Vera and Oscar

Drove over to West Hollywood this morning to try on gowns by Vera Wang and Oscar De La Renta. It turns out that most of the well known designers have large boutiques within walking distance from each other: on Melrose Place and Melrose Ave. Monique Lhuillier and Carolina Herrera are also in the area, across the street from ODLR. Dapat pala I scheduled everything all in one day! :)

VW’s shop is very modern and sleek, versus ML’s which was more classic and refined. The salesladies there were also not as sweet and welcoming. For instance, I got to the store one minute before they opened at 10:00 am and all the ladies were just standing on the other side of the door staring at me and chatting until it was 10:00 am. First impression: not so good.

That said, the bridal consultant that took care of me was very sharp and attentive. What I liked about her was that she pulled gowns that I wouldn’t normally have tried on but that she thought looked good on me. And a lot of times, she was right. It helped expand my perspective on what I was looking for.

Gown-wise, what was striking about VW’s overall style is that she’s moved away from the more traditional, embellished gowns. Her overall style was a bit more edgy, with unfinished edges and layers that like they were messy but made sense at the same time. Kind of artful chaos. For example, here is a gown called Deirdre, which is one of the more popular ones from her recent collections:

To be honest, I went into the store thinking that I wasn’t going to find anything I liked. After all, my style is pretty traditional and refined. But, after trying on a few gowns, a few things were striking:

1) The gowns are SO light. They have a lot of volume but are so airy and cool.

2) A few that I tried on are REALLY flattering. I think it might be the contrast of the fitted bodice with the full skirt. In any case, they made my waist look really tiny.

The two that I liked both had lace on them and fuller skirts. This first one, Dinah had really pretty lace and ruching on the bodice. I tried it on with a plain ivory because I wasn’t too hot about the giant bow.

It was really pretty on me… but somehow I the pickups (pinned bunches) in front really bothered me. Also, it doesn’t look all that great in pictures, huh?

My favorite of was this one called Eliza…

I wasn’t sure I would like it because it had a bit of an edge to it. But I tried it on anyway because I like the silhouette. But instead of a black sash, I used an ivory one. It looked really, really good on me! And it looked so interesting because it had a lot of different layers and textures: the top has lace cutouts and the bottom has all this gorgeous pleating. AND it was really comfortable, cool, and light. I think that my only hesitation, though, is that it might look dated after awhile. Who knows how long this style of making dresses will last, right?

After giving Eliza another try, I headed down the block to Oscar De La Renta. You can totally tell that ODLR’s business is not built around wedding gowns. In other stores, you sit and chat with a bridal consultant first, who will afterwards pull a bunch of dresses based on your personal style and wedding vision. The bridal consultant also stays with you the whole time to help you in and out of dresses. At ODLR, it was more like: here are the dresses, enjoy!
What I loved about ODLR is that all their dresses have built-in corsets. So everything looked really flattering in me. I tried on a couple. First, this one with ruffles that reminded me of fish tails for some reason. It was very nice on me, but I felt like it was too much.

Then I tried on this one, which is similar to the Rocha in silhouette. It has really beautiful beading, which ODLR said is all made in India by a family that has been beading and embroidering fine clothing for generations. It has a light blue lining which makes all the details pop.

And last but not the least, my favorite...

You can’t really see from the picture because they covered it up with a bolero, but it has a sweetheart neckline. It also has embroidery all over the skirt and the bodice. And the silhouette fit me very well. I think that this gown might be the favorite of all I’ve tried so far… and it tied with Rocha.

Anyway I’m not stressing too much because I have over a year to go before the wedding. Also, the designers are getting their Spring 2011 collections in around August and September. This means trunk shows! And 10% discounts when you buy a gown during the trunk show, regardless of whether it’s from the new or old collection. I have already scheduled appointments up for the VW, ODLR, and Saks (Christos) trunk shows. Yay! Exciting!