never, never, ever pay full price

This is not my bridesmaid dress, but it looked pretty on the page.

Guys.

J. Crew put their bridesmaid dresses on SALE. And not just on sale, but today -- and today only -- and extra 30% OFF THE SALE PRICE. I COULD TYPE IN CAPS FOR THE REST OF THIS POST. MAYBE I WILL.

This is exciting for a variety of reasons, as one might imagine.

1) These were my dream dresses. I even went so far as to try them on at the (newly opened and somewhat disappointing) J. Crew bridal boutique on Fifth. You know what's fun? When you're trying on your own bridesmaids' dresses and someone's otherwise-lovely mother asks you whose wedding you're going to be in. Then you have to mumble something about oh, it's actually my wedding but I just really like trying on dresses and now that I've bought my gown I've taken up sampling the maids' collection instead. This is not really the best way to make friends, n.b.

2) As we're doing the whole black-tie shebang (Mike continues to be relieved that I decided against formal coat and tails), my lovely ladies obviously needed to be in long dresses. Why there are so many long, taffeta bridesmaid dresses is still beyond me. They stick straight out like you're wearing a soda can. So brilliant, brilliant J. Crew actually created a bunch in the totally normal fabric of silk-chiffon that are also very flattering. I know this firsthand, because, well, see above.

3) However these long dresses, annoyingly, are more expensive than their shorter counterparts by a factor of about 200. For this reason, I at first didn't think the J. Crew frocks were the best option, since while they're gorgeous, they're not exactly giving them away, as my mother would say.

4) But then, today the stars aligned. I wasn't expecting these to go on sale because when I tried them on, the adorable gay in the bridal department assured me that these cuts would be around at least until next July, so I could take my time ordering them. Meaning, therefore, they're not seasonal, so there's no real reason they'd discount them. Insider tip: opening a J. Crew credit card gives you a percentage off on your first order -- I think either 15 or 20 -- so if you don't have one already, wait to open one until you get your dresses. But, for whatever reason, they are on sale and, like I said, an extra 30% off because everyone wants my bridesmaids to look good. And! And! I shipped them home to save money on tax. The excitement continues to radiate off my body.

That is all, carry on.