Southern California Brides : SIZING UP THE BRIDE : Three women share their searches for the wedding dresses of their dreams--for their very real-life body types.
Brides come in all shapes and sizes--a fact that bridal magazines tend to overlook. Instead, they present page after page of divine, breathtaking dresses wrapped around perfectly proportioned freaks of nature called models.
Reality check! A wedding is a time for celebration. He thought you were perfect enough to share his life--as is. So celebrate yourself.
We followed three women in search of the special dress for their big day. These were real women--confident in themselves and their looks. They shared the dresses but drew a veil over the price tags.
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SUE BATEMAN
Age 36, hospital X-ray technician, Los Alamitos.
BIG DAY: May 20, 2000.
FIGURE: Slightly pear-shaped. Size 12. Bateman wants to accentuate her smaller upper body and minimize her hips. She points out her slightly thick upper arms, but at 5 feet, 7 inches, she has height in her favor.
DREAM LOOK: “I was really clueless about what I wanted. I knew I didn’t want anything big and fluffy. I didn’t want a lot of stuff dragging behind me. That’s not me.” She leaned toward a sleeveless column sheath that followed her curves or a more classic A-line silhouette with tiny sleeves. The sheath, a no-fuss silhouette, comes with a train, but Bateman prefers the clean lines of the dress without it.
THE SEARCH: Bateman began exploring in June. She thought that she had found her dream dress on a Web site. After calling around, she located the dress at Allusions in Brea, a full-service superstore located in Orange County. “Good Lord, I’d been maybe to a dozen stores--and zero, until I came here.” There, she tried on the dress but moved on to about 20 others--including a poufy style. “You never know,” she says.
THE DRESS: She found two viable options from among the 1,600 gowns that were in stock at Allusions. At press time, Bateman had narrowed her choice down but not yet decided between the two: a modern, sleeveless lace column with a high lace neck, and a Victorian-inspired English tulle-and-lace style with cap sleeves edging off the shoulders.
While the column dress highlights her curves, the cap sleeves of the Victorian style complement her arms, and the simple A-line silhouette flatters her figure. What’s more, the off-the-shoulder neckline brings attention to her decolletage and face.
The verdict is out on the two dresses until she returns from a trip to her native Boston where she will be making wedding arrangements.
SURVIVAL TIPS: Like most women, Bateman quickly learned that bridal stores are as guilty as the magazines when it comes to catering to the general population. “I don’t understand why bridal manufacturers attach larger size numbers to smaller sizes, or why most stores only carry small sizes. You want the bride to feel good.” Fortunately, Allusions has in stock sizes up to 42, so Bateman could get an idea of how a dress looks on her size 12 frame. “My advice is to keep an open mind and be willing to try anything.”
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JACQUELINE VARDA
Age 32, bank officer, Studio City.
BIG DAY: Sept. 5, 1999.
FIGURE: Full. Size 16 to 18. Sample dresses in most stores are a size 8 or 10, making it difficult for Varda to get a true picture with her curvy 5-foot, 2-inch figure. Like Sue Bateman, she often had to settle for just holding a dress in front of her before the mirror instead of being able to try it on. When her fiance proposed a year ago, she made big plans to slim down. “You know that myth that brides lose weight from all the stress--it doesn’t happen,” says Varda with a laugh.
DREAM LOOK: The princess look many girls grow up fantasizing about--an off-the-shoulder ballerina gown with “a poufy skirt, small waist and a long train, or at least something close.”
THE SEARCH: Varda visited some 15 stores but found only five dresses she wanted to try on. After weeks of frustration, she ended up in Brides by Liza in Sherman Oaks and believed she hit the lottery. “I felt it was fate I ended up here.” Owner and designer Liza Villarreal suggested a custom-made gown similar to her dream dress.
THE DRESS: It was cut to fit her measurements and designed with strategically placed embroidered appliques of white flowers, grapes and leaves. The appliques cover the Italian satin corset bodice and sections of the tulle sleeves, positioned to reveal and hide parts of the arms. Flowers camouflage the broad shoulder pads that Varda wanted to create the appearance of an inverted triangle with her waist. Off-the-shoulders meant no bra, so Varda was willing to throw that out for shoulder coverage. Instead of organza, Villarreal proposed a frothier English tulle. Long strips of embroidered lace run down from the waist to give the impression of height. Varda wanted a lace trim edging the bottom but was talked out of it when it was suggested that it could make her “look stubby.”
The dress flatters her hourglass figure, and a sweetheart neckline spotlights her decolletage and face.
SURVIVAL TIPS: “I left myself open to whatever would look good on me. That’s my advice to others. And I ended up with almost what I wanted.”
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RHEA BERNARDINO
Age 25, second-grade teacher, Northridge.
BIG DAY: July 29, 2000.
FIGURE: Petite. A size 0, Bernardino knows all too well how tough it is to find everyday clothes. The standard size carried in bridal stores is 8 or 10, so Bernardino enlisted clothes pins and metal clips to bunch up several inches in the back to get an idea of what a dress would look like on her slight figure.
DREAM LOOK: A column sheath, maybe sleeves. But it had to be elegant.
THE SEARCH: Bernardino already knew which styles would flatter and which would not. But that didn’t make the task of finding a dress any easier. To aid her search, she bought two thick magazines to study different styles before heading for the stores. She tried on about 20 dresses at five stores from West Los Angeles to the San Fernando Valley. But not until she landed at the Wedding Dreams Library in Woodland Hills, a full-service superstore, did Bernardino find bliss.
THE DRESS: A tank-corset style dress with a skirt of Italian organza (tulle is shown in the picture). Wedding Dreams manager Millie Annenberg advises “less is more for petites,” so she encouraged Bernardino to emphasize her waist, shoulders and back. And to “be ready for a process of elimination.”
Puffy sleeves could overwhelm her, so Bernardino opted against them. A column made her look out of proportion from the waist up, as did an A-line silhouette. She looked even skinnier in an empire style. She opted for a full skirt with yards of fabric. “I never imagined myself in a froufrou skirt. But I love it!” The smallest size available from the maker of the dress she decided on is a size 4. It will be cut down from there.
The rounded scoop neck is flattering because it frames a smooth decolletage and face, and the V-waistline provides an illusion of height to her 5-feet, 2-inch frame.
SURVIVAL TIPS: “I’m glad I started early. It’s an adventure, especially depending on the people who are supposed to help you in the stores. They can be really discouraging. That’s why it was such a relief finding someone who cares,” says Bernardino about Annenberg, who’s famous for offering hugs and help to all her clients.
