the Meghan Kinney dress I didn't wear

Nicole of Nicole and Jess emailed me to ask for more details about why I didn't wear my Meg wedding dress:

I just realized you posted about Meg Kinney of Meg. I live outside of Toronto and bought my highschool graduating prom dress from her store. I still adore it!

I've been in contact with her about custom bridal/bridesmaid dresses. How was your experience?? What made you decide not to wear her *wedding* dress for you?

This post wasn't enough? You've got to bring back all the old guilty feelings??

Just kidding.

I love Meg. She designed most of the dresses hanging in my closet. (And her fall/winter 2008 lookbook is all about the mustache, so there's some synergy here.)

I was at Meg shopping for a MOH dress when I found the wedding dress by accident. It was an $80 sample, floor-length white strapless eyelet lined in bubblegum pink, pretty fabulous for eloping to Vegas or somewhere, which was what I thought we might do. (Our engagement was a secret to everyone but my best friend at the time.) BUT, once I started planning a semi-bohemian farm/forest wedding at my dad's house on the west coast of Canada, strapless eyelet just didn't make sense anymore.

Here is a big piece of advice for everyone: don't buy your dress until you book the venue. I don't care how on sale it is. Or how much you think you know what you want. Vegas country club doesn't work in the forest. Feathery flapper will look ridiculous in a chapel. I would love to see you wear a ball gown to city hall, though. (Vintage suit for a city hall wedding? Yawn.)

Anyhoo, I would recommend Meg without hesitation for bridesmaids' dresses, and for wedding dresses with a modern feel. Her prices range from $220-400 for custom, and you can walk in and ask them to make any dress in the store in white.

Have you met her in person? The lady rocks.

Bad bad bride

You guys, I'm trying to plan a green wedding. We did a save-the-date website instead of mailing paper. We're serving my uncle's grass-fed beef and local organic vegetables. Picking wildflowers to arrange in recycled glass bottles for the centerpieces.

But last week I officially fell out of love with my dress. It was an $80 sample I found at Meg, my favorite dress shop, and it was perfect for the spontaneous Vegas wedding I wanted to be prepared for. (Can you prepare for spontaneity? There's my first problem.) But it just didn't fit the bohemian forest wedding we're planning now.

Yesterday I bought a new dress. It's by indie designers from the east side (hooray!) and it's f*n fabulous.

I have to confess, though, I'm racked with guilt about the waste (and the money I've spent). One Meg dress, two pairs of pink shoes (that will no way in hell go with the new get-up), one pair of vintage fuchsia earrings. I've decided to donate the unworn dress here. That feels better than just plunking it on ebay. I have to decide whether to ebay the shoes. I don't wear much pink, it turns out.

(Images courtesy of John Michael Cooper)

Slammin' Custom Dresses

By Meghan Kinney of Meg.

Meghan made a kick-ass maid of honor dress for me last spring. My lady wasn't satisfied with the shades of green when we went into the store together. So Meg personally mailed new fabric swatches to each of us, and with her help we were able to make the decision from opposite coasts. In the end I got a one-of-a-kind dress I'll actually wear again (for about $225).


She has stores in NYC, LA, Toronto and Dublin. Go. (You might find something to wear on your honeymoon too...)

**Update: The LA store is sadly no longer, and I have not worn the green dress again.**