Dress Shopping: Take 17!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember the gown I found last week at Kleinfeld's? Well... when I got back to work I checked out the designer's website to see if there was a picture of the dress online. Unfortunately there wasn't, but there was a form to contact the corporate offices with questions. I figured it was a long shot that they would respond back, since I'd previously had so-so luck with this approach, but I gave it a try anyway. To my surprise, I did get a response back, and a speedy one at that! I received a lovely email from a woman named Millie, informing me that the dress I tried on last week was new from their Spring '09 line, currently only on sale at Kleinfeld's, and wouldn't be out until January. Well, what the heck is the point of a Spring '09 line if brides getting married in the Spring of '09 *ahem* can't see or try them on?!?! To my delight, I noticed on Eve of Milady's website that their corporate offices are located in none other than... Union City, NJ! (Only 10 close minutes from Hoboken.) So... I emailed back and forth with Millie and scored myself an appointment to visit their headquarters with my mom to re-try on the dress (in white this time instead of "rum punch") and look at some others, too! Boy, was I ecstatic - I had such a good feeling that my persistence (a.k.a. stalking skills) would pay off and finally end this lengthy search!

I was partially right... Millie was the nicest woman and was so patient and helpful. She pulled a number of dresses for me to try on, all beautiful! Two were so gorgeous, I really liked them. Can't really describe them here in case the fiance is lurching, but they were two very different styles of dress, so it was hard to compare them. To help make the decision a little easier, I asked Millie for the prices on both dresses, which is where the day took a downturn. Little did I know before conversing with Millie that Eve of Milady has clothed politicians and socialites alike for their weddings... with price tags to match. So there went the possibility of either dress I had just pranced around wearing being "the one for me". Bummer! I put the dress I originally visited for back on, and then my emotions got the best of me. It was a nice dress, but next to the gorgeous gowns I had just been in, this one was not holding its own. Logically, I knew it made more sense to choose a more affordable dress and this one fit the bill in that regard. Something was missing though that I couldn't quite get past, and while my head was crunching numbers my eyes started watering. I'm embarrassed to admit that I actually broke down in tears. It was not a pretty sight: my mom started hugging me, Millie started hugging me, and I tried desperately not to get tears on the dress without a single tissue in sight. Poor Millie, I bet she didn't expect such an eventful Friday at the office. ;) She excused herself from the fitting room, and came back a few minutes later with another gown for me to try on. It was one I spotted upon first arrival, but we had forgotten about in all the excitement. So, I put it on and the tears finally stopped coming. Good sign, right?! It wasn't a perfect dress, but it was nicer than the less thrilling alternative and a little more affordable than the 2 beauties. By this time it was almost 1pm and I was starving, exhausted, and emotionally drained. I was also about 4 hours late for work... :( Millie started writing the order up for me and giving me what she thought was a steal of a price for the dress, while I pleaded with my brain to just this once make a decision. I wasn't quite 100% sure that this was my dress and with so much commotion I didn't want to jump into something out of desperation. When Millie told me the deposit would have to be cash, that bought me some time. I told her I'd return with the money on Monday, which gave me the weekend to decide. But before leaving, Millie snapped a couple pics of me in the dress for a souvenir. :)