Comments on: LOVE/HATE: The Feather Duster Edition

By: Patty

Patty — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:47:48 +0000

Actually I think this is a great dress! It’s definitely not for every bride, but I can see tons of girls out there who would go for this style. It’s definitely off-beat but there’s nothing to HATE about this dress. Like my grandmother always said “para los gustos se hicieron los colores” which translates to “for different tastes, colors were made”.

By: La BellaDonna

La BellaDonna — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:44:17 +0000

Heh. I’m off in the corner, all by my lonesome. That dress is totally not ME – but I’m really glad it exists for the bride whom it DOES represent (which apparently would be De, here on this blog). But I’m generally a big fan of “Less is not more; less is less. MORE is more.”

By: PatternJunkie

PatternJunkie — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:25:20 +0000

With different colored tulle and different shaping, I LOVE it. There was a dress like this featured over on Green Wedding Shoes few months ago and I was in utter lust.

By: Omnibus Driver

Omnibus Driver — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:28:12 +0000

Add the contents of a fruit bowl to the headpiece and throw in a pair of maracas, and you’d have the perfect wedding dress for Carmen Miranda.

By: angela

angela — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:32:12 +0000

slightly tangentially, i love those shoes (what I can see of them) like I love sunshine and roses and mojitos on summer days on the patio. So. Much. Awesome.

By: Twistie

Twistie — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:01:50 +0000

Actually, Jennie, Elysa’s ‘fabric pooping’ dress was long and lean monochromatic turquoise and kind of wonderful…until you got to the train of random blobs of fabric that nearly tripped the model. If she’d just left off the train, she might have been a contender for the win in that challenge (there was only one seam on a long, body-conscious, sinuous gown!). Come to think of it, though, while the silhouette and color scheme are completely different, that kind of sums up how I feel about this dress: a flash of utter brilliance seriously undercut by a lack of editing on the part of the creator.

Johanna, I want that Westwood! Actually, I would kind of love to see Westwood’s gorgeous jacket-styled bodice on the line of James’ skirt. In fact I think it would make a magnificent wedding gown done in shades of white/ivory/ecru or in graduated tones (light to dark) of nearly any color of the rainbow.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Fri, 22 May 2009 06:27:05 +0000

I say Hate. Maybe not too harshly, but the electric blue polka dot broke this camel's back. I had to dig deep into my folder of inspirations for this Vivienne Westwood mismatched tulle cuteness which in my memory had some similarity, and having seen that I can't say much good about this Stephanie James. I mean, are those feathers? Circus, but not really in a good way. And the difference in the length of the side/back and front is too much in my opinion, too much with all those screaming, unmatching layers of tulle. Then again, I could easily see those too combined and even wearing it, taking the white part from James and sticking it on Westwood's petticoat, maybe even adding a dip. Good idea with bad execution.

By: Jennie

Jennie — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:40:41 +0000

Didn’t the freaky, nature, spit marking chick on PR do this a few seasons ago? I think the term used was “pooping fabric”.

By: MidwestElle

MidwestElle — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:39:57 +0000

Hmm. I’m not sure. I LOVE her entire line, but when I saw this, I also took a step back. I think it’s a great piece to have in her collection, though. It’s a pop of color and wacky fun amid all of her beautiful gowns. And the dress is also beautiful–just, maybe not for a traditional wedding.

I love that the dress exists…now I want to see photos of someone wearing it on the town!

By: Twistie

Twistie — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:57:18 +0000

I took one look at this and heard Tim Gunn in my head saying ‘that’s a lot of look’ as his eyes bulged slightly.

I actually think it’s a great concept taken way too far. It needs a bit of editing to be truly loved in my book, but it’s too good an idea to be entirely hated.

So what would I change to make my love unequivocal? I would entirely ditch the gewgaws at the back of the waistline. They clutter the look annoyingly. If I replaced them with anything, I might choose a glittery brooch or a very simple, flat bow, but I just might leave it entirely plain, too. Then I would choose a set of tulles designed to harmonize a bit better with one another. You’ve got pastels, brights, mostly solids with one patterned piece, and it starts looking a bit clownish to me. I would probably pick graduated tones of one color. If I went rainbow, though, I would pick either brights OR pastels. If I was going to add one patterned tulle, I would use at least two so that one wouldn’t look so lonely and out of place.

I must admit I would very likely wind up ditching the dip in the hem at the back, but that’s a very personal taste, and I don’t think I would hate this dip if the dress weren’t quite so cluttered a look overall. Then it might become a dramatic detail that pleased me.

Actually, I’m looking in my mind’s eye and thinking I might keep this dip if the waistline is less cluttered and the tulles are more harmonious. At that point, it seems to add to the drama in a positive way.

So, loving the concept tremendously/recoiling in horror from the execution. There’s where I stand.