Camp Sparkle

I spent much of yesterday being very self-indulgent, wandering around the city buying things like fancy paper and a cheap but splendid blue and green skirt. And met up with a subset of my knitting group in the Waterstones café, where the three of us spent quite a bit of time surreptitiously eyeing the rather fancy sweater being sported by a quiet chap who had moved table so we could sit together. His shoulders/sleeves were bright stripes, the rest of the garment being a pleasing soft grey, and we would have liked to interrogate him about it but thought that might be a bit much.

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Exciting developments along the Daughter's Wedding front, as I went with Bun and her three bridesmaids to start dress shopping on Friday. I drove, in fact, as one bridesmaid was coming from Hertfordshire and the other two, as well as Bun and myself, from Norwich. Entire trip was completed well within one batteryload, so both environmentally friendly and cheap! We went to Newmarket, whither I had never been before, to a nice little dress shop that looked like a converted house but was well provided with customer parking. It may seem odd to go to Newmarket, when Norwich is knee-deep in bridal stores, but Norwich is a long way from everywhere else, and it was kinder to the Hertfordshire bridesmaid!

I was quite surprised by Bun's initial choices. Tea length I did expect, as the nuptials will feature ballroom dancing, but I am sure we had a conversation years ago about how she liked lace but abhorred glitter. These were sparkly dresses! Sparkly dresses with extra sparkle!

Anyway. We four sat in a row while Bun was helped into a succession of lovely dresses on the other side of a massive curtain. No traipsing through the store to stand on a platform, it was efficient, friendly and somehow pleasantly informal. There were even Ferraro Rochers for us, which I thought was brave, with all those nearly-white dresses so close!

Half a dozen tea lengths later she picked her favourite of those (lace-free) and went on to some long dresses. Even trying on a long-sleeved one which the bridesmaids had decided she ought to try, despite her expression when it was presented to her. It did look nice—given that she is a well-shaped, fairly slender 5'9", this is not surprising—but not for her. In any case, she had The Dress right there.

Well. It wasn't precisely an 'everybody bursts into tears' moment (my eyes were prickling but they do that a lot, these days), but The Dress made her look like a goddess, and it was perfectly clear from her face that she loved it. It was definitely a that's so YOU dress. It was, inevitably, the most expensive she tried on, though the attendant-dresser-saleswoman instantly offered to knock £150 off the price, which was nice. So we bore it back to the car in triumph and went off for a burger. The dress will need a modest amount of alteration—slight shortening of the straps, and something doing to hitch up the train so that she can dance. And hemming, of course. Essentially it fits beautifully.

Awwww.

So, a very satisfactory day, and since the bridesmaids all agreed over lunch that the dress one of them had suggested looked like an excellent option, that seems to be sorted as well, bar the actual purchasing. A most satisfactory day.

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Next up, my outfit. Gibber. I am neither 5'9" nor slender, so it will be a tiresome process unless I get very lucky.