Searching for SuperDress

March 24, 2007 9:59 AM

So there's this dress I saw in a New Orleans' dress shop a few years ago...

...and while I'm not a big fashionista, something about it caught me such that I made my boyfriend take a picture of it. Now that we're getting hitched, I want to find something like it — it's the pink one in the picture, though what I would love is blue-grey or silver or even white.

Google/Froogle/Amazon/etc. searches for "ruched," "empire," etc. fail to return anything like it. So I really have a few different questions that could be answered:

- Better search terms I could use to describe to better describe the dress' features?

- Anyone know where I could find something like it? Or a low-stress dressmaker in the DC area to recommend?

- Any master who can figure out the name of the store just by looking at the picture? I think it was on a side-street off Canal.

Thanks in advance!

posted by jenh to clothing, beauty, & fashion (15 comments total)

i would imagine a dressmaker could probably work something up for you from the picture.

you might find a similar pattern here: http://www.butterick.com/indexflash.html
posted by thinkingwoman at 10:27 AM on March 24, 2007

This pattern seems pretty close.
posted by MsMolly at 11:03 AM on March 24, 2007

A few ideas:

1) Ask the chicks at IndieBride.com. They are the goddesses of all things non-traditional-wedding. With 900 getting married women, all looking for dresses, someone can for sure point you at a few online options that will be very similar across all price ranges.

2) Check J. Crew because I think they have a dress like that in their wedding dress line.

2a) If #2 looks like a good bet, buy a 2nd hand one on Ebay, cut it into pieces, and experiment with having the pieces dyed to your specific colour.
posted by DarlingBri at 11:51 AM on March 24, 2007

MsMolly is right on the money in pointing you at a 1930s pattern -- the ruching and the obvious bias cut of the gown are all classic 1930s features. You'll probably find much more stuff close to that if you concentrate on bias-cut and 1930s styles rather than Empire, as that'll wind up detouring into a lots of Regency styles. Try looking at vintage patterns (or modern reproductions of vintage styles); in regular modern pattern books don't forget to look into the lingerie sections as well as the formal gowns, as there are often nightgown patterns with that sort of simple bias silhoutte
posted by Smilla's Sense of Snark at 1:38 PM on March 24, 2007

Trashy Diva makes a couple dresses that are not exactly the same, but similar design with a gathered bodice, but a more '40's silhouette.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:29 PM on March 24, 2007

I haven't been there in years but the picture reminded me of The Grace Note at 900 Rue Royal in New Orleans.
posted by violette at 3:28 PM on March 24, 2007

I've been looking through dresses all afternoon to try to help you, but no luck. I want you to find this dress!! I've also totally fallen in love with it as well.

I decided to take violette's cue and search for the actual store. I wonder if this is the same store, based on the light fixtures. There is an HC on the door.
posted by bristolcat at 4:05 PM on March 24, 2007

Got it. Based on the dress forms, this is the Harold Clark Bridal and Special Occassion Dress Shop.

See this.
posted by bristolcat at 4:10 PM on March 24, 2007

Pardon me, two mistakes in spelling.

It's the Harold Clarke Bridal and Special Occasion Dress Shop.

I can't find a website for them, but apparently the dresses are one-of-a-kind designs. I guess you'll be finding a seamstress. Good luck!
posted by bristolcat at 4:17 PM on March 24, 2007

I always post too soon.

Ta-da: http://www.haroldclarke.com/
posted by bristolcat at 4:18 PM on March 24, 2007

Oh, and guess what. Your dress is featured in the video, and you can even see what the back looks like.
posted by bristolcat at 4:22 PM on March 24, 2007

Dressmakers in DC:

Roya at Elegance in Old Town Alexandria.
Angie (in Fairfax Station), who is referred word of mouth on the DC knot boards. Go over there for her contact info -- I don't have it.
posted by wildeepdotorg at 4:47 PM on March 24, 2007

Incredible. I somehow knew AskMe would come through--thanks so much to all for the answers and especially to bristolcat--I'm totally amazed! Almost emotional, but maybe that's the effect of seeing the dresses we took pictures years ago in a video with dramatic movie soundtrack music...

We realized today in talking that there's really no other place that would make sense for us to get married, it's gotta happen in New Orleans, so I guess I'll be giving Harold Clarke a call!
posted by jenh at 9:06 PM on March 24, 2007

The dress shop is "La Fleur's". It is on the corner of Royal and Pirates Alley.

Getting married in New Orleans is a great idea, some friends from Canada were married on one the riverboats that cruise up and down the Mississippi River.
posted by JujuB at 9:51 PM on March 24, 2007

It sounds like you got this one nailed but I just had to post. I saw a very similar dress today in a vibrant blue at Nordstroms. I'm not seeing it on their website, though. Might be worth a look if you have a Nordstrom's near you.
posted by amanda at 1:48 PM on March 28, 2007