An initial trip to a couple of consignment shops in New York in December was fruitless, but on the recommendation of a co-worker, we returned on February 1st to visit the Bridal Garden. They carry a variety of gently-used, sample, or totally new designer dresses at a deep discount with all proceeds benefiting children's charities. I took my MOH and my little sister who was back on break from teaching school in Taiwan. Overall, selection was good, staff was nice, shop was simple but got the job done.
The finds:
In the top left, you can see MOH with the camera and little sister looking...befuddled, I guess. The dress at the top right, I think was a Vera Wang, but really just too peculiar for me. The one at the bottom left was this beautiful hand-painted silk confection that fit like a dream and was twice my budget. MOH tried to talk me into buying it, to no avail. If it had cost less than the dress I was already in love with and couldn't afford, she would have had a better chance.
Throughout the process, I'd been dutifully looking at dresses online, and part of my ogling led me, of course, to the designer of my beloved Selena, Maggie Sottero. While there, I believe I looked at every single gown...and then moved on to related collections from Sottero & Midgley. Which is where I found her, looking like Selena's brunette cousin. See her here . And perhaps because of different materials and less ornamentation, she was about $500 less than the original dress. Oh, and she comes in silver.
Well, after striking out at the Bridal Garden, it was time to get serious. There was no way I was going to just order the new dress, sight unseen, as I really wanted to get a good up-close look at the beading, and no shop near me had it or could get a sample of it in the shop (supposedly). Though they did all try to get me to come in to try on the Selena gown which they claimed was very similar. Yes, thanks, I know. I called shops in PA. I called shops in NJ. I called shops in NY and DE before I finally gave up. No one had it for me to try on!
One of the last shops I spoke with (I believe it was L&H Bridals in NE Philadelphia) was really helpful and said I should try calling the manufacturer to see who had ordered a sample of the dress. Which would work great if there were a phone number anywhere. But through google-fu, cached pages, and some url magic, I was able to get into the merchant area of the Maggie Sottero web site to get their customer service number at headquarters in Colorado. Can we say "determination?" Well, I got a very helpful rep on the phone, explained my plight, and she kindly offered to check which shops had the gown. She checked by state...PA...NJ...DE...NY...no one. Well, at least it wasn't just that I hadn't been trying hard enough. Then we tried Maryland, just for good measure, and lo and behold, one sample in Severna Park, Maryland, at Bridals by Elena.
A few days, a few states, and a 3 hour road trip later, I was in the dress (though not in silver). They wouldn't let me take any pictures, and I actually won't get into detail about the rest of our experience there, but I do not recommend the shop at all. I didn't think to sneak a photo until after I'd taken the dress off and was alone in the dressing room, and it didn't really do it justice, but I was able to document the beading.
It was THE dress!
Next up: The actual price shopping and purchasing process.
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