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| Photo by Vivanista1. |
My first attempt to outfit accordingly began at a local, high-end, thrift store. I tried on several outfits, and actually bought a well-fitting, albeit plain dress, for $20.00. Sweeet! I liked the dress, for say a funeral or business meeting, but I dare say it lacked the fashion impact I was looking for. It was a glancing blow off the chin, not a one-two knock-out punch. Well at least now I have a bride's maid dress and something to wear to funerals.
Thus, I began shopping on-line for an appropriate wow-factor dress. I reached out to my personal fashion expert friend, FTC, whom you may recall from prior blogs. I asked him, What does a typical cocktail dress look like?
"H.O.T!", was his reply. I immediately questioned my ability to rock "hot". He followed up with some sample images of dresses he felt were hot. The first, was a striking velvet number, clinging resolutely to the curves of a skeletal model. My mind immediately went to my muffin-top and the hideous speed bump it would cause in the silhouette of this remarkable dress. Thumbs down. He continued with several more structured dresses, patterned with bold black and white blocking. I was more hopeful with these dresses, as I was certain they were designed to make me look thinner and/or blend into the furnishings. Their price tag was too high, and I honestly thought them bland. If I was going to go for it in the dress up realm, I was going big or I was staying home!
I shopped incessantly, and found a sexy sequin number that I quickly forwarded to him for approval. His response was a lackluster, "Meh." What?! I thought, "Meh!" I was certain this dress I had painstakingly searched for (considering my flabby arms, muffin-top and less-than-perky ass) was a shoe-in, and deserving of far better than "Meh!" Lord knows, "Meh," was not the look I was shooting for.
So back to the drawing board once again! I decided I was also not going to share any more dress choices with FTC lest he hate everything I chose. I needed to love the dress I chose and could not risk any more "Mehs". During my frenzied , all night shopping, I stumbled upon an ad for a web-site which immediately caught my eye. It was renttherunway.com .
This, dear ladies, was my savior! Rent the runway is a website that allows you to rent fancy dresses for a fraction of their actual cost. And these are not just any dresses. They are DESIGNER dresses! Included are designs from Versace, Nicole Miller, Helmut Lang, Calvin Klein, Zac Posen, Diane Von Furstenburg, etc. etc. Unbelievably, I could rent one of the wonderful dresses for as little as $50.00! They also carried designer accessories (not shoes) and conveniently offered Spanx for sale (just in case...wink, wink).
There are hundreds of dresses to chose from, and the search platform allows you to narrow your search by any number of criteria, including age, body type (pear,apple, stick...(okay not a choice, but it should be!)), size, style, etc. Another interesting, and I might say, daring, option, is the opportunity to browse photos of real, every-day women, who have rented the dress you might be looking at. That same slinky number may have been worn by tall ladies, short ladies, plump ladies and ladies of varying ethnicities. On more than one occasion, this preview of what the dress would look like on any normal body (not the boyish, stick models) added valuable perspective to my dress fantasies, and caused me to keep looking.
After narrowing down my styles and honing in on my preferences, I was left with two dress choices. One, a Versace, had elements of structure that FTC had been suggesting, while the other, a flashy lace number, seemed a little more fun and sexy. An awesome feature about Rent the Runway, is that when I chose my dress, I got a second size for free, to insure proper fit, and a second dress choice for only $25 more! Throughout the search for the dress, there were stylist tips and even the opportunity to chat with one to help in sizing, selecting and even accessorizing the dress.
I had a choice between having the dress for four or eight days. I chose four. I set the date I wanted the dresses to arrive and that is the date they did! Everything came in dry-cleaner plastic, enclosed in a garment bag which was packed in a box. The dresses were clean and in great condition (they did smell perfumed and I prefer to think this was a company fragrance choice rather than one from each of the ladies who had formerly worn the smock). Included were a large, prepaid, return envelop (to be dropped in any blue UPS box on your return date), a cute little styling kit that included shaving cream and wardrobe tape (which I used) and a free tote gift bag.
Each of the dresses fit and was of great quality. With great originality, I paired my Versace dress with a little known designer of women's shoes, perhaps you have heard of him,Tarjay? (I dare say that is the first time Versace was found in the company of Tarjay!) I purchased the highest stilettos I could find (ending up literally 6'2") to complete the H.O.T look. I had ordered some cool earrings, along with a vintage looking bling bracelet from the site, both of which were awesome.
I got lots of compliments at the party (perhaps in part because I was very nearly the tallest person there, and very imposing) on the dress and accessories. I couldn't help myself but gush that the dress was rented! FTC was intrigued at such a site as he had never heard of it.
The next day, I packed everything up in my return envelope and dropped it in the local post box (which I seemed to have clogged with my oversize envelop...but alas I live in a rural area without blue boxes). Overall the experience was very simple and exceeded my expectations. So, for your next, and probably for mine, formal occasion, check out this site, and save yourself from spending money on a dress that just might end up sitting next to the bride's maids dresses in the back of your closet, never to be worn again.
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