Weddingbee Blog

After striking out at ROTB, I was disappointed but confident that I had solidified what I was looking for in a dress. I went home and searched for dresses online with fervor to find a dress that fit my specifications.

Now would be a good time to play some Angry Birds, Mr. Pony.

Kitteh photo by Rachel at Some New Delight

I knew I wanted a V-neck tank dress with lace. I wanted something simple and elegant with a classic feel. And if it had lace trim at the bottom, I would probably start salivating.

I began coveting these two dresses by Paloma Blanca:

Paloma Blanca 3691 via Paradise Bridals

Paloma Blanca 4066 via One Wed

I had never heard of Paloma Blanca, but I was drawn to their simple, elegant styles that seemed to have the perfect amount of details and lace for my tastes.

Luckily for me, a store in Bloomington actually carries her designs. BUT, it was the store I went to for my pre-ROTB research, and I was not pleased with the (lack of) service I received. Since I wasn’t going back there, my options were to either go to one of their stores in Chicagoland or to the “mother store” of the Bloomington store that was about an hour away.

As fate would have it, as I was pondering my options, I met the owner of the mother/Bloomington stores while at a wedding expo. I explained that I wanted to try on two specific Paloma Blanca dresses and that I was not going to go back to the store in Bloomington due to the service. The owner told me to call and she would guarantee that the dresses I was lusting after would be available for me to try on.

I excitedly called the next day requesting the dresses I had been dreaming about. The owner’s assistant explained that they would have the dresses waiting for me at my appointment because the Bloomington store carried both dresses. Now, at this point, I should have called bullshit. I had been to the Bloomington store and looked at all of their dresses. They did not have these dresses when we went there just a few weeks prior. Against my better judgment, I decided I would trust the assistant and hope that the dresses would actually be there as she promised. (I was really sick; otherwise I would have questioned her further.)

So, my girls and I headed off to the mother store to try on the Paloma dresses I had been lusting after for weeks. But, lo and behold, they didn’t have the right dresses. Well, they had one of the dresses, but the other dress was a strapless gown that looked nothing like what I had in mind. I was miffed, but I was happy to try on one gown I had been admiring. The group picked out a few other dresses within my criteria for me to try on as well.

My consultant, Zena (…yes, Zena) insisted I put on the new picks first and save the dress I actually came to try on for last. I could understand her reasoning, but I came to try on the Paloma dress. I just wanted to try it on already. Whatever. So I tried on a bunch of dresses that I knew I wouldn’t like while impatiently waiting to try on the one I actually came to the store for.

(This is where I would have pictures and descriptions of the dresses, but this $#%$^$@ store does not allow photography, and they remove all vestiges of where the dresses originated or what their style numbers are, so I have nothing to show for this whole story. My apologies.)

Finally, I was allowed to try on one of my beloved Paloma dresses (the 3691). I walked out to show her off to my friends, and there was an audible gasp from the crowd. My friends loved this dress. I loved it too and I felt fabulous in it, but there were a few things I was still unsure about.

First, the length was a huge concern for me. The dresses are made to fit someone who’s 5’9”. I am about 5’8” and I know I want to wear ridiculously cute and overpriced heels for the wedding, so there is a good chance the dress would be too short. When I asked about adding length, I was told that adding fabric costs $200 and that three inches of fabric must be added to the dress (no more, no less). Outrageous price for three inches of fabric aside, I knew three inches would make the dress too long, meaning I would have to pay for additional alterations to hack off the exorbitantly priced fabric that was specially added to the dress. My logical brain could not reconcile this ridiculous scenario.

Second, I had sticker shock over the price of this dress. This dress cost almost $700 over what I had saved. Factoring in the additional length and tax, the dress would be a thousand dollars over what I had saved and planned on using to purchase my dress. Yikes.

So, I left the store empty handed. The length and pricing were concerns for me but, worse yet, I knew I couldn’t commit without trying on the other Paloma dress I had admired for so long.

Was your dress shopping long and arduous or short and sweet? Would you pay $200 for three inches of fabric?