Sunday, August 28, 2011

Dress Shopping


So since I was coming home and am in Becky's wedding, I needed to get a dress for the wedding while I was here.  My instructions were simple - find a long lapis dress at David’s Bridal.  Most of you know about my love of dresses, especially formal dresses, so I was quite excited about this outing.  I am only home for 2 wks – so Megan and I went today, bright and early after me being here for less than 12 hours.  

Lady ready to help when we walk in: Can I have the bride’s name?
Me: Why?
Her: To look at her registration and make sure we have everything right.
Me: She isn’t registered.
Her: Well how do you know, we can check.
Me: She lives in PNG, we don’t have David’s Bridal there.
Her: Are you sure?  Maybe another bridesmaid is registered.
Me: I am really sure there is no David's Bridal in PNG and I really don't think she or the other bridesmaid is registered.  
Her: Let’s check (so she does and surprisingly finds nothing).  You were right.  Okay this lady will be helping you today.

Now we go to where the dresses are with the helper lady.  There are maybe 200 dresses in this area.  She starts showing us pictures of the various kinds of dresses.
Me: It needs to be long (down to 100 choices)
Her: Oh, then come over here, to a poster of the long dresses.  She starts describing them.
(I know nothing about dresses and don't even understand her descriptions of various material, cuts, etc.)  
Megan: She needs to get a dress that you have in the store, she is leaving in 2 wks to go back to PNG.  (down to about 20 choices)
Her: Oh, well then just look at the rack and find a dress.  We can only take them in 2 sizes and we can’t let out.  (down to about 5 choices)

We find only 1 dress with straps – well actually it has only 1 strap, but 1 is better than none in my mind.  I overhear her tell another customer that straps can be added.

Me to Megan: She just said they can add straps, so take anything in my size. 

We gather up all the long lapis dresses in my guessed size, all 5 of them.   I go to try them on, and quickly find that the guessed size was wrong, so Megan goes back to see if she can find any dresses in a new size.  Only 2 – one has a strap and the other has none – so easy choice – the one strap dress.  While I am trying it on, Megan finds me flip flops to match my dress.  Great.  I come out and the lady asks what I think.  I really don't have an opinion, I need a long dress in this color, and this is the only shop Megan and I really want to go to (the others are farther away), so since it fits and has a strap, I will take it.  So I go to the seamstress lady to get measured for a hem and we are done.  Dress shopping in 30 minutes – it was great.  

More shopping, lunch at Olive Garden and even with a the traffic jam on the way home it was a great day with my sister.