Ten years later...

and I finally got around to properly storing my dress this weekend! When I got married ten years ago, my mom, as many other mother-of-the-brides do, didn't even blink when my dream dress was three times what I had originally planned on spending and generously opened her checkbook. I fell in love with the silk dupioni skirt that had the most beautiful natural shimmer in the sunlight, and the heavy guipure lace on the bodice just felt so thick and strong (I'm a person that often selects clothing for how the fabric feels--it's a little strange probably!). The style seemed timeless and elegant, and just a little different (a flattering front bodice with a modest neckline, but a fun and dramatically low back).

After the wedding, I took my dress to an archival cleaner, but couldn't stand the thought of putting my dress in one of those horrible boxes printed with magenta swirls and forest green leaves and the words "My Wedding Gown" above the little flap you lift to see your dress through a little plastic window. I think of them as dress coffins; after embalming, your dress is laid in it's final resting place of this awful little box. Me? I wanted to be able to put mine on once in a while, to feel that lace, to swish the silk skirt around a little...

So, it hung for ten years in a plastic garment bag. It haunted me sometimes when I couldn't sleep at night; I knew it was in the closet turning yellow at that very moment. It bothered me whenever I went to a wedding; as I watched the bride in her beautiful creation, I knew the threads in mine were weakening from the plastic bag. But every time I tried to find a storage solution, I found plain acid free boxes for $200, custom monogramed embroidered muslin bags for $300, or I ran back into the dress cofffin.

But dress salvation has arrived! A few weeks ago, while wandering around The Container Store, I saw their soft blue acid free boxes, and knew my problem was solved. The boxes come in several sizes, are very affordable ($30-$45), come with acid-free tissue for packing, and can be opened up whenever you want to try the old frock on. And the boxes are exactly what I had in mind...plain, simple, yet as timeless as I like to think my dress is.

Ten years later...and my wedding dress is still my favorite piece of clothing I own. I'm confident I'll never feel as beautiful as I did that day. And yes, the skirt of my dress has yellowed a little. But...ten years, a lot of afternoons in my kitchen baking, a love for great restaurants, and two babies later, it still zips up perfectly!