Shopping, shopping, shopping

I was out shopping today. Sadly, I didn't find any shoes, but I did remember that I'm going to Ann Arbor - in the US - next weekend. My past experience has been that the shoe stores in the US are more plentiful and carry a better selection than many of the stores here in Waterloo.

I won't have too much time to shop while I'm there so I figured that I'd better develop a shopping plan. I did some sleuthing and discovered two big shopping centers right in Ann Arbor: Briarwood and Arborland. Between the two centers there are about a gazillion places that sell shoes; one of them must have something that will work for me. If not, there are some places that I could go to on my way home.

I'm coming to accept that my wish for sequinned shoes may not be granted and I'm ok with that. I have a wish for arch support in flat shoes and I think that might even be possible, if I'm willing to pay for it. I have some shoes with arch support and they're just so much more comfortable to wear around than flat shoes without it. I'd like to buy a pair of shoes that I'll wear for a long time and so I'm willing to paying extra for something that is more comfortable. It's a good investment, as long as I can find the right shoes. Paying a lot for shoes that won't last would be silly.

Fortunately, I didn't come home empty-handed today: I bought myself a new strapless bra. The one I had before doesn't fit anymore because I've gained weight and I can't go without. And even though I'm planning on making a foundation layer for my dress, I wasn't planning on adding bra cups to it. Bones, I can sew in; bra cups, I'm not willing to fuss with yet.

Yesterday I made up the first draft of the dress. It turns out that I graded the back too big (duh.... I did a full-bust adjustment to the front and didn't need to add that much to the back), which is easy to fix. I also need to add more fabric to the little cap sleeve under the bow; I want to change the underarm on the non-shoulder side to have them meet at right angles instead of a "v"; and I want to drop and slightly re-shape the front. These changes aren't huge.

I tell you, when I put the sample on for the first time - even though it didn't fit and needed some alterations - I felt soooo pretty and feminine. I've never worn anything like it before, and I just felt so good in it. I didn't realize that the dress has a little cap sleeve on the one side, and this perfectly balances the exposed shoulder. The dress is definitely slimming, too. I can't wait to see this dress made up in final fabric.

Speaking of fabric, tomorrow is fabric shopping day. Yaaaay! I've decided not to go shopping in Toronto, though. As Ian pointed out, it would be busy on that street and I can't walk the length of it like I used to. So we've decided to go to Hamilton instead. There's a street there that has about three better-quality fabric retailers in a block or two, and that's where we're headed. I've decided to make the dress in black because it's a classic colour and I don't have to worry about matching fabric colours. Wish me luck tomorrow :)