Planning a wedding is all shades of wonderful, and of course, stressful, especially finding that dream wedding dress! But once one has formed an opinion on the style that suits best, where does one begin look for the perfect dress? These days, most brides resort to trawling the internet, then Pinterest boards to find that dream dress, and it’s a perfect way to get inspired, but reality is disappointing when purchasing. This blog post will take one on an adventure of trying on various dresses inspired by Pinterest finds, analysing the dresses in terms of quality, how well they fit and whether or not they are exact copies of the original designs.
The Pinterest Dream
We’ve all been there: we’ve spent an evening on Pinterest, pinning wedding dress after wedding dress to our own boards. Those exquisite couture dresses can be intoxicating, especially when you’re looking for a dress that tantalisingly appears to have come from the floor of your local bridal boutique. So what is it really like when you try to actually buy a dress that looks like it belongs on a catwalk? Dress One This was the first dress that caught my attention.
The Walmart Surprise
The first is a dress I pinned from Walmart that turned out to be only $27.99. The promo pin had beautiful low back and lace details, and opening the box was a surprise – the dress was so thin and see-through.
I put it on, tried it on for the mirror, and it immediately became clear that I was not going to find my fairy-tale dress. The length didn’t work. The back didn’t have the low V that I had imagined. But this made sense, I thought, and I would probably end up wearing white or off-white even if it wasn’t romantic. But this was all just the pre-show. The muddy heros presented themselves with their small dark faces and long dark legs. And then I heard it. The sound that means everything is about to change. When the brass blasts, people in Guinea change their plans. Only these weren’t people. They were pigs. And every time it happens, it becomes a battle. ‘Get your fucking camera down or I’ll beat you,’ I said, as I held up my reflector to deflect the eye-burning light. I had to open wide to smile for an image that would transform me from penguin to Strax / Into a penguin-with-a-top-hat And this would suffice. I had Pinterest and I was prepared. We reclaimed the space for the guests, photographed the muddy heros with their pre-fancy little dark faces and long dark legs, and prepared to compensate for all of the fanciness in a few hours, when there would be people everywhere, dressed up and dancing until dawn.
Moving Up the Price Ladder
Second, I looked at dresses from department stores ranging from an $45.99 Miss Lish frock – a fantasy French-tawny polka-dot princess skirt with elastic top and collar bones – to the $99.00 J Crew ‘Boho-print shift’ in swirling black and white froth. It’s more polished in the photo, but would it be as pretty worn?
Miss Lish Dress Review
When I put it on, the top was cute, but the bottom was a total fail. The skirt didn’t have enough flounce and seemed plain compared with the images I’d seen on Pinterest. The dress was adorable maybe for brunch, but not a wedding. It was a step up from the dress I could have gotten at Walmart, but it wasn’t quite right.
A Different Vibe
Third on my list was a $59.99 dress from MissDress.com. It had a poofy, clean sleeve, and a dramatic side slit. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this one, but I kept my fingers crossed.
MissDress.com Dress Experience
It was less dress, more two-piece day-after costume. The duchess/pageant sleeve was limp. The whole thing was a fraction of the drama suggested by the online shot. This one was a miss.
The Corset Dream
Then, finally, I saw the dress I wanted, its corset lines for $150. This was a step up, but I was hopeful.
Trying on the Corset Dress
Having it on, however, yielded much happier results. I was impressed by the beauty of the corset detailing, and it also seemed like the strongest candidate on my line-up. Perhaps it didn’t totally conform to the Pinterest image, but it still looked good, and I felt good to wear it. Score!
Details Matter
Then there was a dress with a beautiful cape – a $350 dress on sale for $243. This one, I thought, could really be a piece to stop traffic. I wanted to see a size 10.
The Cape Reveal
This was a really heavy dress, and with really beautiful detailing, the bad news was that it was too small, but I had this beautiful mannequin that fit perfect. This was a huge step up from any other possibilities. The quality was amazing. I loved this dress because the long cape and the beautiful lace.
Going Higher in Price
With that in mind, my search shifted into $400 range: a flowery detail gown I found on Etsy. I’d seen the style before, and I wanted to try it.
Floral Detail Dress Review
When I finally tried it on, I was elated! The dress had all the features of the designer gowns I had seen but for a fraction of the price. The pearl detailing and puff sleeves were beautiful. Not only that, but this dress really made me feel like a bride! I had won, and knowing that I did not have to spend thousands of dollars on a dress made me feel far less overwhelmed.
The Final Countdown
And so, by the end of my haul, I was down to the last selection of gowns, holding my breath over a beaded dress that had won an Instagram poll, costing about $1,000 – far and away the most I’d ever spent on one of these beasts.
Beaded Gown Experience
The fabric was thick and bead worked, the fit was beautiful, tight over the waist then flowing out in a dramatic flare. Not quite the colour of the pin image, but close enough to the pin that I felt, for the first time in my life, like a princess, just like I’d imagined her to be. The beaded sleeves were, however, rather itchy.
The Rental Option
Lastly, I decided to check out a rental from Lux Redux Bridal. It was $50, and, if I liked it, I could fill out the paperwork and have it shipped to me to try on. (It was $1,300 to buy it new.)
Final Dress Reveal
And here’s the gorgeous drama-sleeved classic wedding dress, with long train, that I’ve tried on through a long and agonising period of indecision. It fits like a dream. I look like the Pinterest pic. I’m feeling classy and fantastic. And this lace is heaven send. Actually, that’s definitely one of the top five.
Conclusion: Finding the Right Dress
Pinterest may sometimes be helpful in finding inspiration, but eventually reality sets in – the wedding dress shopping was difficult to bear in the first place, and even harder to subside after trying on a bunch of dresses. From Walmart to Etsy, there are options from $100-200, but not everything you try on is going to be as pretty as when you were looking at pictures online. I hope my journey about shopping for a wedding dress helps all brides to be less naive, and maybe a bit more confident.
Stay tuned for more updates (1) because all these dresses will be available for giveaway on my website soon! However, this announcement is just the beginning; there will be more surprises ahead. Although the anticipation builds, don't miss out on the details that will follow. But remember, patience is key!
