I Will Not Go Nekkid To My Bridal Shower

Wow, I have a bridal shower coming up this weekend (already?!) and I've kinda neglected the fact that I have nothing to wear to my own shower. Not that I don't own clothes or anything, but I've worn everything already. I need a new dress. Need. Or else I go nekkid, but I highly doubt I would be well received. New dress it is!

I jumped on my bike this afternoon and rode over to Santee Alley for some quick, cheap, and cute dress shopping. OK, except for the quick part...because last time I needed an emergency dress I found one in 30 minutes at the alley. This time it took me a couple hours. Who woulda thought finding a bridal shower dress would be so difficult? Or maybe I was just being picky? At any rate, I found what I was looking for. phew!


Oh Santee Alley, you never fail me.


I could literally spend all day browsing through the fashion and shoe stores. It's like being in a huge Forever 21! (With that said, expect Forever 21 quality clothing. It's not bad quality, but it won't last you for years to come. For a cheap bride on a budget needing a quick retail fix, it's perfect!)

I began my pursuit for the perfect little white dress. I wanted white because isn't that what the bride is supposed to wear for her bridal shower? A white dress cuz, well, she's the bride? So I searched and searched. And searched some more. But I couldn't find a dress that I liked, dangit! I started to think that if I really wanted a nice white dress, I should have gone shopping elsewhere. You can find a lot of really cute dresses at the alley, just not in white. pffft! So I said eff it, and started paying attention to all the other cute dresses that I kept eyeing. I abandoned the white dress idea and started looking for something soft and girly instead.

The funny thing is that as soon as I accepted this, I found the perfect dress immediately. I still had another block of the alley left to explore, so I decided to keep looking just in case I found something better. (Forgive the bad quality of the next two fotos. I was equipped with my blackberry, nothing else.)

This dress looked great on the mannequin, but not great on me. I really liked the red, soft pinks and yellow colors of the dress. I would maybe wear this for a beach vacation. Not my bridal shower.

This was actually a white spaghetti strap blouse paired with a floral print skirt with a black elastic waistband. I really liked it, but it didn't strike me as "party wear."

I didn't try much else on as I kept thinking about the first dress I really liked. I knew I should have just purchased it from the start!

Ruffles, girly, pink flowers...does this not scream "tea time!" to you?


The dress is very "flowy." It came with a matching waist sash, but it wasn't cutting it for me. I incorporated a thick brown belt instead to give more definition in the waist. There! Bridal shower dress for under $30: check. The alley saved the day again!

Did you wear white to your bridal shower, or did you go for color like I did?