You have a wedding that you’ll be attending soon. You need something to wear, the perfect dress for such an event, cause you simply can’t go with the same dress you wore at the last wedding receptions. So…where do you go from there? What options do you have when searching for the perfect dress?

Option nr. 1: You start researching online (on Pinterest, fashion blogs, whatever works). You find at least three dresses that would look great on you, but when you start contacting the producers you find out those dresses aren’t available anymore or they don’t have your size.

Option nr 2: You ask your best friend or your sister to go shopping in the mall. You slip into a few dresses, see how they fit, your friend gives you their opinion… but, as you well know, every person in this world has different opinions and it’s unlikely they will match yours, so it’s impossible to reach an agreement over any of the dresses. Finally, after 3-4 hours of trying on, you are both exhausted and your friend would rather say that she likes something that she actually doesn’t, just to end the shopping session.

Option nr. 3: You go shopping in the mall. This time alone. You find a dress that you like and fits you well, from a big retail store. At the wedding you realise there are at least two other women that are wearing exactly the same dress as you are.

Option nr. 4: You find a dress that you love in a magazine and decide to have it tailored made for you. An older relative or neighbour recommends you a cheap tailor to go to. You show them the picture of the dress and they tell you what materials they need to make you the dress. The next day you buy them (and a little extra, cause it’s better like this than to remain without fabrics) and bring them back the next day. The tailor starts working on the dress and, after a few weeks, calls you for the first fitting session. You slip into the dress, realise it’s not even close to what you expected it to be, the tailor starts making some chalk marks on it… Fast forward some other weeks, they call you to pick it up – it fits, but doesn’t quite look like you imagined it. You are disappointed and realise it costs much more than it’s worth.

Option nr. 5: You ask your friend Jane to borrow you a dress. Jane wears about the same size as you do and went to lots of weddings in the past months. Then you go shopping for a pair of shoes and new accessories, to fit your freshly borrowed dress. At the wedding you run into a common friend that makes some (way too loud) comments on how Jane has a dress exactly like yours.

Option nr. 6: You go to a huge designer, that only has unique dresses. You find one that you love, the employees take your measures and finally give you an estimated price. You decide you’d rather go on a huge holiday with those money rather than spend them on a dress, no matter how special it is.

Option nr. 7: You’ve heard about shops that, for small fees, rent all kinds of expensive dresses for special occasions, and decide to give it a try. You go to one of these, let them know what kind of event you’ll be attending, what length and colors you’re looking for and what size you wear. They show you some options – they look great at first, but when you start looking carefuly you notice few upsetting details: long dresses have the bottom trashed, some beads are missing, the straps are extremely fragile and, well, overall, the color is kind of pale.

There are so many things that can go wrong when searching for the perfect dress. It’s not an easy task, especially if you don’t have the body of a top model, didn’t inherit a fortune from a long lost uncle, nor did you marry a millionaire. Just give it time – don’t start looking for it in the last minute and don’t rush into buying anything if you’re not sure it’s the right choice for you.