Here are just a couple of tips for dress shopping, based on my experience:
- Make appointments on week days if at all possible. My cousin said she tried to go to Kleinfeld but they were booked for months on weekends. I was able to make an appointment the night before I went, since I went on a Tuesday
- Bring a few friends with you. Not too many. Bring friends whose opinion you trust, who will also share their opinion and be thoughtful about this being a dress for you, not them
- Have at least one person go to all the stores with you. For the sake of consistency
- Sleep on any decision you might make
- Ask if you can take pictures, and take pictures if allowed. Take notes otherwise, as soon as you get a chance. Otherwise things will blur. And you can’t always find your actual design online (I haven’t been able to find a pic of my dress online)
- Try a variety of styles, go in with an open mind, you might be surprised as to what you like on your own body versus what you’ve seen elsewhere
- At the same time, have an idea of what you might like. Consultants will ask you what you’re thinking, so be able to articulate your vision and style
- If you’re not finding what you like, change tactics. I was lucky and tried on at the most 30 dresses, and the second one I ever tried on was the one I went back to
- Something my Wise Big Sister Clarissa said afterwards, when I was feeling a bit guilty for having spent more than I’d initially hoped (when I thought, Perhaps I’ll learn how to sew well and make myself a dress <— clearly delusional): “as long as you love it enough for the cost. everyone will value different things in weddings and budgets. not worth it if you go down the path of what it should cost, etc.”
- Make the most of each trip and enjoy the social time you have with your friends!
