Would you rent a wedding or bridesmaid dress/gown?

Admit it, no one likes being forced to buy a dress, especially a bridesmaid dress. Especially if it looks like this. Would be great for an '80s party though...

As seen here.

There are definitely nice ones out there now (remember my love for Monique's new line). But whether the bridesmaids pay (which mostly happens though there are now more instances where the bride pays because well, she is the one that is telling you to wear it) or the bride pays, in many cases it's $100+ per dress. Though I've kicked myself for not shopping at H&M or Forever 21 earlier - they actually have decent cocktail dresses once in a while for <$100! Ouch X no. of girls in the party. Unless of course you or the parents are rich. Then, awesome, Vera Wang dresses and champagne all night long!

Ok now the wedding gown thing - most ladies like wearing the ballgown or sexy trumpet in fabrics and gorgeous cuts we don't wear every day (hello alencon lace, I love you). But again, the average cost of a wedding gown is about 10% of the total budget according to the Knot and based on anecdotal research is somewhere from $1000 -$3000 (Italian friend expects to pay at least that in Euros, ouch).

That's a lot more than the typical Topshop dress.

We pay up because that's just the way it is in North America and Europe. But it's interesting because in Asia, wedding gown and bridesmaid dress rentals are actually the norm. They may even combine this with your photography and groom's rental too. There are actually Chinese and Korean places in NY (I'm guessing Toronto, California have similar places) that do the same thing. My Singaporean friend is being quoted S$3000 for 2 dress rentals and a tux (to keep). Yep you get a traditional light wedding gown and an evening gown. Or if they got together, something like this.

From here. Nice boots!

I love my dresses and the quality is such that I can pass it down or maybe resell some day. Would I have rented the dresses if they were available? Tempting and very possible! Wear it once right? Why hasn't the idea caught on otherwise? The sentimental factor makes me want to keep the dress though cost and space speak a different story.

But rent a bridesmaid dress? Far more tempting and interesting. It's always a challenge remembering which dress you wore around a certain group of people so you don't rewear the same dress. Rent it and forget it. Why not? Renting clothing in general? Intriguing indeed...

Stay tuned for a giveaway related to this rental dress idea soon!

Jenny Yoo 2010 #wedding fashion show - NY(9/29) and Chicago (10/8)

Fashion. Prizes. Gift bags. Jenny Yoo 2010 collection - I am so there (if I wasn't in London, sigh).
Either way, love the new bridesmaid dresses. I'm really falling for the one-shoulder look - edgy and refined at the same time. I'm also just loving the wearability of these bridesmaid dresses.
Details and RSVP here.

$20 for a bride and a guest.

Designer Thursday - Monique Lhuillier bridesmaid line(and my reception wedding gown!)

How can I write about fashion and not write about one of my fave wedding and overall high-end fashion designers: Monique Lhuiller.

Isn't she lovely? She is a Filipina fashion designer based in the United States and she is of mixed French and Spanish-Cebuano descent (from her Wikipedia entry).
Lhuillier and her husband Tom Bugbee, founded their company in 1996 and launched their first bridal collection (as a 25 year-old!) shortly after she designed the apparel for her wedding entourage (which was also a high society wedding). Her bridal and ready to wear collections have already been a hit and now she has launched bridesmaid dresses!

Here are some favorites:

The one-shoulder classic look is awesome  while the pleating is great on the second dress.

I loved the last design and it is close to an Amsale I originally wanted for my girls.

How lucky for girls that can wear these styles now! Actually I will probably look for one to wear to a formal event - I love the practicality and rewearability of these gowns.

Now for my reception gown (ceremony gown here). I bought the Monique Lhuillier Parisian 2.5 weeks before the wedding and wore it for the reception.  I was obsessed with alencon lace (my journey here) and was crestfallen I couldn't find an alencon lace dress that was actually affordable,

Then I saw the dress (it was actually the second one within my size posted on eBay in a few weeks),  I bought it, truly loved it, and will be wearing it to our small Asian reception at the end of the year.

Here I am! My brother thinks this is one of the best pictures. I agree. Embrace the cheese and make faces (though I've decided to crop out mine).

P.S. I got it on eBay for almost 90% off retail price (remember the start price is pretty high tough).

Chic 'n Cheap ladies.

Bridesmaid's dresses - same, same, but different

"I love it."

"I look great."

"I'm totally going to wear it again."

These are the comments I imagined my bms would say after I gave them their dresses. Like every reasonable bride, I want my girls to like their dresses. So I asked them what they wanted to wear.

"Oh, I'll wear anything!"

Then I asked again and said I was going to have a seamstress make it so they had free rein.

"I don't like my legs and need a full length dress."
"I would look a lot better in a tea-length dress."
"Sleeveless sheaths make my arms look not as toned."

Sigh.

So I let them pick their top 3 dresses from various sources. I headed over with a MOH today to visit the seamstress. I bought some beautiful dark red silk/cotton fabric from India and we collaborated to see which of each girl's top 3 styles would work with the cloth.

The verdict:
MOH 1

MOH 2BM 1

BM2
I really liked picking the fabric and letting the girls choose exactly what they wanted. If I had more time, I would have looked for fabrics with great patterns or tried to copy a BCBG design. Oh well, I hope everyone likes their dresses!