Amsale & Cheetahs

I love it when I have an opportunity to wear one of my dresses. For the last 3 years, I have been on the planning committee for Zoobilation, which is a 4,500 person black tie event at the Indianapolis Zoo. It is one of the largest fundraisers in the State and because the Zoo receives no government funding - the success of the event is imperative for the Zoo. The money raised helps bring new exhibits and this year they opened a large, permanent cheetah exhibit. There are now 5 cheetahs at the Indianapolis Zoo and they are absolutely incredible! The exhibit is a must for those who live in town.

This year I have had 2 fundraising events for the Zoo that I wore Amsale - one was to a wine auction and the other Zoobilation. These dresses are fantastic and extremely comfortable. Most of their line is chiffon but they do have some taffeta and jersey dresses that are equally stunning.

Wine Auction at the Conrad - Style G551C in cranberry

Up close and personal at the Wine Auction! What a beautiful animal!

My friend Meredith and I both wore Amsale to Zoobilation. I am wearing style G425C in Ocean and Meredith (& Theodore) are wearing style G426C in Hydrangea. Let me just say these dresses are great if you are pregnant. I'm not speaking from experience (don't get your hopes up, Mom).

Poodle to the Rescue

For those who know me personally, know that I have a standard poodle named Penelope "Penny". She's the perfect store dog because she doesn't shed and she looks like a giant stuffed animal. My appointments adore her.

Well, one Saturday when I had appointments every hour on the hour, somehow I locked Penny in my office with my phone, keys, computer, etc. Ryan is the only person with a spare key to Bella and he was riding his bike 60 miles to Bloomington that day. Go figure. And I had no way of reaching my landlord because her number was on my phone in the locked office. Nightmare.

"Get me out of here"

Penny is extremely agile and that's putting it lightly. The girl has major hops. I figured I'd keep my cool, wait for my appointment to leave then attempt to get Penny to open the door or worst case scenario - call a locksmith from the salon downstairs. Not knowing Penny was locked in the office, my appointment asks if they can meet Penny and I had to tell them my dilemma. The Mother of the Bride jumps off the couch and comes over to the glass door and tries to coax Penny to stand up by dangling things in front of the glass with hopes that she'll hit the handle and open the door. Forget about dresses, the goal now was to get Penny out of the office. After about 10 minutes of trying and several promising attempts by Penny - EUREKA - she opened the door!

After all my appointments were finished, we walked down to Three Dog Bakery and I bought Penny a well deserved treat and then we headed out to the Butler fields to run off some energy.

"Free at last"

Twist on Traditional

Simple Silhouettes - the designer in my previous post just launched "Beyond the Wedding Day" - where they show their dresses being re-worn and give tips on what to pair with the dress. I think I speak for most bridesmaids when I say, if I'm spending more than $250 I better be able to wear that dress again. Below is the Phlox dress, which happens to be in my store window. Girls love this dress because you can wear a normal bra with it and the cut is very flattering for all figures, plus you can wear it again. And judging from the picture, you can even do odd sideways jumps in this dress. I kid, I kid.

You can check out all of the "Beyond the Wedding Day" styles here:

http://www.simpledress.com/ss/dresses/cat/43

Honestly, I ordered one of these dresses for my 10 year highschool reunion. They have a fantastic color/ print selection and the dresses fit well. Not to mention most have pockets - added bonus. Here is the Sweet Pea style (same as Full Circle post) in their Rose Ikat print. J'adore.

http://simpledress.com/ss/dresses/view/22/12

Where were these dresses when I was a bridesmaid?

Full Circle

Dresses take around 12 weeks once ordered to be made and delivered to the store. My very first sale in January was to a Doctor getting married at a vineyard in Italy. It's so rewarding to see everything come full circle.

Below is a picture from her wedding. I love everything about this! Don't they look so happy?

Simply Stunning. Congrats again!

Simple Silhouettes - style Sweet Pea in Peony shantung.

Whew - that's alot of s's.

Indy Monthly Love

One of my lovely brides just so happens to work for Indianapolis Monthly. In May, I received a "fact checking call" from one of the interns at Indy Monthly and after a handful of random questions she told me that Bella would be mentioned in the June issue. Subsequently, I stalked all book stores, drug stores and groceries at the end of the month for the new issue. Finally it arrived and there we were on Page 38 "Maid in Heaven".

When my parents came to visit for my birthday, we obviously had a photo shoot with the magazine. No accomplishment big or small goes un-documented in the Rechter family. Warning - dork below.

TwoBirds Bridesmaids - Convertible Dress

Not gonna lie, when I first got these dresses I was super intimidated. Of course, one of my first appointments when I opened in January wanted me to wrap her every which way to Sunday in the dress. I knew she was interested in the line, so I took one of the dresses home and with the help of YouTube - I figured out how to tie 5 to 7 different styles of the dress. Like these:

I'm no pro now but it's fair to say I've done some pretty cool wraps with the dress. And as luck would have it, my friend Meredith found one at Goodwill for $3.99 and bought it for me. They retail $270. Score!

Did I mention that they don't wrinkle and they are one size fits all? And it is definitely a dress you can wear again. Hence, the name TwoBirds (one stone)... get it?

Well, Kathy Lee and Hoda showcased the TwoBirds dress on the Today Show this week. Here's the link!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/37730042#37730042

More info on the dresses can be found on their website:

www.twobirdsbridesmaid.com

or you can come check them out in the store.

Priscilla of Boston Has Arrived

It's HERE! This is a line that I added in April post opening and I'm thrilled it is finally in the store. I had a 5 girl call list for these dresses. Not only are they affordable but they are super chic.

Here are a few styles that arrived today!

Style VY1408

Style VY1610

Style VY1422

It feels like Christmas when a sample order arrives! Can't wait for the other half of my samples.

Off to steam these new arrivals....