According to Rhonda Diamond, a consultant at the Vera Wang boutique in Toronto, the black sash and brooch can be added after the ceremony for a glamorous evening look.Kevin Van Paassen
Last week, a gathering of Toronto society women was treated to a light lunch and lots of white lace at a Vera Wang fashion show at the Four Seasons Hotel.
If anyone had come wondering whether the designs on display would reflect recessionary times, they quickly learned that the fairy tale wedding dress is alive and well.
But among the 16 gowns modelled by real women were styles inspired less by the aisle than by the red carpet, including a yellow A-line dress with a russet ribbon at the waist.
The unusual colour got attention, if not full buy-in. Lunch guest and classical music performer Ambur Braid gave the gown gold stars, but confessed that she'll be going with a custom white Farley Chatto number for her wedding in October.
"I don't have that boldness, but what a great idea," she said later by phone.
Other dramatic tweaks to the classic look included removable black sashes, unstructured fabric flowers and vintage-inspired Swarovski brooches.
"I think the brooch is a huge personality statement," said Catherine Lash, owner and creative director of The Wedding Co., a wedding services firm in Toronto. "It's also about the keepsake. You're not going to wear that dress again but then you have it afterward."
The more fashion-forward gowns were part of Wang's Bridal collection; they ranged from $3,000 to $6,500 - not inexpensive by any measure, but apparently more budget-sensitive than other options by the designer. (Dresses in her Luxe collection, for instance, can cost upward of $12,900.)
"They certainly didn't look budget," said Nicole Smulders, a recent newlywed who wore Oscar de la Renta. She said she likes the slightly deconstructed shapes and loose rosettes on the dresses, a departure for Vera Wang. "Usually they're so tailored and perfect," she noted.
Rhonda Diamond, a consultant at the Vera Wang boutique in Toronto, agreed that the collection constitutes a new direction for the designer.
"It's no longer that stiff and lacy feeling," she said. "It's soft and feminine and romantic."
Diamond pointed out that the black sash and crystal brooch can be added after the ceremony as an evening-appropriate embellishment.
They are also ideal options for someone who realizes that she'll be admired as much from the back as from the front.
Amy Verner