From Tears to CHEERS!

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

“I sunk into a depression only Hamlet would recognize.” –Lola, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen 

​In order not to be a hypocrite, I feel morally responsible to detail all of my wardrobe tantrums, before I untangle a story about our next bride. I really thought I was saving this lengthy chronicle for a therapist but, here we go…

1992- Upon my demand for a new outfit THAT same day, my mother spent all afternoon sewing me a new dress. When it was finished, she gave it to me to wear. I refused. Mom cried in the closet for an hour. — Yes, you did the math right. I was a mere TWO YEARS OLD.

1995- My mom bought me my first pair of pants so I could play at recess. I proceeded to assume she was attempting to make me a boy and subdue my constant dress demands. I cried all the way to school.

1997- My mother got my brother and I dressed for school. It was his first day in Kindergarten. Upon the realization that his outfit didn’t match mine (for literally the first time EVER), I cried incessantly. — I’m sure she was SOOOOO sad to see me go off to school…

“Um Hi?! Who are you and why are you stealing all of MY attention???”

Outfit Coordination Debut, Circa: 1993

1998- My mom got tired of sewing ALL of my outfits so she bought me a new wardrobe from GAP kids. My whole class teased me about wearing ONLY GAP and I received the nickname “GAP Girl.” I had mild depression about not being able to wear tacky sparkle tops from Limited Too.

1999- MAJOR milestone: I convinced my dad to take me shoe shopping. He bought me my first pair of NON stark white leather Keds aka Nikes. Stepped in mud that day. CRIED. — Only beneficial takeaway, my dad continued to do my sneaker shopping from this point forward, including now! Thanks for my Christmas Nike’s Dad!!!

2001- Doc Martins became cool. My mom FORCED me to wear them every day. She specifically loved when I wore them with this denim dress she bought, deeming it my “Ralph Lauren Look.” I protested daily, for a year. I am now apologizing for this…. Doc Martin’s have a positive lifetime effect on your calf muscles.

2002- Dallas got its first Abercrombie Kids store. At age 12, I was already 5’8” and nothing in the ENTIRE store fit because I was an “adult” size. (I refuse to acknowledge, pudgy middle schooler, adult sounds better) I debated anorexia for a week, but I decided against it because I couldn’t give up cake, and ice cream… AND CHERRY PIE!!!

2003- Avril Lavigne made skater clothes cool. The meltdown for this came about 3 years after the fact when I realized how ridiculous I looked.

2006- I discovered the clothing GODS aka Anthropologie. Anyone who knows me, knows this store is my Achilles heel. I started worshipping the store…. Mom cried over her bank statement for a week.

2008- Prom Drama. Go back a blog to “A Wish Your Heart Makes” for this explanation.

2009-Present- Everything after High School is still too soon. I will not own up to these travesties just yet— maybe when I turn 30.

I now feel that I have washed my slate clean.

Tears… 

“I wish you could step back from the Ledge my Friend…” –Third Eye Blind

Now I have preached this since day one, but very frequently making a dress YOUR dress requires some customizing. People don’t fit into boxes and no matter how pretty the dress is, sometimes it just needs a little something to make it right! This was the case with our bride, Megan.

Megan had purchased a gorgeous Watters Bridal gown (Style: Claire). She also had bought a belt to accessorize it with (James Clifford Style: 11311). When Megan came in for her first alterations appointment, something still just wasn’t quite right. So, we decided to order some lace and build a custom bodice that was much more “Megan!”

 Watters Bridal Style: Claire

(Original Gown, picture from Designer website: www.waters.com)

Gown and Belt all purchased from Stardust Celebrations. www.StardustCelebrations.com

Customizing is sometimes a very tough process and trying to match visions can be hard. This truth is, I unfortunately am not Mel Gibson and I do NOT know what women want… Hell, WE (women) don’t know what WE want! (All men everywhere, you are welcome for this statement.) As I have dictated earlier, even I have a very hard time visualizing exactly what I am wanting out of a garment.

So, when Megan came in for her second fitting, we made a “mock up” of the bodice. I’m not going to get into the details (mostly because Megan works for the Rangers and Mama really needs suite tickets… hahaha KIDDING, I just really like Megan and we have become friends since), but long story short, there were tears and laughs and a decision to start over with a new game plan. We had a re-do of Megan’s second fitting, where we still weren’t exactly where we wanted to be but, mutually had come to a final decision for the look of the gown.

Megan’s final fitting was flawless! There were tears and I almost panicked before realizing they were tears of JOY! It was 100% more amazing than we all hoped for it to be. The NEW bodice fit Megan like a glove, and it gave the dress that little extra PIZZAZZ!

Take a look for yourself!

I am such a sucker for a FABULOUS veil pic!!

Photo Credit: Ross & Kandice Photography

www.rkphotograph.com

To…CHEERS!      

 “I’ll meet you at the altar” “I’ll be the one in white!” Stephanie Meyer, Breaking Dawn                

We continued working with other brides through the holidays and I always wondered how that big day went! Well, like most things, including the completion of this blog (EEK!), I procrastinated and forgot to get back in touch with Megan after the big day.

Then one day while out celebrating St. Patrick’s on lower Greenville, fate intervened. I ended up at a house party of a friend of a friend’s, brother’s, girlfriend’s house… ok, possible exaggeration. Anyway, as I walked up, who do I see?! None other than Megan! We celebrated her new marriage, I met her now HUBBY, and I got to see pictures of the final product on the big day! It was nice to be able to see a client outside of the store. (It’s much more fun than being a teacher out grocery shopping and having a student catch you buying beer… That may or may not be a true story of a friend.) I was thrilled to get to spend time with Megan and see how pleased she was with her gown! And now I am beyond thrilled to be able to share it with you!

I love this picture, because you can see all of the FABULOUS new detailing of the custom built lace illusion. We extended the buttons throughout the custom lace illusion and through the zipper of the original bodice, to give it a fluid transition. 

Megan was absolutely breathtaking at her October 2014 nuptials!!! The gown was perfect, the day was perfect, EVERYTHING was PERFECT!

So, Dear Megan & Keith….

CHEERS!

To Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever After!

Adios,

Niña Esclava

#ConfessionsofNiñaEsclava