The Littlest Princess!

So this little love-nugget is my flower girl. You cannot tell me she isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen! She's growing up very girlie. This makes me very happy because I am very girlie. My MOH is also mommy to The Littlest Princess (TLP) and my MOH is not girlie. She's very feminine, but not girlie. Like, I think of my MOH as a woman. I think I thought this at a really young age, now that I think about it. At any rate, she left Bonnie Bell and her Jordache jeans behind her in high school and all focus went to (and still is) most things academic. She got all A's in college, except for one B+, I think. She has two Masters Degrees and is working on her PhD at a really cool place (one that I won't divulge for anonymity, but trust me when I say it's impressive. And cool.). At any rate, I have often berated my MOH for her lack of girlie-ness. To see it in her daughter is just adorable.

Anyway, I digress. Sorry, it happens. Y'all should know that by now, I suppose. As I was saying, flower girl. Cutie-pie in the extreme. Quite girlie. Quite sassy, I think. I haven't seen her in a few years, but I do hear her on occasion. She's well spoken for a girl her age.

They all live a gazillion miles away so the dress hunt (both TLP and MOH) has been remote.

After several emails with my MOH and her mom, we got the dresses narrowed down to three. Two I found on FlowerGirlDressforLess.com and the other I found on J.Crew. I loooooove me some J.Crew. I was stoked to hear about their wedding section! My aunt ordered all three to see which looked best. My aunt used to own a needlepoint shop that made flower girl dresses and baptizing gowns and such, so knows her stuff. She is a self-proclaimed fabric snob. Who can argue with that?

So the cool thing about FGDL is that they have a free return policy. So says the front page of their website. CHECK THE DETAILS! One of the dresses was on sale, therefore could not be returned. Lame. It's OK though because it was a dress for less, so at least it wasn't a huge chunk of change. Annoying none-the-less.

Here's my aunt's feedback on the dresses:

Here are the pics. No, the cap sleeve is not a contender for the wedding. J Crew is it - if you agree. I am keeping the cap sleeve for two reasons. TLP will love it, and I can't return it. They did not indicate that on my order, but the invoice is marked "final sale item." I would protest if it were really expensive or if I didn't think TLP would love to wear it. She can wear it here and practice for the wedding in it:) As I said, I am going to doctor it. It just is not a real quality dress. The tank from FGDL is very pretty and the fabric is nice. But it is heavy, the hem is not pretty, and the zipper in the back is bulky and shows a LOT. It doesn't look very comfortable and I think we may have trouble getting TLP to wear it - because of comfort. The J Crew has an invisible zipper in the side and is just nicer and more delicate all the way around. So not only does it look nice, it will be way more comfortable to wear. If you want to post pictures of the J Crew on your blog, I will take time to take better pics later. I was in a hurry today and didn't tie the sash well, etc. You can see it peeking out from the side. I will take front and back pics or, better yet, put it on TLP and take pics.

Isn't that just the best feedback!?! It's not often that you find people who think invisible zippers are important and are willing to share pics for the blog!:)
Here are the pictures!

This is the dress we can't return, but that my aunt will "doctor" for TLP. I think some removing of fake flowers is about to happen. I can feel it a gazillion miles away.....

This is the tank style that got returned. Bad hems and big zippers do not past The Aunt Test.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! It's gorgeous silk with micro pleats at the waist. Love it!

Can't you just see TLP in her gorgeous silk JCrew gown with her little Thirty-Something-Bride crafted basket walking down the aisle? How cute is she going to be? Wait, what if she up-stages me? ;0)