Trying on the Dresses...

Last week, I had plans to take the prospective rental dresses with me to my lesson for a try on.  But, as sometimes happens, I had to stick around the office to integrate comments from one of the other attorneys into a lengthy client document.  Doesn't sound like much fun compared to a dance class and costume try-on, but the related work project has provided me with some great experience in a subspecialty of corporate law that I haven't had the opportunity to touch since I've been at the firm.  (Repeat after me y'all: the glass is half full.)

When I got home, I swung by the front desk to pick up the package of dresses that had arrived that afternoon.  I pulled the dresses out of the box and tried them on one by one, trying to gauge how they looked and moved in front of my tiny bathroom mirror.  The sparkle was incredible!  I wonder what percentage of Swarovski crystals sold each year end up glued to ballroom dancing costumes... because it sure seemed like I had a whole store's worth of stones at my fingertips.  It took a few minutes to remember that the point of all this was to see how, if at all, the costumes accentuated my movement.  Which was a difficult task given that the only mirror in my apartment is over the sink in my itty bitty bathroom.  I ended up standing on my bathroom counter just so that I could see the skirt of a costume.

The dresses were beautiful and well-made.  This is how they fit:

Dress A

Dress A was the crowd favorite, getting the most votes in my informal polling.  This color is a favorite of mine and it provides a decent amount of coverage (for a latin costume) so I thought it would be a slam dunk.  But see that sleeve?  That bell sleeve covers my entire hand!  I looked as I felt: like a little girl playing dress up.  I sometimes have this problem with street clothes, but I was hoping that since this dress is a particularly small size, my stubby arms would fill out the sleeve.  No such luck!

Dress B

Remarkably unpopular amongst friends who shared their two cents, Dress B received just one vote and was dismissed by those in the know as not appropriate for my level.  So I was surprised by how much I loved it when I tried it on.  The bodysuit fit perfectly, the royal blue was beautiful, and I didn't feel self conscious as I expected.  Unfortunately, the tail of the dress reaches past my ankle and is positioned perfectly to snag on my heels when I take a jive rock step.  The last thing I need is to end up tripping all over my own dress.  So Dress B was out too.

Dress C

I was really hoping that Dress C would work.  This dress received feedback all over the map in my poll.  Some voted for it for it because they thought it was outrageous, others preferred it in earnest, and Against the Line of Dance warned that the feathers would mute my movement.  Well, Against the Line of Dance was right.  Not to mention that the feathers are really just boas that, in my opinion, have seen better days.  The dress comes in two pieces--the skirt snaps on to the bodysuit, which, in contrast to the skirt, is in excellent condition.  My other issue with this dress is that the straps are made from a very soft lycra that provides close to no support.

None of the dresses would do.  Dress A could work with alteration, but since the dress is a rental I can't do something so drastic as shortening the sleeve.  I had paid a modest fee to try on these dresses (mainly to cover shipping costs), but I don't think this was a waste of money--I learned something about which shapes work on my body, what I like, and why so many dancers end up commissioning a custom dress made to their own individual measurements.  It was starting to look like the basic black fringe dress available through my studio would be my only option.  That is, until this dress arrived for try on a few days later:

Be still my heart!  This dress fits like a glove and is just darling.  What's not perfect?  It's yellow and I'm blond.  What else?  It's not for rent, it's for sale (at more than half off because the dress maker has had trouble finding a buyer who could fit into the dress--it was tailored to a pro who wore it a couple of times).  The price is equal to what it would cost to try on and rent costumes for three competitions.  I wanted to buy it the moment I tried it on and turned around in front of the mirror, but I'm just not sure it makes sense to buy especially since I doubt I will be able to resell it in the future (given that the dressmaker has had so much trouble finding a buyer).  Honestly, if the dress was blue or red I probably wouldn't be able to resist.  What to do, what to do?

Can I afford it?  Yes.  Should I buy it?  Well... I keep thinking about how many lessons I could buy for the cost of this dress and at the end of the day learning and becoming a better dancer is what matters the most to me.