The clothing situation – and an ebay wedding dress
Mar 21st, 2009 by Sam
I’ve been trying to get around to writing about my outfit and those of the rest of the “wedding party” (Partner, 2.5 yr old son and 5.5 year old daughter)…
£10 wedding dress
Yes, that’s right I have bought my wedding dress for £10. From Ebay.
Now, the last time I wrote I was getting a bit desperate as I couldn’t find anything I liked which I could afford. If money was no object I would definitely have liked one of the gorgeous dresses by Tara Lynn, but I could never justify spending that sort of money on something that would never be worn again.
I think I’ve probably always imagined I’d be married in the big meringue, but when it comes down to it, it’ll get put in the loft in a box, once I’ve scraped the mud off (we are getting married on a farm).
Once I’d made that decision, I enlisted some friends to come with me while I tried on cocktail type dresses, just so I could get an idea of what might suit me – my life doesn’t usually involve cocktail parties and so I had no clue.
It was quite surprising to me what did suit (strapless, full skirt types) and once I’d worked that out I kept looking on Ebay, and generally trawled the internet. I tried on a few nice dresses in Monsoon, and thought I might end up with one of those, but nothing really grabbed me. I was getting a bit despondent.
Anyway, one day I found a “Make me an offer” dress on Ebay. Description “Vintage rockabilly dress”. Photo – not great. I decided to bid £10 and put it in the dressing up box if it wasn’t any good. But AMAZINGLY not only does it fit like a dream, but it’s quite “weddingy”. It’s the most uneco mix of polyester and nylon, and is a bizarre colour, but I love it! I’m afraid that’s all I can say for now, just in case the fiance sees this.
So, after saving loads of money I’ve now spent a vast amount on a necklace and earrings! I went to the Eco Chic Wedding & Home Show (which was fab!), and what kept playing on my mind was the jewellery by Rosie Weisencrantz. I tried on about 10 different necklaces, but finally picked one with a butterfly pendant in the middle.
It wasn’t actually that expensive (£150 for both). “Rosie” is lovely and makes her jewellery using pieces of vintage stuff she picks up. She even gave me a silver sixpence for my shoe! It’s the sort of thing I can imagine wearing on special occasions, and then handing down to my daughter, Ruby, if she gets married.
Now what the hell sort of shoes am I going to wear….? I’m going to customise a pair of wellies, as part of our ceremony is in the woods, but I definitely need a pair of dancing shoes. No idea what at the mo.
The others 
The day my dress came in the post I was feeling really chuffed already (or should I say SMUG…!), as I had just bought Ruby a dress from TKMAXX. A beautiful lilac bargain, which she absolutely loves – just perfect for a 5 year old girl, with a big floaty skirt, and sparkly butterflies on it. She is chief bridesmaid of course and will have a little posy too. All the other little girls will be “bridesmaids” too, but wearing whatever they like.
You may have gathered by now, we are not big on “themes”.
My partner says he is going to wear a frock coat (although he has also told me he might wear his cycling lycra…!!!!). As far as I know though, he has made no moves to get this organised and I am resisting the very strong urge to do it for him.
I had also tasked him with sorting out Heath, our son, as almost the first thing he said when I proposed was “Great – Heath can wear a suit”! His view is that we have to dress him up as we haven’t got a dog!
Anyway, the more I think about it, the more I think a suit is quite a silly idea for a child who likes rolling in the mud and insists on wearing his bright yellow, thin bee raincoat even if it’s -20 outside. So, I am taking matters into my own hands…
Sam
