric strap? So it will be like a halter? pretty dress and thanks for the link- the build up was killing us all!
@thompsoc75: Its kind of a halter because the strap goes around my neck, but the neckline doesn’t change.
I also wanted to say that you all made my week (or month!) with your comments
that is GORGEOUS. i ended up getting a VW myself from macy’s…it’s just dangerous being in there with all those VW dresses =P. too much temptation!
Oh I love it! You are going to be a gorgeous bride!
I chose the blush layer. I tried it on with just the white as well, but I think the blush adds a real warmth to the dress.
Yay! Thank you for coming thru with a link in the end–no longer a tease!
And kudos to you for not letting the pushy saleslady feel like her techniques worked–I’ve found the pushy wedding salespeople to be so insulting when they try to ramp up the random compliments (especially when it comes to dresses, but seems to me they’re nearly everywhere in the w. industry) … ugh! It’s so frustrating to try to tell someone, “Look, I’m buying the dress, but not because you spewed some generic compliments at me”
[…] like Miss Peacock, I am not going to be able to reveal my dress to all of you lovely readers until after the wedding. […]
Gorgeous dress! I hear you on the pushy sales people. I left 2 bridal salons because of pushy sales ladies. They would have told me I looked good in a potato sack to make a sale. I found a dress that I liked at a place with a pushy sales lady and had a place with nice sales people order it for me just to stick it to them.
oh you posted it! it’s so pretty - love love love! I love a dress where the embellishment is more in the fabric and cut rather than lots of beading or lace or whatnot. I ended up with a little beading but mostly nice fabric pleating and rouching kind of like yours. Not that there’s anything wrong with beading and lace, I just love the ones that are dramatic without that =)
hey congrats on the dress very nice choice. I love how it’s sylish with minimal embellishments. For girls that are still looking, there is a similar style from the Pronovias 2007 Glamour collection called Ebano. and a sister dress called Embrujo. As a bonus, the Silk Duponi fabric makes it light as air! Not sure if they are still taking orders for 2007 collections but it’s worth a look if you like the VW one. It’s off the website, but I found a picture of this girl modeling hers. http://www.brides1997.com/p/06wedding_dress/2007/EBANO.htm
As another PhD student, I’m fascinated by the idea that there are wedding dresses perfectly suited for people getting advanced degrees! Where do I go to figure out which one is perfect for my subject?
The annoying insincere flattery wedding vendors throw at brides really bugs me. It’s as if they assume that the moment a woman gets engaged she loses 50 IQ points and can no longer tell the difference between sincere compliments and a smarmy sales pitch.
Oh yeah, and your dress is gorgeous!
