Dress shops are stupid
So, this weekend I went with my brother's fiancée, her mother, and her maid of honor to go pick out bidesmaid dresses. Now, I understand that the way this works is that you go to the shop, try on a bunch of things to decide which style works best for you, pick a color, get measured, and then the dress is ordered in the approximate size you need, you wait a few weeks/months, and when the dress arrives you have it altered so that it fits you perfectly. That's fine, except how in the name of hell am I supposed to find a style of dress that is flattering on me when the dresses they have for trying on are all 6 or more sizes too small for me? Seriously, I am a size 18-20, and the largest dresses I was trying on were 12-14, and then they said "Oh, the sizes run a bit small." So what I was really trying on were dresses size 10+-12+. I totally ripped a zipper in one dress just trying to get the damn thing off, and you can bet I sure as hell didn't tell anyone.
Now, the shop is not big to begin with, and formal dresses take up a whole lot of space. Compound this problem with the fact that there are only 3 changing stalls and that they have niether lights nor mirrors in them, as well as the fact that the half of the store where the changing area and the viewing area that did have the lights and mirrors wasn't even curtained off and so was in full view of the rest of the store and even the street beyond. This might not have been any problem at all if it hadn't been a Saturday during prom season, but it was, so the store was also crowded. The crowdedness might not have bothered me quite so much either if we hadn't called specifically to make an appointment for the 4 of us, but of course the woman we talked to said that we didn't need an appointment and should just come on in. I understand that any sane shop owner wouldn't want to lose potential customers by closing a shop for an hour or two for appointments, but on the other hand, why would you want people who asked for appointments at your shop to feel uncomfortable because the shop is full of other people and the shopgirls are busy with everyone else.
And what kind of idiot brings her fiancée or boyfriend or any guy to a dress shop to look at wedding gowns??? Please explain to me why there were three men walking around the changing and viewing areas of the shop! What the hell kind of idiot guy even concents to being brought into a dress shop in the first place???
So I'm standing in front of a mirror with a strapless dress that is 6 sizes too small draped mostly over the front of me, completely unzipped in the back and stretched wide open so my panty-clad ass and bare back are hanging out for all to see, and I do not have a shopgirl to help me keep the damned thing up so I can actually see what it might look like, and I step backwards to get a wider view, and run smack into some clearly embarrased guy who's standing around gawking while his fiancée is sifting through a rack of dresses. WTF!!!
So it was a singularly depressing afternoon just in terms of my self-image, and wholly infuriating in terms of having to deal with shopgirls and random people. Fortunately, the maid of honor had much better luck finding a dress that suited her, and when I "tried on" the same dress it appeared that it would look okay on me as well when I actually wear one that fits me properly. I'm not really happy about the color, but such is the fate of most bridesmaids. So I am now obligated to pay for the dress I ordered, and supposedly it will fit and look good for the damned wedding. I was told by the shopgirl not to worry because when the dress arrives, they'll alter it and "make it fit." I can't tell you how assured I am by that.
Now, the shop is not big to begin with, and formal dresses take up a whole lot of space. Compound this problem with the fact that there are only 3 changing stalls and that they have niether lights nor mirrors in them, as well as the fact that the half of the store where the changing area and the viewing area that did have the lights and mirrors wasn't even curtained off and so was in full view of the rest of the store and even the street beyond. This might not have been any problem at all if it hadn't been a Saturday during prom season, but it was, so the store was also crowded. The crowdedness might not have bothered me quite so much either if we hadn't called specifically to make an appointment for the 4 of us, but of course the woman we talked to said that we didn't need an appointment and should just come on in. I understand that any sane shop owner wouldn't want to lose potential customers by closing a shop for an hour or two for appointments, but on the other hand, why would you want people who asked for appointments at your shop to feel uncomfortable because the shop is full of other people and the shopgirls are busy with everyone else.
And what kind of idiot brings her fiancée or boyfriend or any guy to a dress shop to look at wedding gowns??? Please explain to me why there were three men walking around the changing and viewing areas of the shop! What the hell kind of idiot guy even concents to being brought into a dress shop in the first place???
So I'm standing in front of a mirror with a strapless dress that is 6 sizes too small draped mostly over the front of me, completely unzipped in the back and stretched wide open so my panty-clad ass and bare back are hanging out for all to see, and I do not have a shopgirl to help me keep the damned thing up so I can actually see what it might look like, and I step backwards to get a wider view, and run smack into some clearly embarrased guy who's standing around gawking while his fiancée is sifting through a rack of dresses. WTF!!!
So it was a singularly depressing afternoon just in terms of my self-image, and wholly infuriating in terms of having to deal with shopgirls and random people. Fortunately, the maid of honor had much better luck finding a dress that suited her, and when I "tried on" the same dress it appeared that it would look okay on me as well when I actually wear one that fits me properly. I'm not really happy about the color, but such is the fate of most bridesmaids. So I am now obligated to pay for the dress I ordered, and supposedly it will fit and look good for the damned wedding. I was told by the shopgirl not to worry because when the dress arrives, they'll alter it and "make it fit." I can't tell you how assured I am by that.