The Dress Was Only The Beginning

Almost two months ago I picked up the dress I'll wear to Son Tony's wedding in April. At the store it was too long, too big through the chest area, and needed to have alterations done. When I talked to my local tailor shop, she told me when I came in for the fitting I needed to bring the shoes and undergarments I planned to wear with the dress.

Those shoes and undergarments were a real challenge to find!

First of all, my feet don't handle high heels or pointy toes any more. They are happiest wearing athletic or "comfort" shoes. The dressy styles at the big box shoe stores all had one or both of my no-nos. I found some interesting pairs in a dedicated comfort shoe store, but they had unattractive black soles (which I thought would distract from the overall look). I lost track of the number of stores I shopped at. One day I was browsing for something else at an upscale thrift store and found a pair of flat sandals. They were comfortable, had tan soles, and, as a bonus, only cost ten dollars. The shoe color was a little darker than ideal, but they'll hardly show under the long dress.

One piece taken care of. Next was the undergarments.

The jacquard material of the unlined dress is a little scratchy, so a long slip was in order. The local Vincent dePaul store, my first stop, had a nice selection. They were one dollar. I picked the newest looking one. Half of the intimates were taken care of.

I've never found a comfortable strapless bra, and wasn't looking forward to having to wear one. But the sleeveless dress has bare shoulders and any type of strap would show. Bras tend to be expensive, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money on something I won't wear again. I looked in stores large and small, searched online, and finally ended up paying retail price for something at the outlet mall. The next day I happened to be back in the Vincent dePaul store. On a whim I looked at their rack, and was thrilled to see that there were three bras in my size! I tried them on, bought the one that fit best, returned the outlet mall one, and had an extra 40 dollars in my wallet.

Now the tailoring can be done. I'm one step closer to a complete outfit.

Five years ago today: Sugar, By Any Other Name