dress shopping | Offbeat Bride

This is Offbeat Bride's archive of dress shopping posts.

Most Recent Posts About dress shopping

Ok, why didn't someone tell me about Ruche.com sooner?! For those of you who are leaning towards the vintage-y/classic end of the wedding aesthetics spectrum (as opposed to the rainbow carnival freakout or zombie-chic), this place is your new favorite website. Some of their stuff reminds me of BHLDN's styling, but without the $128 buckets and other overpriced pomp. Their bridal lookbooks? TO DIE FOR. They're like vintage-tinged fever dreams that I want to crawl into and pretend I'm more understated and chic than I actually am. (We all know what end of the spectrum I'M on.)

And their prices? HOLY SHIT. Cute vintage-styled dresses under $300? And sweet-ass accessories like veils and headpieces under $50. Aww, yeah. Let's take a look at what they've got:

(As always, click the pictures to learn more.)
Audrey: $249
Let's line it up here…

Take a tea-length vintage-styled dress

…add sleeves (RARE!)

…add pockets (FUN!)

…add availablility up to 3X (thought they run small, so it's really only about a 12)

What do you get?

THE HOLY GRAIL OF DRESSES.

BELIEVE IT.

Are you a pregnant bride searching for dresses that don't "look like frumpy messes or pajamas"? Lucky for you, I love to virtually shop. Look at all these gorgeous and fun maternity dresses!

I visited my parents for Thanksgiving and we took the opportunity to play the first round of Find That Dress. We went to two places: a fancy, brand-new boutique in Korea Town, and a David's Bridal in the mall. The experiences were extremely different, but not necessarily in the ways I expected. Here's a recap of the lessons I've learned while dress shopping:

I outfitted my three bridesmaids in vintage dresses. My motivation was twofold: I love vintage styling, and I try to live by a reduce-reuse-recycle ethos. I loved how it all worked out. If you are thinking of going with vintage dresses, or are in the throes of things already, here are some tips for you.

From doing research and being adamant, Tribe member MsKate knocked $400 off of her favorite wedding dress. Here's some advice from a master dress haggler, as to how YOU can negotiate your dream dress right down into your budget.

You might remember Tribe member Christy from her illustrated venue search. On the next installation of Tribe member Christy's illustrated wedding trials, Christy finds her dress! And, of course, she took notes again, and by "notes," we mean she scribbled out drawings on her iPhone, and they're delightful.

Bravo Bride is about to become your new FAVORITE wedding shopping site. Where else can you find an unreal deal on a designer wedding dress, zombie cake topper, AND the perfect mini top hat for your dog/ring bearer?

While I think it's important for the mother of the bride to dress classy and age appropriate, that doesn't necessarily mean she needs to look like a frumpy old lady. Here are some suggestions for the Offbeat Moms out there.