White Toronto

*This entry has also been published on my other blog, Stuff Lindsay Bought*

From WeddingBells.ca

As I detailed in Saturday’s entry, my sister has selected the Simple Silhouettes line for me and her four other bridesmaids to wear. While a great-looking line, it’s not a very popular one, at least not in Canada, and as a result, only one place in Toronto carried: White in Yorkville.

Now, if you’ve ever been a bride in Toronto, you’re probably familiar with White. For the rest of you, I’ll explain that  it's considered to be one of the city’s better, and pricier, bridal stores.

I was a Toronto bride but since I preferred not to look at things I couldn't afford,  I never went to White (well, that and I bought with my dress with my mom in Alberta). But I was always curious about it and because of that, I was happy to have an excuse to check it out.

Located in an old Victorian on Hazelton Avenue, it should be made clear that White is no Kleinfields. It’s a small place with a suitably small selection. But the dresses they do have well, they are certainly stunning. Maybe a little too stunning.

Let me explain…

While I’m sure White stocks at least a couple sleek, simple gowns, most of the ones I saw are elaborate creations full of lace, beading and sparkle. While some were more “traditional” looking, many had a definite high-fashion look to them and the detailing on both types was truly amazing.

While these dresses aren’t necessary big in size (though they do have those), they are big on impact and honestly, I don’t think most women could carry them off. Besides requiring the right body type (long and lean but not skinny), they also require the right attitude. For many women, a wedding day is about being a princess but these dresses, even the ones with tulle, say “supermodel” more than “princess”.

Then there's the issue of cost. With dresses by such designers as Badgley Mischka, Monique Lhuillier and Oscar de la Renta, yuo can safely assume that this is not the place for the bride-on-a-budget. While I did see I think at least two that are three thousand-something, most of the price tags I looked at were above the $5000 mark with many dresses costing over ten grand. And no, that cost doesn’t include alterations (oddly, White doesn’t do alternations).

From Distinctoccasions.ca

The selection of bridesmaids however, is both more varied and more practical. Again, the selection isn’t huge and neither is the overall “bridesmaid loft”, which is located at the top of the house. I’m pointing this out because while I was getting my dress, a bridal party with 12 (yes, 12) maids showed up and things got pretty cramped pretty quick.

Also, the lighting’s not the best in there so if you can, get colour samples that you can take out and look at in better light.

The service however, is excellent. I had my own clerk who was friendly and helpful, offering useful and honest advice and opinions. I was measured for my dress by a different woman who was quick, professional and also offered her honest opinion on exactly what size I should get. And I have to give my admiration for the woman who was dealing with mega-bridal party. Despite their noise and uh, stupidity (multiple members weren’t wearing underwear), she was calm and organized.

I was less impressed with the fact that I paid more for my bridesmaid’s dress than my sister's other maids, who are buying theirs from a shop in Calgary, but I guess that Yorkville rent’s gotta get paid somehow.

Appointments are a must-have at White and because the selection is on the small side, I would check with them and make sure that they carry the designer/specific dresses that you’re looking for. And seriously, if you don’t have the budget for a pricy dress, don’t even walk in there.

Simple Silhouette Bridesmaid Dresses

*This entry has also been published on my other blog, Stuff Lindsay Bought*

Last weekend, I went shopping for a bridesmaids dress for my sister’s wedding. Based on 

Violet

that  experience,  I  have written up two reviews; one on of the line of dresses I tried on and another on where I went shopping. Let’s start with the dresses.



 My sister has  five “maids” (if you hate that term, stop reading now because I am going to use it) and of course we don’t all look the same. So she’s decided that we can each pick our own dresses, with some conditions in place.


And I’m quite happy that my sister did lay down some dress parameters. The whole pick-whatever-you-want approach to bridesmaids’ dresses seems great on paper but in real life can result in some really random and weird combinations. Plus it can be stressful for both the maids and the bride since no one really knows what to get or expect.

My sister told me and the other maids that we’d be wearing pink, tea-length dresses from the 2009-2010 Simple Silhouette lines (aka the "Simple Collection") and I have to have to say, she made a great call.

 Now, I should warn you that Simple Silhouette’s 2011 bridesmaids line is sort of ugly. I’m not sure what happened between the 2010 and the 2011 lines but whatever it was, it should be undone because the older dress designs are genuinely attractive garments that most women would be happy to wear.

 

Senna



For the most part, these designs have clean, simple lines and similar skirts so they there is a cohesive look to them. At the same time, the top portions come in a wide enough variety of styles that most maids will be able to find a dress that feels and looks good.

Another nice thing about Simple Silhouettes is its extensive fabric options and the fact that all of its dresses, at least from the pre-2011 collections, are available in any of those fabrics.



I tried on over half-a-dozen dresses and they were all comfortable and flattering. Overall, this was one of the more positive shopping experiences I’ve ever because everything looked at least “good” (and unless I’m buying t-shirts, clothing shopping is usually a very frustrating thing for me).





Buttercup

I  think most maids would be happy to wear a Simple Silhouette dress except for one key detail: the price.

These are well-designed, well-constructed dresses and those facts are reflected in their cost. As a result, these dresses mostly run between just under $300 and just under $400 and if you’re getting a satin or silk dress, it’s going to be on the higher end (though you can get a bit of a discount if you’re buying three or more dresses in the same colour/fabric).



To help balance that high cost out, keep in mind that because the look of these dresses is so great, they really could be worn again (as long as the fabric choice isn’t too crazy).

Don’t believe me? Then check out Simple Silhouette’s Beyond the Wedding Day photo shoot.



Oh, in case you’re interested, the dress I picked is called the Violet and it's the first dress included in this entry. 

Some Wedding Articles

Today’s edition of the Toronto Star features several-wedding themed articles (because of Valentine Day???) but while there are quite a few pieces, most of them aren’t very useful. Some, like this piece on flowers, don’t really contain any practical details while this piece on bridal fashion reminds us that the bride should be dazzling since it’s her big day.

Then we have the story of Marco and Christine’s elegant, laid-back wedding at a castle in France. It does sound like a lovely wedding that completely suits the couple and, since the bride grew up near the castle, makes sense geographically for them. But it’s not really a story that most Toronto brides are going to find useful.

Thankfully there are a trio of articles that are worth your time. Photo booths are the big must-have element to have at your wedding right now and if you want to hop on that trend, you’ll want to read this piece on where you can rent one.

This article on bridal beauty contains some useful tips (do wear make-up but skip the tanning booth) as well as info on Gee Beauty’s customized skin-care regime for brides (I wish I had the extra cash for that).

Then there’s this story on Twobirds Bridemaids. Twobird dresses sound amazing so it’s too bad that no local shops sell them and that the designer, who’s in Toronto this weekend, is fully book with appointments. Well, here’s hoping her plan to open a store in Yorkville this fall comes true.

Meet Charlotte: Our Bridesmaid Expert

The other day I met with Charlotte, a friend who’s also been in 13 wedding parties. Over the next few months, she’ll be sharing some of the insight she’s gathered from being involved in all those weddings.

Charlotte’s biggest piece of advice for brides is to have clear idea of what you what and then accurately communicate it to your maids. She says that many of the weddings she’s been involved with begin with the bride being laid backed.

”She starts off with letting the bridesmaids make the decisions,” says Charlotte but eventually, as the bride sees that those decisions aren’t matching her vision, her relaxed nature changes. “That’s when things get bitchy.”

A common mistake is for the bride to tell the maids that they can wear whatever dress they want as long as the colour or fabric matches. Charlotte’s been involved in multiple weddings where this approach has led to alterations and new dress purchases. While she didn’t sound bitter about this, I know I would be if that happened to me.

Keep this from happening to you maids by together picking a common dress design and fabric. This doesn’t mean that everyone has to match but instead, that all the designs work together. Charlotte suggests picking necklines that work for each girl but keeping the rest of the dress the same. “That usually looks really flattering.”

Charlotte points out that you need to consider all details: open-toed shoes or closed; hair up or down; dangling earrings or studs. Once you know what you want, tell your girls and only let them make their own choices if you trust their style.

She tells the story about one wedding she was in where the girls where allowed to wear whatever necklace they wanted. The bride thought that her maids would wear a small floating diamond or pearl necklace and that’s what almost all of them ended up wearing except for one girl, who was a bit of a hippy. She showed up in a large, three-strand necklace. “It looked good,” says Charlotte but when the girl was lined up with the other maids, the hippy necklace really stood out. “The little things are really noticeable,” she says.

Having a plan for your maids look doesn’t mean you’re a Bridezilla. It just means that you’re organized and know that being a little bossy now can prevent a big headache in the future.

Friends Don't Make Friends Wear Ugly Dresses

I’ve taken to snooping through Facebook to look for wedding photos. The other day, I came across a wedding that was completely lovely in almost all respects. The venue was stunning, the bride beautiful, the groom and his attendants handsome and happy but the bridesmaids… well, their hair and make-up was lovely.

But the dresses, yeah, not so much. I don’t want to reveal too many identifying details so let’s just say the dresses were not flattering. I have no clue if the dresses were off-the-rack or custom made (I feel like they might have been the latter; I can’t imagine these things being mass produced) but I do know that they should not have been worn down the aisle.

The thing is, if I verbally described these dresses using neutral language, you’d probably think that they were quite elegant. And maybe on the rack they would have looked not bad. But once a person, well, somehow even the thinnest of the bridemaids (maybe a size four) looked like a sausage. So while I can picture someone sketching one of these dresses, I just cannot understand why they were purchased.

Why didn’t someone say something? I guess I can understand why the bridesmaids themselves didn’t say anything; they probably didn’t want to upset or worry the bride. But why couldn’t the bride see that she was shoving her friends in unflattering dresses?

All of this leads me to say, brides-to-be, please take a critical look at your maids’ dresses and make sure they look great. Yeah, yeah, you’re the bride and you should look the best but your bridesmaids are your friends who (hopefully) are helping you pull off the biggest event you’ll likely ever plan. Make sure they look almost as good as you do.

And if this means being flexible with your bridesmaids dress plans, then so be it. Your pictures will look better for it and you wouldn’t have someone like me wondering what your maids did to dress those ugly dresses.