Stalking the Prey........

Who knew how hard it would be locate one little wedding gown?   Ooops. I forgot. Cut me some slack, it's been 21 years. Like many other highly competitive markets,  bridal salons seldom make it easy by stocking the same items or designers so consumers can easily compare.   In fact, they are quite sneaky about it.

So after trying several, OK, 637,469 dresses the other day, I did find one I wanted to try on again.  Without driving to the entire other side of Chicago.   Thus ensued part one: stalking the dress on the internet.   Not every shop carries every designer. In fact, several designers are offered at only a very few salons. You know, the ones really far away from me.  (Yes, Oakbrook IS another country, OK??)   And not every salon who stocks a specific designer has the same dresses, or the same sizes.   So it was looking like this dress existed only in ONE bridal salon in the entire Chicagoland area.   And it was not nearby.

Part two: hunting it down.

But I am a persistent girl.  So one day when I had a few extra minutes after eating my lunch of rabbit food very delicious and filling salad, I google-mapped a promising bridal salon.  BINGO:  Lily's Bridal and Gifts.  They had my the dress.   And a couple of others by Maggie Sottero I wanted to try.  Bridal nirvana - the ability to comparassion shop!  I hit the mother lode.   Thank you google maps.

Except the sample was obviously sized for a concentration camp survivor.  It fit quite well.  On my left thigh.  But happily, the other samples were in sizes that actually fit me.   And the sales girl was neither a bubble gum snapping anorexic, nor an overmade-up 79 year old sporting a heavy Brooklyn accent.    She was actually.......breathe.......helpful.    The shop was organized. And she even called the manufacturer to order a swatch of the color we could not identify and get me a "drop-dead date"*

So what happened?
Nmm, mmm.   You'll just have to wait on that one.

But I can tell you this, it's not THIS one:

* Drop-Dead date: last day the sress can be ordered to arrive in time for to be altered and ready for the wedding.