This gown comes from Oscar de la Renta’s Spring 2013 collection. As you may have noticed, it isn’t white.

de la Renta showed several colored wedding gowns in his latest collection. Some were vibrant red like this, the others were a more ethereal blue. Vera Wang showed gowns in shades of red from an almost black burgundy to a vivid vermillion. Red, blue, purple, pink… color is one of the top stories of bridal couture for the coming year. But what does that mean for you?
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Oscar de la Renta has come out with his 2013 collection for flower girls, and I’m in love. This is a perfect example of why. It’s simple, and it’s appropriate for a wedding. Most of all, it’s appropriate for a little girl to wear.

Most of the dresses are white, though a couple are blue or feature blue touches. I’m guessing that at least a couple of them will come in other colors when they get to salons… and most of the dresses inspired by them will probably be available in most of the popular colors for the season.

While de la Renta may feature price tags that most brides (and mothers of flower girls) can’t afford, the inspiration is certain to trickle down to more affordable designers and to pattern makers.

I’ve always preferred flower girl dresses that acknowledge that flower girls are generally very young girls, that are shaped for little girls’ bodies, and that can be worn at other events like parties… and in this case, the occasional First Communion.

Thumbs up for age-appropriate clothes for little girls!

For the past couple of decades, it’s been nearly impossible to walk into a bridal salon and find a gown with sleeves. No matter the season, no matter the preference of the bride, sleeves have been a dirty word in bridal couture for some fifteen to twenty years.

Then, last year, something happened.

Kate Middleton wore a wedding gown with sleeves, and the world stood up and cheered at the style.

Cries went up for copies. And then the last Twilight film came out and Bella wore long sleeves, too. The knockoffs started hitting the markets nearly immediately.

So one popular royal bride and one pop culture fictional bride made headlines for wearing sleeves… and suddenly they’re starting to show up on the bridal couture runways again.
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