Hey everyone, sorry it's been an abominably long time since I posted. This semester is proving to be a challenge. Classes, the bridal salon, the boyfriend, and all of life's other commitments have kept me from posting. But, here we are, reunited at last.
So, the subject for today---petticoats.
Now, I know what you're all thinking, what can there possibly be said about petticoats other than that they large, cumbersome, and itchy?
You would indeed be surprised.
The proper petticoat can make or break a dress, the absence of a petticoat can make or break a dress, petticoats cannot be ignored!!!! And I have to tell you, most women do not fully appreciate this. The one notable exception are the Quincinera parties.
*A Quincinera is a Spanish/Latin tradition that is the equivalent of a sweet sixteen, but instead celebrates a girl's fifteenth birthday.
And this is like a REALLY BIG DEAL. The Quincinera celebration signifies that the girl, now a young woman, is being released into society and is eligible for courtship and marriage. Traditionally she has 14 "bridesmaids" who are accompanied by 14 male attendants all dressed in the chosen colors for the day. The Quincinera herself, in my experience, wears a white dress or a vibrantly colored dress depending on the family's taste and it has to be HUGE.
I have had the full spectrum of Quincinera girls whether the budget be small or unlimited, the dress be white or pink I have seen it all. My most recent experience was on a night that I was scheduled to close. Five minutes before the doors closed on my eight hour work shift an enormous group of people all chattering in fluent Spanish came bustling into the store and began rifling through my freshly straightened racks. After much confused conversation that was mostly comprised of me making hand motions and them talking louder and louder in Spanish I was able to figure out the girl wanted a purple dress. The party was scheduled to take place three weeks later which meant she needed to buy off the rack.
So I started pulling as many size 2 purple gowns as I could find but even though the girl loved almost all of them her mother just gave a stony shake of her head and kept saying "puffier!". With one of the straight skirt dresses they asked me to put a petticoat underneath it and the result was something like a purple sausage combined with a pillow.
It was now twenty minutes past close and all I could think about was going home and having a much deserved dinner, but they would not leave!
So the mom gets up and goes wandering around in the clearance aisle while the girl's friends are all running around the store trying on dresses left and right and then tossing them on the floor of the dressing rooms. Dresses I had to clean up.
As I was putting some of the discarded items away I noticed my Quincera girl walk out in a red dress with the requisite voluminous skirt. RED! And the dress had been on sale so long that the $300 price tag was down to $40. It was met with approval all around, they refused to buy accessories and promised to come back for the biggest petticoat we had to offer at a later date.
As they were leaving the mom asked what time we closed and I told her "forty-five minutes ago". Her response was to laugh and clap her dress laden daughter on the back.
Oh retail.
So some things that are trending in weddings right now are decorative pumpkins for fall weddings that aren't even remotely Halloween-y (painted pumpkins, pumpkins covered in lace, pumpkins wrapped in ribbons, pumpkin cups and center pieces) and unique wedding photos based in pop culture. I saw a gorgeous set of Harry Potter inspired photos perfect for any and all HP nerds (like myself). But the most interesting photos I've seen are zombie pictures. Don't believe me? Check these out.
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