Is this the perfect wedding dress?
GROOMS, look away now. This is the nation’s dream wedding dress as designed by the experts – that is, thousands of British brides.
The women were asked to come up with their perfect gown, picking every detail from dress shape and length to sleeve style, fabric and embellishment.
And here is the result – brought to life over ten days by top bridal designer Stephanie Allin, who makes all of her gowns by hand at her workshop in Wales.
The catch? Anyone who wants to walk down the aisle in this one will have to pay £15,000 for the privilege.
Around 3,000 readers of Brides magazine provided their views about what made the perfect dress.
The result is a charming mix of the fashionable and the traditional. Lace – brought back into popularity two years ago with the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress – was the favoured fabric for almost half of women and appears on most of the dress, including the sleeves and veil.
The style of sleeve picked by 44 per cent is surprising, however. The cap sleeve is the cruellest sort, serving to emphasise broad shoulders and cut the arm off at its widest point. More flattering is the sweetheart neckline, chosen by 39 per cent and shown by the likes of Lanvin, Prada and Gucci on their autumn/winter 2013 catwalks.
Designed to add femininity to a dress, the sweetheart works to emphasise the bust – whatever your size – without being revealing, and balances out those tricky cap sleeves.
Together with a waistcinching embellishment and on-trend fishtail skirt, this hourglass-enhancing dress is truly something that will flatter any figure.
Mrs Allin, who has been designing wedding dresses for 22 years and has a store in Marylebone, central London, said: ‘It is made from French Chantilly lace, with silk crepe and silk chiffon underskirts, which give it a beautiful swishing feeling.’
The gown will be formally unveiled tonight at Brides The Show in Battersea, south London.