The Best Dress

Note: This is not a food and wine post. This is a post about my daughter. Though, I will say that the AZ Biltmore makes a lovely Manhattan and that you may need to consume several while there for a family wedding, especially after a few trips down the giant slide in the main pool. If you are here for food and wine come back this weekend as I have both a canning day and the Ridge Twitter Taste Live planned.

Now, the best dress. When I was little I was not a dress girl. With an older brother and a boy from the neighborhood as my best friends, I was very much a tomboy. Yet, I still remember a green gingham dress I wore for a year or so. Short sleeve and slightly scoop neck, it at first hit mid calf and as I grew it eventually allowed a clear view of my knee scars. I'm sad to say that it was passed down to younger cousins and I do not have it today. But, I remember it clearly.

My brother got remarried this past November. I had been assuming, second marriage and all, that this would be a casual event. Of course, I should have considered the fact that it was the bride's first, but, that did not happen. About a week before the wedding I got an email from my Dad talking about his need to rent a tux. Sure enough, a call to my brother confirmed that this was a formal wedding: tuxedos, white dress with train and all. I had something in my closet that would work for me. But for my daughter, not so much.

As I've mentioned before, I have a very opinionated 7 year old. And, like most 7 year old girls, her idea of appropriate wedding gear is essentially princess wear. Luckily, not Disney Princess, but princess nonetheless. To satisfy this desire, I've been buying K a special birthday dress each year from my favorite girl's designer, Ses Petites Mains. Although many of the pieces are "day wear", the birthday dresses we buy are decidedly not. Unfortunately, given the Spring birthday and the growth patterns of elementary school students, this year's dress was not going to work.

After perusing their website, I realized that there was nothing in K's size available. Coincidentally, the designer's daughter is a classmate of K's at her new school. Which is interesting to me as I feel I have been watching this girl grow up on the web site for years. Anyway, I emailed the designer, hoping that by chance she might have something. Luckily, she had a dress, a sample described as:
A silk shantung taffeta, amethyst color and peony color. The lining is a slightly iridescent tissue silk w/ fringe trim. Here’s the link to the online version…http://store.sespetitesmains.com/sodrclsi.html The dress has silk lining and vintage pearl buttons, they are very sweet.

I jumped on it. A few days later, we exchanged a check for the dress at a birthday party. After a few adjustments, it was perfect. I think that she was the best dressed woman, adult or child at the wedding. She has now taken to calling it her best dress. Unlike, my gingham dress, we'll be saving this one.