the fitting

Several people have noted – and rightfully so – that I have fallen behind on my blogging in the last several weeks. Sorry, loyal followers! I’ve been on the road a bit for work and also on a painful family vacation, but now that I am home it’s time to buckle down on both the planning and the writing.

Last week, I took myself to our local bridal shop to have my dress altered. It’s sort of strange to walk into a bridal shop with a black dress that you bought on the internet; no one understands that YOU are actually the bride. But the elderly Italian seamstress that did my fitting was actually very nice. I must note: never in my life have I EVER had to have anything either a) shortened or b) taken in in the chest. But this dress needs to be both, so away to the bridal shop I went.

Not having spent much time in bridal shops, I have to say that this was not an experience that I would look forward to. While I was waiting for the seamstress to be ready, I browsed the racks of dresses and noticed that nearly all of them were stocked in the same two sizes: 6 and 8. What’s a non-six-or-eight to do? Guestimate? They did have a limited selection of plus-sized dresses in the back of the store, but most of those were stocked in a 16. I guess only three sizes of women shop for wedding dresses? Seems like a misogynistic joke to me. I am SO GLAD that I went the internet route.

The fitting, by the way, was relatively uneventful – though I did get a little nervous when she pulled out the scissors and started cutting the hem. Maybe that’s normal; I really don’t know. My dress wasn’t a huge investment but I could definitely see that you might freak out if you’d just dropped a grand or more on a dress and someone started cutting it right in front of your eyes. I bet she has some interesting stories to tell.