<--The fabric, sash, cut, and inspiration for this year's gown.
My mother won't like that I'm doing this, but I've decided to share with you all what I'm wearing to Prom this year.
The designer is Candace at IconicStyles on Etsy.com, and she has so many styles and cuts that it was difficult to choose! However, this year, I wanted to be comfortable, and this simple style makes that an easy option. I like it because first of all, I've always wanted to wear yellow. Candace had so many fabric options and the colors I had narrowed down to were light blue, a champagne/nude color, pink, or dark red. I almost picked nude but my mother assured me that with my skin tone, I would look naked. Blech.
The best part is: she's custom making it for me! It's already nerve-racking buying a dress online that you've never seen before, but I guess a consolation is that I know it will fit. That is, if I did my measurements right.
The whole paranoia with being comfortable comes from last year's beaut, a gorgeous confection I got from a vintage shop in Denton where my sister goes to college:
It was a little small on me when I tried it, but the owners assured me that they would make it fit by making a little triangle cutout in the back (which sounded really cute). So we said yes to the dress and left it in their capable hands....or so we thought.
I returned for a fitting, and the owner couldn't find the dress. When she finally did, all the pins had been taken out because someone had come in and tried it on. Tried it on??? This was my dress! I had paid for it already! Why were other people trying it on??
They re-pinned it, not remembering the triangle cutout we had previously discussed but trying something new. I stupidly agreed to their new idea.
When I returned for my third fitting, the cutout was not a cute triangle thing like we had talked about, but a big gaping hole that just looked like maybe I couldn't zip it up all the way. They asked if it was okay, and by that time I just wanted them to stop messing it up and decided to take things into my own hands. I brought the dress home.
My parents had the wonderful idea to get some ribbon from the hobby store and design our own back. My dad, sewer extraordinaire, attached the pieces so the back ended up looking like this:
Which was ten times better than before. The only problem was the clasp in the back had to be closed in order for it to look right, and it squeezed on my belly to no end.
The end result was much better, just incredibly tight. My date (one of my best friends, dressed in a velvet blue tux from the same shop) and I jetted off to prom with the bestie and her friend-date and we had a lovely time.
This year, with a custom dress, I hope the results will be better than last year and I'll have more success with the dress. I'm excited to see how it turns out!
RULES WHEN YOU'RE SHOPPING FOR A PROM DRESS: Don't be afraid to be assertive about what you want. If something's not right, confront the owner or designer instead of letting them walk all over you. This is what I have learned!!!
Happy shopping,
Cooper
