last summer i began my search for a dress i would wear for my friend’s wedding. i was the maid of honor and only bridesmaid and the only stipulation my friend had was that the dress be purple (or some color in the immediate family). i was worried that i started too late as the wedding was at the end of september. i expected a long grueling search for something flattering, pretty and re-usuable. i didn’t want to spend a ridiculous amount of money on something expensive that SCREAMED bridesmaid.

to make a long story short (too late!), after cursing macy’s san francisco anti-big girl formal section, i walked over to nordstrom’s and 20mins later purchased a $130 adrianna papell dress. fierce!