I said Yes!......to the dress

It’s early……………too early in the morning to be driving to Cincinnati. But, that’s where we’re headed.
Mom, myself, and Barb are all on the way to Cincinnati to go dress shopping. Well, not just dress shopping. I mean dress shopping. As in THE dress. (no pressure)
Barb was the one who suggested we go to Cincinnati for the dress. She said that there were a few stores down there catering solely to wedding dresses, event rentals, cake shops, alterations, etc. Kind of like Little Italy, only picture it with tiered cakes and tiaras, instead of spaghetti and meatballs.
The drive there is pleasant. It’s a beautiful day, the sun is out, mom and Barb are in the front seat talking, and I am in the back pretending to listen very intently………….with my eyes closed………….so I can concentrate………….fully…………….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Did I mention it was early? Coffee??????? Please?
To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect when the day came to go dress shopping. And, I really didn’t think I would find it on the same day. I went to get an idea of what styles were out there, and more-or-less to look for bridesmaid dresses and flower girl dresses.
Mom warned me a day or two before we went that I should wear conservative undergarments so I would make a good impression in front of her and Barb. (Huh?{ Mom was in luck! I had just thrown my sequin pasties in to be washed the night before.}) Not quite sure why they would be in the room with me, but I decided to be a good girl and do what she asked.
The drive went fairly quickly, and we got to Cincinnati before I knew it. As soon as we turned onto W. Benson Street, both sides of the street were full of dress shops. We found a place to park at one end of the “district” (this is what I call it……if you have ever been there, you would think so too) and got out of the car. This place must be making gaga bank! Dress shop, after dress shop, after dress shop, containing hundreds of dresses waiting to find their brides. The store fronts were charming and quaint. They range from ‘standard-store’ feel, to claims of hosting European elegance and couture. It really is mind blowing when you walk by. Which one to try? Will I really find ‘the one’ here? Today?
We walked into the first shop we saw and started looking around. The owner of the store, and an associate, were right on hand to help us with any questions………any questions at all (bleach tooth smile!). I ended up trying on a dress (it was a bridesmaid’s dress….solely for the purpose of fit) and had mom take a picture of it for us to think about on the way home. We took some literature with us, and a quote (are you serious???? That much?? For THAT???.……..next......) on their card, and left for the next store.
We passed a few other stores making mental notes on which ones we might want to look at on the way back to the car, and found ourselves stopped in front of Bridal & Formal. It looked really small from the outside. I remember thinking ‘no way! 10 minutes……..tops!’.
We walked in, and the store was HUGE! Rooms were connected from all sides. To the left, the shoe room, the veil room, flower girl dresses & bridesmaid dresses. Couture dresses in front, tea- and cocktail-lengths in the corner. Then there was the back. Ho-ly mackerel. The place was packed! It was a schmorgesbord of brides and dresses. The store had a policy that you needed to sign in and leave your name on a waiting list in order to try on a dress. I didn’t bother. I didn’t think I would need to.
We start looking around. Everything is poofy, tall, and weighs in at around a buck-o-five. After walking up and down the rows (and rows, and rows, and rows…….) I thought we were getting ready to leave. When mom and Barb had pulled a few dresses for me to try, I realized we were staying for a while. ‘Well’, I thought, ‘You’re here. Make the most of it.’ So I pulled a few dresses down to look at and moved on to the next row. Mom found me and told me she was adding my name to the list so I can try the dresses on. Fine, no problem.
My name was called, and Tracie, my dress consultant, grabbed my selections and hung them up on a rod to pull from as needed. She then asked me very succinctly what my budget was. Taken aback I did what any bride-to-be would do. ‘CHEAP!’, I said. ‘Help me find something that doesn’t cost as much as my car.’ She looked at me for a second and said, ‘OK. To be honest, that is low. What area were you looking in?’. I then learned that there was a system to the set-up. High-end in front and right, medium-range in the middle, and my price range in the back of the store. Some call it ‘hidden’, I call it ‘my hidden treasure section’. (come on! You wear it ONE day. Seriously. If you spent that much on a pair of pants, you’d shower in them every morning and fall asleep in them every night.)
Tracie took me straight over to a rack that had a horrid dress right in front.
‘What is your style like? What do you see here in addition to what you have already pulled?’, she asked me.
I rooted through a few dresses and pulled one out.
‘Cute, yes very cute. How about this one?’, she asked pointing to the first one in the row.
EEEEEeeewwwwwwwwwww………..
‘Um, not my style?’, I said.
‘You don’t like it, do you?’, she asked.
‘No.’, I said. No hesitation. Period. Dot.
‘Do me a favor,’ she asked. ‘Will you try it on?’.
UGH! Seriously???? Aw, come on!
‘Ok Tracie. For you.’ What??? Did I………………..Was that me speaking?....................... Great.
We walk (I sulk) back towards the dressing room. (I said room………..did you catch that?) I’m confused. Why are mom & Barb still walking with us? Where are you taking me? What the……………………..silence. Even my mind was silenced.
The curtain opened, and behind it unveiled a scene from a sorority house movie. There was only one room! We all had to change in front of each other. Self-conscious girls running around using their arms to cover their bodies from each other as their dress consultants were helping them try on their dresses.
This has got to be a joke! Where's the camera? Ha-Ha! Ok, joke's up. Drat. No cheesy music, no person with a microphone appearing telling me I was on candid camera. Oh man, this just keeps getting better.Tracie takes me to an open spot and hangs up a few dresses we found together. I prepare myself for what comes next. Looking around, I take off my shirt. Mom immediately pipes up 'That's my girl! Did you see that Barb? She's wearing a white bra. She is such a good girl. I told her to do that.' mm-hhmmm.
I look at the sky, and I say a silent plea. 'Why me? Why today?'. I slowly exhale only to find Tracie with the ick dress waiting for me to step in to. Everyone is staring at me, waiting for me. I take off my shoes and stand there. They are still looking at me. Oh! I get it! My shorts.......too bad. They're staying on.
I step into the dress (shorts and all) and Tracie pulls up the bodice and tells me to wait there. Um, no problem. I don't have too many options at the moment. She has me keep my back to the mirror so I can't see the dress until it's all the way on. She brings over a corset and very easily helps me swap out bras. Oh man, thank you Tracie. That was painless. I don't know how she did it, but it was done without exposure.
The dress is on, and she took her 9 volt jumper cable looking "clips" and pinned my dress back.
'Turn around', she said.
And I did.
Wow. Oh my. Is this really the same hideous frock hanging lifelessly and lonely on the hanger out there? I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Soft, light-weight, and soooo me.
I turned to her and said, 'You were right. Tracie, you were right. You tha woman.'.
'Girrrrrl, I know!'.
I tried on 3 other dresses. One was all white with a simple band of embroidery between the bodice and the waist. The other was a pretty white dress with intricate fabric detail that looked perfect for a garden-style wedding. Then there was the siren dress. Meeeoow! I loved it. It was a mermaid-style dress. It had such beautiful beadwork all over ending a few inches below the bodice and right around my hips.
'Work it girl! You got the figure for this.'
Thanks Tracie. I love it too. I looked at her and did a quick hip shake for our audience of brides and mom's and said, 'Tracie. This dress is stunning. I love the fit, I love the form fitting feel of the dress, and I LOVE the beadwork. But, I hate the beadwork. It's rubbing against the skin on my arms and is really bothering me. I think you know what I am going to say next.....'
'You don't have to tell me!', she said as she shook her head from side-to-side. 'No, uh-uh. I know. You love the first one. Don't you?'
Yes.
'Yes. I do. Can I put it back on?'.
And so, icky dress and I walked through the store trying on veils. I walked back to the girls gone wild! dressing room, and heard a lady tell the person sitting next to her, 'What a pretty dress!'. Duh! Hands off honey.
I got back into the room with mom right behind me. Barb stayed out front looking in the bridesmaid section.
I look at mom, then the mirror, then back at mom. I seem to be having a dilemma. The body doesn't want to take off the dress. I look in the mirror again.
'Do you like it mom?'.
'Honey, do you like it?'
'Yes mom, I really do. This is it. This is the one.'.
I looked back at her, and I saw her quickly wiping the tears away from her eyes. I put my arms around her and simply said 'Thank you.'. I hugged her again, and then proceeded to unhook myself from the clamps keeping the dress on me. I finished getting dressed right as Tracie came back in.
'Girrrl.', I said.
'Girrrl.', she replied.
I hugged her, and thanked her to no end. Tracie was right. She was absolutely right.
We ended up ordering the dress (should be here in January!!!!! YAY!!!), and I went to find Barb. She was still in the bridesmaid room. I went over to her and thanked her too. For everything. For the thought. For the suggestion of coming here. And most of all, for being there. I was so lucky and grateful to have them both there with me.
We ended up finding bridesmaid dresses there too. And across the street, they had the most adorable little flower girl dress. Ashley & Emma will look so cute!
In the end, the trip was a HUGE success. I went there with no intention of trying on a single thing. Turns out, I was wrong.