Wedding Planning Update #13A - Accessories Shopping Part I
I made it my goal today to go to a few bridal shops and look for accessories - jewelry, tiaras, undergarments/lingerie, and shoes - since I will need some of these things for fittings. I was diasppointed at the lack of these items - or lack of selection - at the bridal shops in my area. As far as jewelry is concerned, I have a necklace my mother bought me as an early birthday present, and I pretty much have the tiara I would like picked out.
And as far as undergarments, lingerie AND shoes - contrary to my previous beliefs, there are relatively FEW styles/companies out there - and even less that bridal shops actually have in stock! Only ONE place I went actually had lingerie - the other five places we stopped at either had absolutely NOTHING - or a selection of 2 different bra styles. One with boning, and the other without boning. Right…I can find BOTH of those online PLUS…but the one shop that actually had stuff did not have the particular item I was looking for that I saw a couple months ago. So I searched online looking for “bridal lingerie,” but again, I was pretty limited in what I found - those two damn bras and the thong with attached veil (do the search, you’ll find it in about 2 seconds). After about five hours of looking online I actually came across the item I’d seen a couple months ago! I’m delighted, because it is something that’s a bit different than anything else out there, simple, yet functional. I didn’t actually think I would find it - but now I’ll have it in time for my fittings!
Apparently bridal shops around here really only have dress samples in stock - who knew? Obviously I wasn’t really looking, or needing to look at accessories when I first went gown shopping. Anyway - Back to shoes…the ONLY place I actually found a couple styles I liked was at David’s Bridal. The other places had these very couture-y shoes - and all VERY expensive. The shoes pictured are a pair that I “settled” on - and bought. I didn’t realize how inexpensive they were until I got to the counter, but that made the decision about buying them even easier. And now I have a pair of shoes for something in the future, be it my own wedding or some other formal affair (like the CRS awards banquet in January!). During my online searches I did also look at shoes (and jewelry and tiaras, but I think I’m all set like I said before), and I found the five companies that bridal shops have: Dyeables, Touch Ups, Saugus/Special Occasions, Coloriffics, and Michaelangelo (David’s Bridal).
Since I’m trying to find something in a platform (due to the vast difference in Kris and my height), there’s really not a lot of options out there. Right now I’m fond of these few styles (having narrowed it down already based on duplicity between companies, heel thickness and height somewhat): Dyeables “Paradise,” Touch Ups “Tanya,” *Touch Ups “Paige,” Saugus “Cassidy,” Coloriffics “Alison,” *Coloriffics “Mackenzie,” and Michaelangelo/David’s Bridal “Britany.”
*Denotes my 2 favorite styles. As you can see, I really prefer the styles that don’t look like “everything else.” However, I haven’t eliminated the others because I’m still wrestling with height versus style - so please leave me a comment with your opinion! Shoes are really the last thing I absolutely have to figure out - order - and get before my fittings, so I would appreciate the help. 
For those of you that will look at ALL the shoes - yes, I WAS tempted to get the “Christine” ones based on name alone. 
EDIT: (Added 11/29/06) I found a GREAT website that has *most* of these dyeable shoes/styles at the best prices (I checked a bunch of other sites) AND has FREE SHIPPING. Dyeable Shoes On The Net
