"And the bride wore a dress by no one..."

I may have bungled the invitations... let's see three times... and we'd still be counting had I not stuffed them in the mail, as is, and screamed "MOVING ON!" But we can all sleep easier knowing I am going to look FREAKIN' AWESOME at my party.

Once upon a time I imagined I would have a real wedding gown. A Vera Wang or a Maggie Soterro. My only conditions were that the dress have sleeves or straps,a full skirt and look vintage,classic and simple. Unfortunately, everything in bridal dress land is sleeveless, (sorry YUCK) form fitting and WAY out of my budget. My budget was $100. $100 dollars at the very most.

I purchased vintage Vogue and Butterick patterns from the 50's and my mom-in-law and I toyed with the idea of making a dress from scratch. I thought about scouring for a dress from the 50's. I prayed that if I found a vintage dress I would be able to squeeze into it like I use to do when I was tiny in my teens.

Luckily, I went bargain hunting at the Saks Outlet last year and my dress was there waiting. It was $18 dollars marked down from $345. I pride myself on my ability to recognize labels on the discount racks from miles away. The label said Tevrow+Chase. Not a designer in my rotation, but the off-white, ballet style dress, WITH POCKETS, (OMG! SCORE) was the only one in the store so I snatched it up and gave it a home. My mom-in-law did have to make alterations. Those alterations did make her a wee bit nervous, I think, but with the advice of a family friend the dress now fits like a dream. Fairy god-like mothers always pull through.

I spiced up the dress with a leopard print belt and floral cardigan. (The cardigan cost more than the dress and it came from Forever 21) I shopped for the dress without lugging the dress from store to store. Against,the advice of my mom and mom-in -law who were nervous that I wouldn't be able to shop for the dress without it. They doubted my coordinating abilities and my eye. Never doubt the "Queen of throwing it together, oh look at that, it works"

I dug around on the Internet and guess who wears Tevrow+ Chase...Gwen Stefani! Okay,so it's one coat but she wore it alot! The designers behind Tevrow+Chase were behind Club Monaco. So maybe it's not quite "a dress by no one". But I did dress it up with some shoes...you know...and I feel like I was put together by Patricia Field when I wear my dress. I done good.

dress: $18
cardigan: $25
belt: $16
shoes: $13
headband: $4

$76 total