A Diamond in the Rough: Finding a Special Occassion Dress
God forbid you need a dress these days….
Has anyone been invited to a wedding or special event recently? We know what’s in our own closet. If you’re Paulina you might have a stunning gown left over from 15 years ago that you still fit into. If you’re like most of us that gown either doesn’t exist or we don’t fit into it. Or god forbid we want something new because it’s slim pickens out there.
Now what do we do?
For most of us it’s a trip to the local department store. There are a few issues with that. Firstly, most buyers did not anticipate this sudden sharp influx of weddings and did not buy accordingly. Apparently there is not crystal ball for dress buyers. Secondly, garment factories and textile mills were just one area of the retail machine that was shut down during the pandemic. There is a lack of product available. Thirdly, the dresses at most department stores tend to be polyester in the $100 range or silk chiffon in the $2500 range. This is a problem. Where are the in-between dresses, the ones that the typical woman really wants?
Here are two case studies of wedding dress shopping that I’ve come across recently.
Case study #1: My daughter Chloe needed a dress for a wedding in Southern California this summer. She checked her closet first but found nothing that she liked anymore. First stop, Nordstrom, she tried the $85 dress but the fit was terrible so she returned it. She then ordered a dress online from Norma Kamali (not a perfect fit but kudos for a millennial discovering the Norma Kamali website). Her last try was Revolve.com and…..relief…..she found the dress. She got “lucky” with 3 tries.
Case study #2: Client needs a dress for a “backyard semi-formal” wedding in 9 days. Trip to Nordstrom nets nothing. Trip to local boutique nets one solid dress but the hitch is I’d be sewing her into it on the morning of the backyard wedding (not ideal). I find four outfits on Halston.com but they don’t give me a choice to expedite and they don’t have a phone number…..grrrrr. At least five other online stores later, it turns out Macy’s has five other options to try. Dillards nets one jumpsuit and Neiman Marcus satin pants and top. The winner? Macy’s! Too bad we just spent god-knows-how-much in expedite fees.
So here’s to hoping life will get easier for all of us on the special occasion shopping front. The good news is that weddings are happening and love is in the air :)
photo credit: Unsplash/Tamara Bellis
