Dress quest

At 5′ 10″, I’m not unaccustomed to standing out.

I’ve been “the tall white chick” at a predominantly multi-ethnic church.  I’ve been the  “single female” on a team of married men at work.  I’ve even been one of 2 single women on the dance floor at a wedding–begrudgingly awaiting the bouquet toss.  (I was a bridesmaid; it was my duty.)

At weddings, specifically, I’ve often been the tallest bridesmaid, and it’s not uncommon for me to tower over the poor groomsman who has to escort me down the aisle.  At Betty & Kevin’s wedding, I was maid of honor, and the photographer kept asking me to “squat down a little bit” so I wouldn’t make Betty and other brides maids look short.

Come May 1, I’ll be standing even further out at a wedding:  I’ll be a bridesmaid and nearing my 8th month of pregnancy!  Is there a term for this?  I’m thinking: “bridal boat” or “bridal tank” might be appropriate!

Actually, I’m very excited; my friend Ginny is marrying a great guy right here in Colorado.  I’m honored to be a part of her wedding. She has been a friend for more than 8 years, and she stood by me at my wedding as well.  All exciting stuff, but here’s the dilemma:  I need to buy a dress.

How do you buy a formal dress for a size you haven’t yet achieved? I have to buy for the future with no past pregnancy experience, so I have no idea how big I’m going to be!  Will I look like a balloon?  Do I want to risk bare arms? Will I have cankles?

The normal thing to do, of course, is:  buy for the size you are now, work out like mad to lose 5-10 lbs, then get the dress taken in a week before the event.   That won’t work this time.

My mission (which I’ve chosen to accept) is to find a full-length, chocolate brown dress.  That’s it! Ginny gives me free reign from there on out:  straps, no straps, sleeves, no sleeves, high-waist, low-waist, (or in my case: “what waist?”).  It’s my call. But I continually hit walls.  You’d think this should be relatively easy, right?

Not a chance.  Just try googling around for formal maternity dresses.  You get ridiculously thin models with big bellies wearing these uber-cute, short, strapless dresses.  I’ve found some more reasonable long dresses in black, but not brown.  Brown dresses that are short, not long.  And the few long brown dresses I’ve found are overly ornate!  (I mean really, I’m already going to be huge; do we need to add bows, flowers, and extra layers?)

I think I’ve finally narrowed it down to two possibilities:  this one at David’s Bridal, and that one on Special Occasion Maternity.  I’ve recruited my sister to come with me next week while I try some on; I need an objective eye.

Hopefully this will all get squared away in the next couple of weeks, and I’ll be good to go.  If not. . .well. . .Hefty bags come in brown, right?