Attire Dilemmas! (CP)

indiegirl_2

OK, so the Mrs-to-be and I have brought forward the date of our Civil Partnership by 18 months due to various reasons, with the idea that it'll be late 2010. Thus, the planning which I'd put off is now having to start a bit earlier than I'd thought!

We have an idea of where to hold a small, intimate ceremony, and a rough idea of the format of our day, but I'm having an absolute nightmare trying to find something to wear (as is she).

There are relatively simple requirements:
1) No 'power suits' - we don't want to look like 80s-shoulder-padded scary women.
2) We don't both want to wear a dress (in fact we rarely wear skirts/dresses but aren't at all non-feminine). In fact I don't think either of us would willingly wear a dress, because
3) We don't want a 'one dress, one suit' combination. We're not male & female and don't want to dress that way.

I've seen a white corset/trouser combination which I loved, but I'm not restricting myself to white. Can anyone suggest where to look for something that's striking but flattering at the same time, and would be suitable for a CP?

dumb_blonde

I dont really know about wedding shops, as you say they tend to do white. Can you ask if they can be made in different colours? How about checking out seamstresses in the yellow pages, and getting some made? it might not be as expensive as it sounds.Anyway,im not much help,but good luck with the wedding x

kelda_shelton

Not much help with the attire dilemma but this is an interesting read about how one woman sorted her attire dilemma for her same sex marriage... not sure it would work for you since you're thinking no dresses but hey, have a look - you may get some inspiration!!!

http://nymag.com/news/features/2007/sexandlove/30920/

Horace

Is this the sort of thing that you were thinking of:

http://www.whitemischiefbridal.co.uk/BrinkmanBridalTrousers.htm

You could always find a dressmaker to make you something - it wont be as expensive as you thing. (I am not talking about a dress either).

Maybe with the corset/trouser combination one could wear one colour and the other in a contrasting colour?

Congratulations on your forthcoming nuptials.

joolesw1972

We're also arranging our civil partnership - April 2010 in fact we're seeing the registrar today! We haven't decided for certain what to wear yet but my OH wants to have a top made out of a light blue bridesmaids dress she wore for her best friends wedding, it has a bustier top, but she's also hopeful that a halterneck top can be made out of it too, the plan for her is to wear it with cream or linen trousers and chunky/platform shoes as these are a bit of a trademark of hers!
For me, I might wear a lovely floaty cream skirt I bought recently or cream/linen trousers (not matching my OH's!) with a lilac or purple bustier type top, I've found some nice tops & ideas from searching for bridesmaids seperates as these are different colours. we too want to avoid looking like we're doing a butch/femme thing as it's so not us! Originaly we were both going to wear dresses as we thought of having a formal Ball for the reception, but decided it wasn't right for the venue we loved. I think it's important to be yourselves & wear something that makes you feel good. I think we're lucky in lots of ways as CP's aren't as tied up with traditions & other peoples expectations as regular weddings.

indiegirl_2

Horace - yes, similar to that (that's one of the sites I've seen to date).
Jooles - Good luck with the registrar today.

I do know of a dressmaker (friend of a friend) who I might tap up about ideas. As it'll be approaching Christmas (well, late November next year), I was hoping for dark reds and blacks as a theme (red is also the colour of our football teams, which is a big passion of OH's).

In some ways not having expectations and traditions is a bad thing as I feel I'm floating along not really knowing what to do, but at the same time it's good because anything goes. I could ask everyone to turn up wearing football shirts! ;-)

I've not been to a CP before either so have nothing to base my ideas on. Methinks I'll have to get myself invited to one or two ;-)

lindaatno9

Without being to "Cinderella", had you considered a beautiful frock coat? Trousers and bustier sound classy and there are some wonderful corset types on the market. If you wanted to keep to traditional colour for the bottom half, you can have an ornate colour/pattern for the top.
I think it depends how fluffy/puffy you want or don't want. Trousers, bustier and a beautiful stole/wrap could be perfect.

jeski

My mum wore a stunning cream trouser suit from Wallis to my wedding very recently. Perhaps they would be worth a look. Plus of course if you have something in mind you could always try to get something made up by the likes of milly. They don't just do wedding dresses.

indiegirl_2

A frock coat... now there's something I hadn't considered. Can anyone suggest any sites to look at? As it'll be November it's not going to be warm, so something like that might be ideal!

I'm a bit unnerved at the idea of a suit; I have scary power-dressers in my head, whereas I know that a suit done well won't look that way at all. I think I'm going to have to start browsing some sites and getting ideas together.

Ruthie5

I agree - a soft cut suit could be lovely (and not at all power dressed!) knee length jackets over wide leg trousers can be really nice I think - a bit like Trinny (as in Trinny and Susanna) wears. Not sure where to start looking tho - you could always try googling knee length jacket or frock coat and see what comes up. Good luck!

lindaatno9

http://www.fantasywaistcoats.co.uk/coats_home1.shtml

I know this is dominately a mens site (eventhough they have womens waistcoats) but I had another thought. What about a special wedding outfit made by an indian tailor? We have a fab store here Bombay Stores and their wedding section is to die for. They could make something specific for you. Have no idea about cost.

http://www.bombaystores.biz/bombaystoresonline/default.asp

Frock coat
Nehru jacket

Using the finest silks you could have something extremely classic and most defo unique.

Was trying to find that image of Princess Diana in that wonderful outfit she wore to India. Can't find it .

Failing all of that, a longer length jacket worn with wide leg trousers could be perfect.