Handcrafted cocktail dresses take center stage

I tried on six dresses in total. Two were absolute flops (I can’t blame my mother for her choice, because all the dresses were bagged. She didn’t know that the bottom ballooned into a ball gown-on-crack overload of taffeta. The top was nice, in her defence.) And two were total hits. One of the hits received comments like “You look like Grace Kelly!” and “You could rule Monaco in that dress!” (three guesses what the dress looked like), and the other was basically a tangible representation of what I, my bridesmaids and my mother had all pictured me in once we wrapped our heads around the fact that I’m getting married.
Of course that dress – the only one that made me squeal just a little bit – was much too expensive. Despite some calls to “say yes to the dress!” I vowed to begin my search for a cheaper alternative. It may be possible to order the dress somewhere else much cheaper. For example Ashton Station bridal boutique, also in Carleton Place, had a comparable dress for 25 per cent less, which I found at the Ottawa Wedding Show at Lansdowne Park the same day.Buying special dresses for special occasions. After all, my colleague Kristy got a stunning dress (with pockets!) for only $85. It can be done.
I’ll embark on this mission because, despite my mother’s insistence that it’s on her bill so it doesn’t matter, I’m still an eco bride at heart. I’m still the practical girl who hates to waste money on frivolity (unless it involves wine...) and I’m not sure I can justify buying a Paloma Blanca dress just because my mother says I can. I already found my centrepiece materials at Value Village, and now that I know I have a dream dress, I can try to find it while sticking to my rather stubborn frugal values! Capital Brides, I’ll keep you posted.
Sophisticated detailing: Makers are incorporating more handcrafted features. Ribbon is wrapped or folded around the whole dress or the bodice. Beads, sequins and stones are manually sewn. Shirred torsos, pleated waistbands and pickup skirts are also pinned and set by hand.Current colors: Although black styles dominate output, gold and ivory are becoming more popular among suppliers. On the back of strong color in recent runway shows, many releases also come in sea blue, fuchsia and green.
Price forecast: Product quotes rose 20 to 30 percent in the past year due to mounting material and labor costs. Further augmentation of 10 to 20 percent is expected in the months ahead as spending for worker salaries and benefits continues to climb.