Chinese Wedding Dress - Cheongsam

Today mom and I went by Madam Designs to pick up my chinese wedding dress, the Cheongsam!
I LOVE IT!!! so let's just get to the pics eh?

please ignore the surprised double chin look i was sporting, mom caught me unawares with the camera... yea... thats the story and im sticking to it.

back view, my butt actually looks pretty decent here! i normally have no arse, so this is a good thing

side view - here you can get a good looksie at how high the slits are...wow haha, i felt quite sexxay when i noticed the height it got, it also elongates the legs so pluses all around for the cheongsam...it also has a slimming effect apparently, so lets hope it's true!

you can't really tell from the photos but the dragon and phoenix motifs are all over the red silk...it's looks more like an embossing or imprinting on the dress when you look closely, i think its way cool! also there is gold piping along all the seams and edges on the dress to polish the look off...

now that we see what i look like, lets see what momma tse's gonna be sporting on the big day!

bright blue! i love the color on mom...she's also got a pretty good figure so everyone says, hers is lace instead of silk and a slightly more updated version of the cheongsam..

i also found out today that popo (maternal grandma) and auntie P, my mom's older sister will also sport Cheongsams for the wedding...i think its a great way for us to pay homage to our chinese heritage at our American wedding :)

flowers and bridesmaids update

i seriously wished i some awesome stuff to report, or proclaim i checked off a million things on my ever growing wedding list...but alas, i do not haha...not only are we still florist-less, i think i discovered even MORE things i'm supposed to get done...like say oh i don't know, secure an officiant? it's not too late to find one now right?

after much pondering, i've decided against the green flowers for my bridesmaids, the reasoning behind this is 2 fold, 1) chris hates green flowers, he thinks they look unnatural (he's weird yes i know) and 2) i think it will save me stress and headache on deciding what flowers they will include if i just simple said to the florist, what my bouquet looks like, cept the smaller sister version...this works for me everyone will match and everyone is happy with the choices...the centerpieces are a whole other animal...that has also evolved from the tree to something more low key like this:

my how has wedding planning evolved eh?

but i can very happily say that all my girls have been measured and the dresses are due for delivery in early october, which means there should be plenty of buffer time for alterations for the big day.

my second dress , the qipao

as a chinese american bride, i'm confronted with the whole two and maybe three dress bride scenario, as it is customary for the bride to have multiple wardrobe changes throughout the reception...i'm not 100% sure why we do this, but my money is on the whole flaunting what wealth you have thing... in some traditions, the amount of gold jewelery will be announced and displayed as well (i'll get into this other animal another day)...but what does this mean for me? we'll as the self proclaimed fashionable one, i'm totally embracing this multiple dress thing... first thing first, the traditional chinese bridal attire, the qipao or in my broken cantonese the "kay po"...exhibit A if you will...

(image via chinabridal.com)

mandarin collar, fitted column bodice, slits on both sides and frog button at the throat and along one side of the bust...she's a beauty ladies...since the dress is normally ultra fitted, my mom and i have decided to go with the custom made route, so we headed to madam designs on mott street to check out the oldest qipao maker in chinatown...classically speaking the red dress will have a dragon and phoenix motif going on...usually one of each mythical animal claiming the front of the dress like the photo above.. very intricate not to mention a whole lotta man hours to make that sucker...but honestly it wasn't very ME exactly so i decided to go with something a bit more subtle...

the dragon and phoenixes are woven within the fabric to get this shadowy effect throughout which i LOVE...C thought it would sharper if the motifs were done in silver or gold thread, but tough noogies hun, i love this one too much to compromise...i don't have a photo of my in this guy because well, lets face it, i'm not a size 0 and couldn't really fit into the store samples to get a good idea of what it would look like on me.. so i'm totally buying this dress sight unseen, and totally at the mercy of my own imagination...gold piping, red fabric with gold and red froggie buttons...yea, it's gonna be smashing!....or so i hope... how much did she cost me? a whopping $400 bucks...not too bad considering the whole thing is custom made, hand detailed and 100% silk and will fit me like a glove!

while we are on subject... momma tse decided to try on a kay po too as she was considering on having one made for her... yes chinese mothers often times change wardrobes too...we're all a slave to fashion what can i say? even if its hundreds of years old fashion. ha!

look its mom in a very sexy lacy number...it honest to god looked great on her... (please ignore her white socks and heels embarassment, it's a one off i promise...) not surprisingly mom was sold, and picked out a very nice lacy kay po style mandarin collar with a key hole in the front... in this fabric
mom's gonna look fabulous!

what sorts of cultural traditions will you be embracing on your big day?

Sexy Bridesmaids

after chris and i decided that the gifts to our bridal attendants would be their day of attire...i gave up on the dream of having each girl pick their own style, as this would've been too complicated especially since they live all over the place...with that in mind, i knew i had to find a dress that was flattering to all. if you read my previous dress posts, you will know that the original dress i had in mind was GOD AWFUL and the color was even GOD AWFUL-ER, so we set out with a new dress and color in mind, the bari jay 505 dress in sapphire...bridesmaid M tried it on in color moss and it looked SMASHING! so no doubt in my head that the sapphire would look even AWESOMER!
check it out...

sexy aint she? - side view

front view

back view

my goal was to find something flattering and sassy and preferably in a mermaid shape... i think i accomplished that, what do you think? i can't wait till Nov!!

even better was, i was able to negotiate the dress down to something within my budget even though the price tag was above it, go to here comes the bridesmaid and tell em i sent you, eva has been a doll to work with thus far...although i think the price on the website might be even better if you don't need to work with anyone :)

my first sorta fitting

hi peeps

the benefit of having my dress at home already (uhhh months and months before the wedding date) is that i can test out my look ANYTIME i need to... so i did so after my trial... 0:)
so while i had the dress on my mom decided maybe its a good idea to start the fitting process so i don't need to don the dress more than i need to so i dont risk dirty-ing it, accidentally ripping it or doing some other form of un-repair-able damage to it

sooooooooo, as you all may or may not know, my mom is a very talented seamstress (ala my engagement dress) so of course when it comes to my dress, who better to do my alterations than a woman that has done alterations for celebrities like britney spears, juliana marguiles or cynthia nixon? MOMMA TSE to the rescue! lets begin shall we...

chris go away
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a little on the bottom

a little on top

so what do ya'll think? not much needs to be done, so now i just have to make sure my weight doesn't fluxuate too much before the big day :)

eeeeeee, i can't wait!

note to self: gotta start thinking about the veil situation...

THE perfect dress period - Amsale Flagship Salon

Alright, so we all know every bride out there has a budget, for me, a designer wedding dress wasn't really at all that possible considering i didn't want to spend more than a thousand bucks on a dress. i plan on wearing three dresses on my wedding day, so to spend more than a grand on a dress i will not wear for more than 3-4 hours regardless of amount of pictures i will be photographed in it or how i will treasure this item for the rest of my life yada yada... i just couldn't justify it...UNLESS and i quote this "can't eat or sleep thinking about that dress, i will not spend more than a grand on it" i said this to my mother on this morning i'm heading to Amsale.

Now living in NY has its perks...many of the BIG designers out there hold their sample / stock sales here before the holiday season and once more during the spring/summer months...on this day i scheduled an appointment to the Amsale sample sale. Frankly i was not expecting to find my dream dress here, i figured even at deep discounts i wouldn't be able to afford a couture wedding dress...Amsale retails for 3500-12000 for her dresses, so you can imagine how cheap a sample sale can really get...NOT THAT MUCH is what i'm thinking. but i decided to go anyway just to get the experience of trying on those beautiful couture confections...

i check in with my consultant Rosemary, pretty young girl, looks to be about my age, instructs me to select three dresses, and she will handle it from there. she also asks me what i'm looking for and what i would like...and she was off...i selected my three and proceed to the fitting rooms...Boy, talk about designer bridal salons, it even has a different feel! the dressing room was huge, airy and comfy, in creams and leather couches, giant mirror for me to check my beautiful self out in and plenty of comfy space for mom and bridesmaid Lil.

Chris you should go away if you're reading...

first dress i don was the Ibiza dress:

(source: amsale.com)

mom hated it, and kept saying this sample was so dirty, unflattering, every bad thing you can imagine she said it haha, and i had to agree, it was super cute on the model and hanger, but on me it was a disaster, i was a train wreck in a pile of taffeta...

next i tried on this one but strapless version (try to imagine it, i don't know the name so i can't look it up now, but this is a good reference)

(Source: amsale.com)

it was a size too small, did not fit, NEXT!

Rosemary shows me the Amsale Sofia that she picked out for me, talk about coinky dink...if you will remember in my RK post, i mentioned that it was not comfortable for me to walk in... so you can imagine the disappointment..it was like teasing me with chocolate when i'm on a year long chocolate fast...but i put it on anyway to show my mom what it would've looked like...BUT, something very miraculous happened...the Angels in my head sang and the fireworks exploded...i've reached dress shopping nirvana...for whatever reason this dress not only FIT, it moved, breathed, LOOKED fantastic...Lil loved it, my mom was speechless (very good sign), Rosemary is grinning from ear to ear and asks me if i would like to see myself in the mirror outside to get a better look, i nod and go...

Outside in the salon, i'm on this pedestal and i can't believe how amazing i look in this dress, it was perfect in every way... i love it...i ask rosemary if she can lend me a veil to see how i would look in it, she combs the cathedral veil into my hair, i look at the mirror and i got butterflies in my stomach and i kid you not i was going to cry like a baby! i ask Lil "do you think chris will go WOW when he sees me in this?" and she looks me in the eye and says "yes i think he will" everyone else that walks by comments on how perfect the dress is, it was made to be mine!!!

so i know you're all at the edge of your seats wondering how much this baby will cost me...i was a little scared to look at the tag, because well i fell in love with the dress before i looked at the tag...it was $1400...firstly my eyes popped out of my sockets... i couldn't believe it...it was $500 LESS than the Marisa look a like, felt better, fit better, moved better, it was perfection! without hesitation i told Rosemary to wrap it up for me and handed my credit card over...

My Amsale Sofia dress was in pristine condition...it might have been a dress that was made and cancelled so Amsale is forced to sell it at a sample sale...but whatever it was...it was now mine, a brand new designer dress at a fraction of the cost came home with me that very day. i gave rosemary a hug, she handed sofia over to me and i left the salon happiest girl on the planet at that moment.

Christopher, this is your last chance, if you go any further you will regret this for the rest of your life
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yea yea i know its bad lighting but this is the best i can do for now :-P

funny side-story: my other MOH rachel was supposed to meet me at Amsale, but she was running late...i was only in the salon for 30 minutes tops so she missed the whole thing...but the kicker was, i was so excited to get my dress, i forgot to wait for her after the purchase and hopped on a train to go home TOTALLY ditching her! my mom was like "what are you doing jenny?! you ditched rachel!!" wow i felt bad, but luckily rach loves me and understands the gravity of the happy situation and just hops on the next train to brooklyn to see Sofia on me in the flesh, the photo above was snapped by her... i love you roomiekins!

My Macys Experience

Although i did not end up purchasing my dress here, nor did i take any photos, i thought it deserved a mention because i loved my experience. My assigned consultant was Carlene, she was a sweetheart, she made my dress experience what it should have been...she was attentive, made suggestions, listened to what i wanted and overall a very very nice girl...the salon wasn't busy busy, but i was late to my appointment because RK ran longer than i imagined it to have, but she fit me in somehow anyway and did NOT rush me at all!

i tried on a few dresses but none really called out to me... i wanted a very simple dress, no embellishments, no beading embroidery, nada! and apparently Macys is NOT this kinda bridal salon lol... MOH Gracie and Bigger were comfortable and they even have this cute little runway thingie for you to model and such, just fab!

And there was this other woman that worked there, she was on the older side, but she was the bestest (her name escapes me now) but she was sooo helpful, she confirmed that the mermaid/fitted dresses worked the best on me, it showed off the boobs, the butt, the hips, waist everything to a T and she was funny as hell! we had a brief conversation about how women don't dress anymore and she was a very good sport about everything...love love loved my experience here... RK was a bit like a factory bridal store compared to the level of service i got at macys.

thank you macys for making my dress shopping experience awesome, i heart you!

It's Almost Perfect - RK Bridal

Let's continue with the dress hunting saga shall we?
After finally figuring out that i was NOT going to wear the free gift dress, i started to make appointments at all the dress meccas out there, RK, Kleinfelds, Designer's Loft, Amsale and Bridal Garden...

for reference, you should know that i was looking for a mermaid style dress, being a petite curvy sorta girl, this style worked the best, something that loved my curves as much as i did...my dream dress looked like this:

(source: jimhjelm.com)
Jim Hjelm 8715

it's the dream dress, i can't afford it (i decided i was NOT going to spend more than 1K on a dress unless i couldn't eat sleep or breathe without having it) but i love love love it...i also of course have several other dream dresses by Monique Lhuillier, Vera Wang and Amsale...but thats every bride out there, it's dress envy!

First stop was RK on 39th street between 8th and 9th avenues. This place is HUGE let me tell you, just GINORMOUS...i walked in and was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer number of the amount of dresses this place held...so i sheepishly walk over to the counter and ask the lady where i go as i was a walk in and had to register (you can not make an appointment for your first visit, walk in only and must be signed in BEFORE 5:30pm, i got there around 4:30), she directed me over towards the back leftish side of the store and i was informed (by another patron who was waiting to be helped) to scribble my name down on a yellow notepad (in the back by the dressing rooms) and select five dresses from the racks.

After i sign in, i had no idea what to do next, i know i was told to pull 5 dresses, but which 5?!?!? there are a billion dresses in this place and where to start? there was no rhyme or reason to the layout of where the dresses are, so i walked around a few times, got frustrated (i have A.D.H.D i tell you) and just went over to the catalogues and just started writing down numbers of the dresses i liked...when it was my turn (about 45 minutes later) i give the paper to the lady and she looks at me and goes, oh those dresses in the catalogues are the ones we DON'T have the physical samples of in the store, but we can order...ok now is the time to start panicking...

Christopher, you need to NOT go further if you EVER happen to read this blog

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i'm serious christopher!
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in this case, i just pointed to the two dresses i saw on the dummies in front...the first one i pulled on was a marisa dress, that looked suspiciously similar to the Amsale Sofia dress...

(source: amsale.com)
(Amsale Sofia, because i couldn't find the Marisa version)

it honest to god looked GREAT! Almost perfect really, the thought was confirmed when Janice (my consultant) plopped a cathedral length veil on my head and it took my breath away, my Bigger loved it too, it was light, the material was pretty good, the shape was definitely IT, and i can bet you it will have cost A LOT less than the Amsale version (something like $4200 i believe) the downside i had to begrudgingly admit it was difficult to move around in and then the kicker was it had price tag of $1900.00, it was almost perfect, but it wasn't perfect enough for me to spend that money, if i'm spending more than a grand on a dress, it better be perfect in every single way... NEXT!

Next up was a lacy Marisa number, mermaid style, and again looked terrific! as a matter of fact it looked so good it made the girl next to me want to try it on! it was $2950...can we say WOW?! i'm not rolling in the dough, as beautiful it is... i thought it looked way too similar to my engagement dress, except long mermaid version... so i mentally passed on it, even though MOH Gracie loved it...sorry no example of photo here, we're not allowed to take pictures in stores, poopie!

then i tried on the la sposa faro dress, this dress was REALLY good, so good i almost bought it, here she is, imagine it without the bolero...

(source: brides.com)
(La Sposa Faro)

Faro will have cost me $1540, not ghastly expensive, but it was not a cheap dress either...i had much to think about with this one... it had a great shape, great fit, and it was trendy, i felt like a sophisticated NY bride in it! it was a dupioni silk dress perfect for my november wedding...this was my number 1

and then just for kicks i've seen this watters dress that i've always liked

(source: modernbridalshop.com)

(Watters 9032B)

i loved the back of the dress, well namely the top back part of it haha, the rest was really too poofy for me, it was really CUTE! Bigger thought "jenny you look like a really cute CAKE!" ok so perfect dress it was not, but it really was the cutest dress ever haha, i felt like a southern belle bride in this one, i forgot how much this one cost, but it was definitely not it...sorry cakey dress! i love you but i know you're the perfect dress for some other lucky bride out there.

Next up, Demetrios by Macys

The Dress that Wasn't

Originally, i was going to have my mommy make my wedding dress and she even agreed to it for a little while, i mean c'mon look at the masterpiece she made for me for the engagement party in the previous post! But she ultimately decided, that she didn't want to attempt my wedding dress because she's worried she'll screw up and that she won't be able to find all the materials that we'd need for the perfect dress that would've been constructed...

SOOOO, we head off to her friend T's bridal company. T's bridal company was going to close it's doors after thanksgiving so my mom thought we should check out the place before it is no longer there. This was in the mythical bridal building, it really does exist!!, 39th and 7th avenue ny city ;)

i try on a few with lukewarm feelings and nothing really stood out to me.. i wanted something very classic, modified A line/mermaid, no beading, no embroidery something ultimately very simple (at least in my head). and then i tried on this


you can see that the hips have been taken in to give it a slight mermaid shape which i liked, but i really only LIKED it, i did NOT love it by any stretch of the imagination...but moms friend T called her 2 days later and offered the dress to me as a wedding gift!! WOW! it was really hard for me to decide as , seriously, how can you turn down a free wedding dress?!?!?!

but my gut told me this was NOT it and that i shouldn't settle, so the search for dress perfection continues...