Maids Dresses: Very Vera (Wang that is)

When we receive new Vera Wang maids dresses, I am struck by how edgy the styles compared to classic bridesmaid gowns.

I have this image of the Vera Wang design process. Think Meryl Streep playing Anna Wintour in "The Devil Wears Prada" meets bridal.

Vera has a department of deputy designers who do nothing but dream bridal wear. When Vera swooshes in, she rejects the ordinary, then takes a critical eye to the best.

"Move this seam."

"Add this accent."

"Exaggerate this drape."

... and like that.

When she's finished, each Vera Wang maids dress is both edgy and inimitably Vera.

Okay, well maybe not Anna Wintour or Meryl Streep, but definitely edgy and very Vera.

Vera Wang Maids dresses are new in Scarlett's Closet.

Take me there.

Vera Wang Dresses for Maids & Moms

Just off the runway - evening gowns and party dresses
by Vera Wang, the Queen of all things chic.

Vera Wang Dresses for Maids, Moms & Best Dressed Guests

Vera Wang Glamorizes Bridal Fashion 2009

According to Fashion World Daily, Vera Wang's Spring 2009 bridal collection, which she presented in her showroom in New York on Thursday, April 17, started with Hollywood glamour of the 1930s through the 1950s of silver screen sirens such as Jean Harlow, Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe and Ava Gardner.

Details like pleated organza ruffles or floral corsages on one shoulder, fractal-like spiraling hand-cut floral trains, hand-pleating or asymmetrically draped necklines and asymmetrically placed bows literally put a twist on the traditional bridal silhouettes, adding dramatic points of focus. Exquisitely rendered, these elements exuded not only luxury but also gave the dresses a modern sophistication that only good design can impart.

"We want to modernize the wedding vocabulary," said Wang post-show. "It's something we struggle with every season."

After five years' marketing sample wedding gowns by top designers to bargain savvy brides, I have my own take on Vera Wang.

I envision an army of assistant designers styling Vera Wang wedding dresses and maids gowns for her approval.

Vera marches in like the Queen of Hearts (or Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada,") looks the design up and down and immediately changes anything that has been "done" before.

"Change this."

"I don't like that."

"Move this here."

How else can you explain a wedding dress with seams inside out (done by Sonja Rykiel in the 70's BTW?) Or a frothy confection like the one above on which asymmetric tiers of bobinette tulle appear to collide?

Still nothing exceeds like excess and the results are undeniably distinctive.

Vera Wang's wedding gowns are among the most sought after for fashion-forward brides, where thoughtful, inventive design combined with luxurious fabrics and finishings extend the gown beyond the realm of mere canvas for traditional embellishments like sequins or beading. Instead, a Vera Wang gown takes ornamentation away from the mode of simple decoration, integrating the ornamental into the blueprint and structure of the dress - a true work of art. It becomes a part of the architecture of the gown as much as it is the focal point.

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See Vera Wang Maids in Scarlett's Closet Sample Sale.


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