Wedding Dresses

I said I'd post pictures. Here, on the left, is what I'm NOT going to wear, although some friends from college may get the additional joke...

As I said, I was rather taken by the LDS temple wear, so I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of that. Over on the right, two examples of the look. It's cute. It's just not me.

I also thought about something traditionally Jewish. Maybe not my specific tradition, but still, Jewish. This is a keswa el kbira, the traditional wedding costume from the Moroccan Jewish community. Isn't that gorgeous? It's based on Spanish styles that the exiles brought with them at the end of the fifteenth century, and it evolved into this.

Anyway, the shape I seem to like the most is what they call a 'mermaid' skirt, fairly close over the hips, and then flared around the hem. Most of the ones I'd seen, I hadn't noticed the shape because they all came strapless, but then I found this on one of the Mormon sites---

I really like this dress. In part, I think I like it because it is undoubtedly a wedding dress, but the details--the v-neck, the three-quarters sleeves, the shape of the skirt, all look like things I wear fairly frequently. It looks like my clothes, if they were turned into a wedding dress. And the slightly cynical expression on the lady in the picture reminds me of me a bit. (She's a brunette, too.)

They want $400 for this, which is amazingly reasonable given some of the prices I've been seeing. I have no idea what the fabric is like. I may call for a swatch.

I may also call a friend who can sew, and ask if she could make something like this. She's very good--she makes Elizabethan court attire--so I don't think a simple dress like this would stump here. And then I could splash out for really good fabric.

What do you all think?