A very Juanita wedding dress.

I'm going to be honest; I really wasn't sure what dress shopping would yield over here. I mean, I know the French are skinny and fashionable, but they do casual chic more than formalwear. Would I be able to find a suitable dress to wear to my own wedding? I kept telling myself that it didn't have to be a traditional wedding gown, I was very open to the idea of colors and neutrals.

The quest for a dress began this morning at Galeries Lafayette, the major deptartment store in Toulouse and while this was a good idea in theory, I was quickly overwhelmed. No styles were jumping out at me, I tried on a few dresses but none were especially flattering -no lining, limited size selection, and poor color choices [teal and plum, beurk]. I look like an albino bunny rabbit in purple, in case any of you were wondering. Before I hit system overload, I made my way to the nearest exit.

I tend to have bad luck in department stores when I'm in the U.S. and do better in smaller boutiques. Less selection + more people to help clueless customers like me = a better bet. And as I left Galeries Lafayette, I saw what looked to be a cute store right across the street: Duchess. Hmmm, as my niece K used to say, "I not know this."

Of course I didn't know about this shop -I've been on self-imposed shopping restriction for almost 3 years! But in I went, and told the saleslady that I was looking for something to wear to a wedding, oooops I mean my wedding, at the end of the month. With this in mind, she easily picked three short dresses for me to try on. The first one was more of a light grey color with ruffles at the bottom and it made me look like an ostrich. The second one I tried was lacy and lovely but gapingly loose around the shoulders and too tight for my liking through the hips.

I saved my favorite for last, hoping hoping hoping that maybe, just maybe it would work. And you know what? It did! It's an off-white shift dress with a black band and bow to accent the waist with buttons in the back. Best of all, it has a matching off-white blazer that looks great with the dress and that will keep me from freezing in this February weather. Oooooh! Simple, classic, silk. Not too far off from what my mom had in mind, or at least I think that's what she was trying to convey to me over the phone.

I like that the dress/jacket combo is something I'll be able to wear again. I like that it will denote me as the bride without making me look like a fairytale princess and I like that the saleslady said it would look great with black ballet flats and pearls, two things I already own. I simply love when people tell me it's ok to wear flats. I might be marrying a Frenchman, but that doesn't mean I can walk on cobblestones in heels like all of these French women!