Running in Converse: A Nice Day for a White Wedding

Wedding season is upon us. All the smiles, flashbulbs and singles tables could not keep me away. It is a joyous celebration that for most people only happens once.

My favorite part of weddings is not seeing the groom’s face as his future wife walks down the aisle (although that melts me) or the kind of cake that is served (I love cake). No it is the outfits donned by the audience in attendance.

There are books and articles on wedding decorum. Countless advice columns on what and what not to wear depending on the season, time of day, location and phase of the Zodiac the wedding takes place in. Rules and regulations bore me. All I can hope for is that guests wear clothes that not only fit them but cover up their body art as well.

Recently I attended a wedding and I feel the need to share my experience. As I sat in the pew waiting for the rest of the guests to gather, a woman strolled in wearing a giant disco ball fashioned out of all the colors of the rainbow. What was she doing wearing this?! Where did, respect for the bride go? No one would be shining more than her kaleidoscope dress! I sweated as I clutched my Bible harder. It was shocking that she had the nerve to wear this dress in God’s house. *Gasp* Like Janice Dickinson’s original body parts, her decorum had gone to the wayside. I needed to find out more.

At closer inspection, I noticed the gown was a vintage Adrienne Vittadini, comprised entirely of sequins, and had a plunging “v” back that was not “church appropriate.” I would call this a Balmain “representation” but even the edgy French Label couldn’t come up with such shoulder pads. The sequins resembled geometric shapes and this pure product of the 80’s garnered cautious glances, whispers, a few dirty looks and many smiles to the faces of all who admired.

Was the Vittadini wedding appropriate? Maybe. Maybe not. The mere colors and sparkle of the dress encompassed the full celebration that is a wedding.

The kicker… the girl in the sequin gown was me! As I noted earlier, I do not like rules and regulations and or dress codes. I realized wearing the sequin Vittadini was a risk and it was a risk worth taking. I was concerned about how the bride might have felt until the announcement of the bride and groom was made at the reception and the wedding party walked in to the tune of the Austin Powers theme song. We danced to Lady Gaga, drank champagne and while my dress was not “traditional”, it was on point for the celebration.

If we don’t take risks in fashion, where is all the fun? It is called fashion forward for a reason. However, I will not be surprised when the next wedding invitation arrives in my mailbox kindly requesting that I do not wear a dress that can also be seen from outer space.

When my big day comes, my guests will be clad in Versace, Gucci, Rodarte, Marni, McQueen and Margiela (minus the stockings over their head) because what is an event, formal or otherwise, with out a little bit of a fashion show.”