cheap (knockoff?) dresses

how do you feel about sites like madeinchina.com?  they make extremely, EXTREMELY cheap dresses.  for example:

madeinchina.com

this thing is beautiful, obviously.  although i don't recognize the dress, the photos look professional, which makes me think they weren't done by this seller.  what are the odds they're just replicating this design, which they found elsewhere?  the chinese are REALLY good at knockoffs.

there's some line in fashion between finding inspiration and stealing.  it's not 'stealing' to make a one-strap, knotted, ruched dress with sweet buttons down the back after seeing this one.  but, is it stealing to try to make EXACTLY the same dress?  i don't mean legally.  there are some fashion laws, but they're hard to interpret and enforce.  the true question is whether it's morally ok, not legally ok.  if you don't often think about that distinction, you should!

consumers are sort of stuck in the middle of it.  we're faced with a serious choice - drop a couple grand on a dress, or spend $150 or less on one of these (and another couple hundred in alterations most likely).  a cheap one won't be as high quality, and may not last long.  but it really only needs to last one night.

what do you think?

colLAboration contest!

local brides, if you haven't been to a colLAboration event, you're missing out.  there's a ton of awesome beer, a great atmosphere and some really cool people.

i was excited to see this on broke-ass bride today: {Win This} Listen Up, L.A. Beer Lovers! Win A Ticket To ColLAboration’s “Winterfest” & FREE BEER

everyone should enter, and even if you don't win, GO TO COLLABORATION!

debt, and appreciation

have you ever seen the episode of how i met your mother in which lily reveals that she has thousands of dollars in credit card debt?  i saw it recently and it really got me thinking, about the things i'm really grateful for that aren't as obvious as 'he always knows what to say when i'm sad' and 'he always does the dishes.'

i grew up without a lot of money, but because my mom's credit was so bad, she never used credit cards (funny story: she used to make up random social security numbers to put on apartment applications and hope they just came up unassigned).  i got my first credit card when i turned 18, and i've used credit responsibly ever since (i'm 25 now).  i'm not exactly sure where i learned money management - certainly not at home.  i remember reading articles about how to save and what was good/bad for credit.  who knows why such things intensely interested me back then, but i'm certainly thankful now.

but, not everyone stayed up late reading personal finance blogs when they were teenagers (i swear i did fun stuff too).  i know SO many people that have struggled with debt already.  so i know how fortunate i am that my fiance is also debt-free.

we already combined our finances (after all, we split nearly all expenses anyway).  i remember right when we were doing so, he owed me about $60 for...something or other.  that was my only objection to combining.  'but...that $60...?'  ha.  now i don't think of cash as mine or his.  it's really helped me cut down on spending, since i think 'do WE really need this?' instead of 'do I really need this?'

diy wedding hair??

this post over at broke-ass bride left me mouth-agape.  it's possible to do your OWN hair like that?

it led me to youtube 'diy wedding hair,' and boy have i chanced upon a treasure trove.  check out this one (ignore the makeup part in the middle, which isn't my style at all):

isn't that amazing?  she goes so fast!  and makes it look so easy!  i had assumed that i'd pay someone or have a talented friend do my hair, since most days i don't even comb it (i swear i don't look like a hobo, it just kinda...goes somewhere ok).

the style in this particular video doesn't really mesh with mine.  which is part of the problem.  i checked around youtube for a while and didn't find one that really spoke to me.  my hair will be relatively short by wedding standards, about shoulder length.  which sadly means no cascading curls.

so how do i find youtube videos that could actually work for me?!

stagnation

sometimes wedding planning is just too much to add to an already long day.

progress can be slow.

how do people do it?

insane dress at snippit & ink

wowee wow wow.  can you believe the dress on this bombshell?

Temperley London: http://www.temperleylondon.com/

featured as part of a lovely wedding at  http://www.snippetandink.com/photo-features/real-weddings/diy-portland-garden-wedding/.

i love how i feel like i know something about her personality just from seeing it.  that's definitely what i want others think when they see my dress.

why do i have so many dress posts when there are so many other things to do?!

which 'dress style' fits you?

i saw this over at martha stewart weddings: wedding dresses by style

the linked one is 'glamorous.'  i think that is closest to the style i'm seeking.  classic is good too.  i mostly love the buttons going all the way down, SO GOOD.

what's yours?