World of Fashion
By Thea Lignos-Hardgrove

  Searching for the perfect gown is an expedition, a pursuit that should be fun and exciting. You’ve entered a world of fashion that’s fanciful, a world where dreams become tangible in silks and satins, organza, charmeuse, chiffon, tulle among many other delicate fabrics and jewels.
    As the nature of fashion is about constant change, time and travel become an intricate part of your search and the more time you’ve given yourself and the more open you are about exploring, you’ll find the joy in the exploration.  If you haven’t begun the search, you’ll soon find a new vocabulary of ready-to-wear, couture, collection and designers names that take practice to pronounce. You’ll discover that each bridal boutique differs from the other, that each bridal designer has a different flair to their line. You’ll find that though the boutique may carry the designer you’ve torn from a magazine, they may not have this specific gown.  And you may also find that the specific gown you’ve dreamt about doesn’t quite fit your body type the way you’d hoped. 
   Here are the behind the scenes information that will help you along your journey. First, let’s define what a collection is.  A collection is the repertoire of gowns a designer releases for the season usually about 20 to 25 gowns per season. There are two seasons a year for most designers. These releases are in April and October and occur in New York City during bridal market week. Who attends these releases are mostly the press and bridal boutique owners.  The press attends so they may document the collection and bridal boutique owners attend to select the gowns they wish to carry. The public can attend, though mostly celebrities, to experience the splendor of such an event but also to find out what’s the latest and greatest in the bridal fashion industry for their own wedding.
    The difference between ready-to-wear and a designer’s collection is that ready-to-wear is manufactured in mass quantity and can be purchased in your size directly off the rack­­—while a collection is purchased by trying on samples either in the bridal boutique or at the designer’s salon. The gown selected is then created in the client’s size.
     Not all salons carry an entire collection from the designer; in fact, most salons feature only a selection of a new collection from each of their designers. You can find out which salons carry which gowns by contacting the designer showroom directly or doing an internet search.  And if you happen to find the perfect gown before meeting Mr. Right, designers keep an extensive library on hand to recreate any of their designs on demand, whether currently on the market or not.  
    As there are differences between the designer’s gowns, there are distinctions between bridal boutiques. “You have to find the boutique that fits your style. After I got engaged in 2004 and married in 2005, I found that the search for an upscale bridal boutique in the South Bay wasn’t available so I opened my own, Gabrielle’s Bridal Boutique. I chose designers that represent what’s missing in Silicon Valley. The designers we represent are the latest in chic bridal and perfect for a professional women who is very fashion forward. These gowns are beautiful but certainly not for everyone,” states Gabrielle.
     Some boutiques specialize on the extravagant artistic designs of a collection while other boutiques select the more modest designs and then there are boutiques that have found their niche in offering gowns that price from $2,000 and below.  Each bridal boutique varies on the services offered as well.  Some offer one-on-one private consultations where you are the only bride in consultation, while others are open to the public and allow brides to come and go as they like.  Some serve champagne, some specialize in vintage, some provide consultation on other services needed for the wedding such as florists, jewelry, venue, etc. Gabrielle explains, “We meet with the bride in a one-on-one consultation over a glass of wine or champagne and talk about their big day. We let them tell us what is important to know about their wedding and make suggestion and recommendations on some of the best people in the industry.”
     Welcome to the world of “couture.” Couture is for the bride who has a specific vision in mind that isn’t available on the market. Couture is an excellent solution for brides who’ve encountered that ready-to-wear gowns aren’t designed with their body type in mind. For example, if you’re long-waisted or even short-waisted, you may have found that there is a great deal of construction needed to adjust a gown to fit your particular shape.  And the expense associated to this reconstruction may equal and possibly exceed having a gown designed specifically for you. “Couture is made by one specific sewer per piece and there is usually a large amount of hand-sewing involved. While ready- to-wear is manufactured, so different parts of a garment could be made by different seamstresses and the quality of construction is usually less difficult and less time consuming,” explains Kirstie Kelly with Kirstie Kelly Couture, Los Angeles.
     Couture isn’t always the most expensive route or the timeliest; it depends on the fabrics being used and who’s designing. You should start a year in advance but a couture gown can be ordered 6 months in advance and even 3 months but obviously, sooner is better. If you’ve chosen a designer who has an established name in the industry, then of course, it will be more expensive for them to design for you but how incredible is that to have a designer who has spent years crafting their art to be your personal artist. There are many up-and-coming designers whose gowns are sold on the market that have a design studio for the purpose of couture. Some bridal boutiques also offer couture services so don’t be intimidated by the world of “couture,” it is obtainable and an experience all on its own. It’s an opportunity to express your own personal style and glamour.