Different Debs dress

snooleen

I am currently on the search for a debs dress that is unique, so that half my school won't be wearing it or one like it and so I don't look like a bridesmaid. I don't want to go anywhere near debenhams or any of those commonly visited shops for this reason. I'm in Kildare and am talking about the Dublin city area. Everywhere I have gone so far (provided that Ive just quickly popped in and out of the usual shops) has nothing but sleek stain halterneck dresses laced in diamentes and bling around the breasts. I want something funky and unique. Last year I had a plain satin dress, nice, but this time I'm going all out. Any advice? I've found a gorgeous one in Cork, but don't really want to go so far...:P Any suggestions appreciated!

Little My

If I was doing my debs again I'd go with something like one of these...

(monsoon)

(asos)

(asos)

(topshop)

They would look beautiful dressed up with the right jewellery, and it would be something different.

KathMc

Hi, I know how hard it is, did the same for my debs looked everywhere, so hard to find something different! I know u said cork was far not sure how far clare is from u... Found this girl on a poster in Limerick selling dresses for debs. she had about fifty fifty maxi dresses and had a few from that label jovani. she does a range u cant buy in ireland so might be worth a look, they ordered me a dress in a size up so should hopefuly have it next week:)...its stunning and they kept a record of my school too so its all mine .... not sure on ur price budget... thiers on average were about 260 but some went to 400 in jovani range.stil think u get what u pay for. dont know am i allowed give out a phone number so just incase here's her mail and she might send u some photos or something. hope this helps! went to limerick too few bits there all that depends on ur taste
uniquedesignerdresses@gmail.com

amdublin

TK Maxx

And a lot cheaper than €400. That's mad money for one dress for one night....!

KathMc

a lot, but thats what people pay, and the same dress i saw in white water shopping centre naas for 580........its the brand jovani that holly wiloughby wears. it all depends what u want and what ur after

amdublin

KathMc wrote: »

it all depends what u want and what ur after

Sounds like you want bad value!

Just because Holly Willoughby wears it doesn't mean you should! The OP said they were looking for something different. Bigtime my suggestion would be TK Maxx, you'll get something different, possibly one-off in Ireland (generally on the bargain stand, bonus!) and for practically nothing!

Girls don't be wasting your money on dresses, just because they are a name or some "celebrity" wears them!

convert

How about looking up sites with patterns on them, such as Vogue, and picking out something you like there? You can then source your own material in a colour you like and have the dress made up for you. That way it would be unique and pretty much guaranteed that nobody else would have it. There's also pattern books in the material shops such as Hickeys. It's what I did, and I got compliments all night long (and still do, when I wear it).

Larianne

Wicked Frills on Dorset Street has some nice dresses in the window. Not sure what price ranges they are though.

SexyD4Lady

Wicked Frills is fierce common looking, IMO. Prices in there range from €150 up to €350 or so.

The boutiques off Grafton Street and around George's Street and in the Arcade (Chica, Om Diva, Jenny Vander, etc) will have unusual stuff and are in mid season sale at the moment.

orlaithd

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dunshaughlin-Ireland/Dunshaughlin-Dress-Hire-DebsEvening-WearGirls-Communion/159284924131?v=info

Check out this page- its not got a whole lot of info on it but its my friends Mom who own the business. She hires the dresses out or you can buy them. Its in Dunshaughlin so not far from you in Kildare and her stuff is unusual. Might be what you are after

Little Acorn

I'm not sure of exactly where to get one as I don't know Dublin well at all, but I could give you a suggestion on type of dress that really stands out.

My local newspaper does pictures at all the local grads, and about a year or 2 ago I was flicking through the pics, and there was a girl wearing a snow white dress. She stood out from all the other girls for all the right reasons, and even won the best dress award that was voted on by the readers of paper.

It was long, a little flowy near the bottom, can't remember if it was halter or plain skinny straps, but I know that it did have a small amount of diamonte or sparkle on top half.

I know some people will just think that long white dresses are too "wedding like", but it depends how you wear it. She had an extremely light tan, natural makeup mostly, but really red lipstick, a scruffy kind of up-do that had long loose strands of curls. I thought it was really different.
There were an abundance of red, pink, blue and green dresses so she really stood out.

The following dress is actually a prom dress not a wedding dress, I like the top half, but would prefer something with a little more flow in bottom half.
http://www.nurbaba.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/beautiful-prom-dress-1.jpg

Some other ones.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0028Q74ZI/sr=1-5?ie=UTF8/qid=1263971678/ref=dp_image_text?ie=UTF8&s=apparel&img=MAIN&qid=1263971678&sr=1-5%3Fie%3DUTF8&color_name=x

A short one:
http://www.rissyroos.com/Alyce_Satin_Rouge_by_Atelier_Alyce_Short_White_Prom_Dress.jpg

I think the 3rd one is lovely and would be fairly unique at a debs.

Cook!eMonster

Larianne wrote: »

Wicked Frills on Dorset Street has some nice dresses in the window. Not sure what price ranges they are though.

had the worst trouble with them last yer

SexyD4Lady wrote: »

Wicked Frills is fierce common looking, IMO. Prices in there range from €150 up to €350 or so.

The boutiques off Grafton Street and around George's Street and in the Arcade (Chica, Om Diva, Jenny Vander, etc) will have unusual stuff and are in mid season sale at the moment.

pppffftttt....my dress was 395, they start at that

Larianne

Cook!e Monster, thanks for letting me know. I am in need of a dress myself.

I've been finding it really difficult to find a nice plain dress that isn't ridiculously priced. Ugh, tis hard!

I'll keep looking.

Oh, I did happen to go into Covet in Powerscourt Townhouse and if you have money to spend head in there. I saw some AMAZING dresses. Absolutely beautiful. They're all 2nd hand designer dresses.

fonpokno

www.nordstrom.com

I got my dress from here 2/3years ago, my sister was in the states and bought it, but they deliver to Ireland now. They have some *gorgeous* stuff and it's not going to be walking the streets.

mashling

I think the dresses in Rococo are beautiful.
Theres one here in Galway, but I'm told there's an even better one in Dublin.

Zulu

Larianne wrote: »

Wicked Frills on Dorset Street has some nice dresses in the window. Not sure what price ranges they are though.

Not having a go here (which is never a good start) but I drive past this shop twice a day and thought it was a money laundering front. I never see anyone going in or out, & tbh I laugh at whats on display in the window. I thought their clothes were appaling.

That's just me & the OH's taste though; if you like thats cool.

GlitterFairy

I love Fran & Jane on Clarendon st for dresses. Quite pricey though.

How unique do you want to go?! If you want something really different I second the suggestion of Georges arcade. You could, for example, get a gorgeous 1950's dress and go for a slightly rockabilly look. Or maybe a flapper style dress and get a headpiece to go with it.

snooleen

Thanks for all the suggestions! I tried TKMaxx last year and found absolutely nothing, but it could've been a bad time, so I'll look again. I'd love a white or ivory dress, I'd definitely need some kind of tan though *opens new thread* haha. I'm unbelievably pale :P I never even thought of chekcing Georges arcade! Duh! :P I'll definitely have a good look around now, thanks again!

snooleen

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dunshaughlin-Ireland/Dunshaughlin-Dress-Hire-DebsEvening-WearGirls-Communion/159284924131?v=info#!/photo.php?pid=2779046&id=159284924131&fbid=159292734131

what think ye of this? I'm open to styles, I love the whole marilyn monroe look so still kinda leaning towards a different style, but I think this one is beautiful!

KathMc

just got that girls facebook link there. nice on shoulder green dress that comes in ivory the sequis on the shoulder are lovely was gonna get it but felt cream wudnt suit me for a debs even though it was nice on... cream is nice for debs though just not for me

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=100000969212044

Futurecrook

fonpokno wrote: »

www.nordstrom.com

I got my dress from here 2/3years ago, my sister was in the states and bought it, but they deliver to Ireland now. They have some *gorgeous* stuff and it's not going to be walking the streets.

+1

There are some gorgeous dresses here.

Dresscode, upstairs in Arnotts on Henry St. do fabulous dresses too. Slightly pricey (start around €250) but they take the name of your school so you'll be guaranteed that no one else will have the same. They're not the usual designs you see everywhere else either.

Little Black Dress in the Powerscourt Centre have a really nice range too, and, again, they take your details so no one else will turn up in the same dress.

Little Acorn

snooleen wrote: »

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dunshaughlin-Ireland/Dunshaughlin-Dress-Hire-DebsEvening-WearGirls-Communion/159284924131?v=info#!/photo.php?pid=2779046&id=159284924131&fbid=159292734131

what think ye of this? I'm open to styles, I love the whole marilyn monroe look so still kinda leaning towards a different style, but I think this one is beautiful!

I think that dress is beautiful and very unusual. I think it would look best with a person with similar hair colour to the girl in the picture, and that it could possibly "swamp" somebody if they were quite short, could be wrong but it's just something I thought and I'm very short myself.
I'm with you on the Marilyn look, think it looks great when done well. This is still a great dress though, love the colours in it, and the big bow.

Larianne

There's a place on Henry Street called Sugababe and they've an evening wear section upstairs. It's not open yet for another 2 weeks. I was talking to the owner and he was showing me the stock from a catalogue that he is getting in and some of it is lovely. (Yes the shop looks a bit tacky from the outside, I know). He said the price range would be between €250-€275 but he gets his stock from America not China.

On a side note: The dresses in Wicked Frills aren't that bad. Jeez.

StandardAngel

If you are anywhere near Clane you should try Classy Lass, its on the main street, they are a bridal shop and the do debs dresses too. Got my debs dress there a few years ago and it was different to what everyone else wore.

Killer_banana

I think the only place to find unusual dresses really is the internet. Most dress shops just have pretty similar styles (well in Galway anyway). I'm after finding a shop on ebay with some gorgeous dresses which are a bit out of the ordinary. Dunno if they're your taste but they start as low as a tenner so worth a look. They have measurements for each item as well so getting the correct size shouldn't be too hard.

http://shop.ebay.ie/eveningwear001/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340

flash harry

loads of different ideas on www.debsdiary.ie

NoDice

I don't know if this would be helpful or of interest to you but if you're a creative person or know someone who is why not design it yourself? You're guaranteed to have something nobody else has and you can tailor it exactly to your liking.

When I made my debs this is what I did. I called a local dressmaker (you can find numbers on the golden pages online or in the paper but it's something you will have to do early or asap cause they get booked up pretty soon) and talked to her about what I wanted.

I printed off a few examples of dresses I liked and literally said "I want that part of this dress to go with this style on that dress and I like the skirt of that dress but I want the back to be like this one here." Lol no lie.. I dunno how she did it but I was never so happy.

I bought the fabric myself in Hickeys when they were having a summer sale. I got a few lace trimmings etc and extra voile/organza type material for the skirt. The dress maker already had the boning for a corset shape I wanted and she was able to make the underslip with her own material too.

Paid €60 for her service, paid €30 for the materials. Took her about three weeks as she had loads of other dresses to do. Bought lovely shoes in Faith on sale and got a bag in a vintage shop for under a tenner.

Sorted. And everyone including me loved it!

It's another idea and really simple too and if you do it right it'll save you a fortune!

ha-ya-said-what

StandardAngel wrote: »

If you are anywhere near Clane you should try Classy Lass, its on the main street, they are a bridal shop and the do debs dresses too. Got my debs dress there a few years ago and it was different to what everyone else wore.

I was just going to suggest Clane there is a boutique there on the main street always has the most to die for dresses, I passed it 3 weeks ago & if I had of been driving I would have stopped and just ran in & bought the dress straight outta the window, was fab & could be used for wedding outfit, debs dress, day at the races etc & I have never seen another one like it since anywhere

There's also a place in Dunboyne I do see lovely dresses in.

fillefatale

Theres loads of gorgeous maxi dresses this season and you could definitely wear them again.
I recommend trying etsy and modcloth! I would if I had the chance again.

peppapig24

Went to two debs and got both my dresses from Alexander Bridal on Parnell Street just around the corner from Smyths.They do have quite a large selection but are quite pricey for a big puffy cinderella dress as i would call it your lookin at anything from 400 onwards.
If your in the Dublin area Belleza Bridal have the nicest stuff in for this year i think,check their bebo page for loads ov pics. http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=6910630389

snooleen

NoDice wrote: »

I don't know if this would be helpful or of interest to you but if you're a creative person or know someone who is why not design it yourself? You're guaranteed to have something nobody else has and you can tailor it exactly to your liking.

When I made my debs this is what I did. I called a local dressmaker (you can find numbers on the golden pages online or in the paper but it's something you will have to do early or asap cause they get booked up pretty soon) and talked to her about what I wanted.

I printed off a few examples of dresses I liked and literally said "I want that part of this dress to go with this style on that dress and I like the skirt of that dress but I want the back to be like this one here." Lol no lie.. I dunno how she did it but I was never so happy.

I bought the fabric myself in Hickeys when they were having a summer sale. I got a few lace trimmings etc and extra voile/organza type material for the skirt. The dress maker already had the boning for a corset shape I wanted and she was able to make the underslip with her own material too.

Paid €60 for her service, paid €30 for the materials. Took her about three weeks as she had loads of other dresses to do. Bought lovely shoes in Faith on sale and got a bag in a vintage shop for under a tenner.

Sorted. And everyone including me loved it!

It's another idea and really simple too and if you do it right it'll save you a fortune!

What area are you in? I'd absolutely LOVE to do that, but I still have to get my ideas together and want to lose wight after my leaving. Did you get it done far in advance? And if youre around Dublin/Kildare, where did you get it? Could you PM me the info of the dressmaker if you don't mind?

The Cool

A massive +1 on the TK Maxx - I bought a dress there last year for my college ball, a black and gold grecian style, it was only €50 but absolutely stunning, and so different from everyone else's.

christina_x

im guessing your debs is this summer? would you consider a short dress, or do you definately want a long one?

This is a lovely short one if your thinking on that length
http://www.jovani.com/prom-exclusive/purple-strapless-short-ballgown-152286-7053
could wear it with gold shoes to set it off

NoDice

snooleen wrote: »

What area are you in? I'd absolutely LOVE to do that, but I still have to get my ideas together and want to lose wight after my leaving. Did you get it done far in advance? And if youre around Dublin/Kildare, where did you get it? Could you PM me the info of the dressmaker if you don't mind?

I'm in Cork hun and happy to pm you the details but would that be too far? Let me know. I'd defo recommend it, I had it shaped perfectly to compliment my body shape and it fitted like a glove.

I'd suggest checking your local phone directory, you're bound to get a good deal. I got it done about two months before my debs iirc but the dressmakers get booked up quick.

I genuinely just printed off a few pics of dresses from the internet and pointed at the parts I wanted put into my dress. I was delighted with it cause when anyone asked where I got it I got to say "I designed it myself" ha ha.

rantyface

I also know people who had dresses designed for them with their own ideas thrown in. Claire Garvey in Dublin does really unusual theatrical style dresses if you're into that, she made my cousin's wedding dress and her bridesmaids' dresses.

aine92

StandardAngel wrote: »

If you are anywhere near Clane you should try Classy Lass, its on the main street, they are a bridal shop and the do debs dresses too. Got my debs dress there a few years ago and it was different to what everyone else wore.

DO NOT go here. My sister got her wedding dress and all our bridesmaid dresses here and the night before the wedding we collected them, on a whim said we'd try them on and turns out they hadn't altered them, the pins were still in them and all.

They still charged us full price. DISGRACE of a shop, and utterly rude too.

XxMCRxBabyxX

NoDice wrote: »

I don't know if this would be helpful or of interest to you but if you're a creative person or know someone who is why not design it yourself? You're guaranteed to have something nobody else has and you can tailor it exactly to your liking.

When I made my debs this is what I did. I called a local dressmaker (you can find numbers on the golden pages online or in the paper but it's something you will have to do early or asap cause they get booked up pretty soon) and talked to her about what I wanted.

I printed off a few examples of dresses I liked and literally said "I want that part of this dress to go with this style on that dress and I like the skirt of that dress but I want the back to be like this one here." Lol no lie.. I dunno how she did it but I was never so happy.

I bought the fabric myself in Hickeys when they were having a summer sale. I got a few lace trimmings etc and extra voile/organza type material for the skirt. The dress maker already had the boning for a corset shape I wanted and she was able to make the underslip with her own material too.

Paid €60 for her service, paid €30 for the materials. Took her about three weeks as she had loads of other dresses to do. Bought lovely shoes in Faith on sale and got a bag in a vintage shop for under a tenner.

Sorted. And everyone including me loved it!

It's another idea and really simple too and if you do it right it'll save you a fortune!

+1
I've always been in love with the Helena dress from the My Chemical Romance video so I had to have it as my debs dress so I got every picture I could of it and had it made as my dress. Only cost 150 for everything including a tie for my boyfriend. Everyone loved it and it was absolutely perfect for me!

The Cool wrote: »

A massive +1 on the TK Maxx - I bought a dress there last year for my college ball, a black and gold grecian style, it was only €50 but absolutely stunning, and so different from everyone else's.

TkMaxx is great too. I've seen some amazing dresses there. Found one quite close to the dress I wore to my boyfriend's debs actually. White and short with a black ribbon around the waist and a gorgeous design on the bottom!

Agent S

Hey, friends of mine have this shop in Blackrock Shopping Centre where they sell ballgowns but they're all designers ones at 80% off. So there's Galliano or Cavalli and some others. I know they got some more in especially for the debs balls coming up. Only thing is their new website isn't up yet but the shop's near enough to the dart station.

Otherwise, there's places like Fran & Jane which have gorgeous stuff, or there are a good few other boutiques in the Blackrock area (live around there - that's how I know!)

Good luck hunting! My debs was 10 years ago :eek:

Edit: Oops friend's shop is called Ruby Couture!!

Liberalbrehon

rantyface wrote: »

I also know people who had dresses designed for them with their own ideas thrown in. Claire Garvey in Dublin does really unusual theatrical style dresses if you're into that, she made my cousin's wedding dress and her bridesmaids' dresses.

Yeah I saw that designers dresses at a fashion show recently in Gibson hotel. They were amazing and stood out from other designers. My partner went to her facebook page and showed me her photo albums which are incredible. Really talented Irish designer, I didn't know we had any. Seems her dress also won debs of the year last year, runner up year before.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000818716116#!/profile.php?id=100000846015229

www.clairegarvey.com

snooleen

Thanks, liberalgrahon, I checked out her website/facebook and the dresses look gorgeous! Have you any idea of the price range of her line? I'm planning on going in, having a look and trying stuff on but don't want to be majorly disappointed if the dresses cost like a grand.

Liberalbrehon

Sorry I couldn't say. Looking the work that goes into them I guess they are great than >€300. I suppose you'd need to decide if you'd probably get more wear out of it then a traditional long evening dress.

One traditional evening dress €300 euro - ............ €300 / 1 night out = €300 per night
One designer dress €900 euro - 5/10/20 nights out? lets say €900 / 10 nights use = €90 per night

so technically it could be false economy to go with the traditional?

You have to decide now what your return on investment is.

I know that formula doesn't take into account the wow factor either and whether it just makes you feel like a superstar as opposed to a run of the mill dress which makes you feel adequate.

so 1 DD €900 * nights out * wow factor * feel good/confidence/superstar = its so worth it or its so not worth it.

Obviously, I'm not going to make a sales person in the fashion business :-)
The shop looks pretty interesting anyway, worth a look regardless.

snooleen

I'm gonna have a look anyway, who knows, my perfect one could be the cheapest one in the shop! I'll think I'll go in today actually...hmm. Thanks for your help everyone! I'll be posting pics of the night and what I went for in the end!

Miaireland

I agree about TK Maxx. I have seen some stunning dresses there and have bought a few for weddings etc. It is unlikely that someone will have the same as you and they don't cost the earth.

Salty

NoDice wrote: »

I'm in Cork hun and happy to pm you the details .

I'm living in Cork and would love to get the details of that dressmaker you were talking about.

I already know what I want my dress to be like, my debs won't be til this time next year but I'd love to get it sorted (crazily) early since I've had so much stress sorting everything out for my boyfriends grads this year which are on tomorrow evening

snooleen

Thanks meehan, but I;m in Kildare, in a town close to Dublin and my debs is in three weeks so Cork isn't an option! haha. Thanks anyway I went to a local dressmaker yesterday who's excellent, a lot of people I know have had things made or altered by her and we designed the dress together. I'm not giving anything away, it's nothing like I thought I would've wanted (if that makes sense) but I;m so excited!!! I've been doing loads of weights today to get my arms more toned for the day! haha. As I said, I'll defo post pics of the night and the dress! Thanks again to everyone for all of your advice

lisawxx

Hi,
Does anyone know where i could get diamonte trim or rhinestone trim.
A thick band of it?.

I've tried hickeys but they don't seem to have any.

Thanks.

Ruthy10

Hey, there is a shop in limerick called The Ivory Closet and they opened three weeks ago. They hire out designer dresses and have amazing stuff.

I will post their facebook link below so you can have a look

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000007947145#!/theivorycloset

NoDice

snooleen wrote: »

What area are you in? I'd absolutely LOVE to do that, but I still have to get my ideas together and want to lose wight after my leaving. Did you get it done far in advance? And if youre around Dublin/Kildare, where did you get it? Could you PM me the info of the dressmaker if you don't mind?

So sorry snooleen, I only saw this message now. Hope you got your dress sorted. If anyone else needs info please feel free to pm me! I'm in Cork btw.