The Theory of a Dress

Last night, despite my bad cold and spinning head, I went to see the dress-maker hired to provide me with an outfit that would make me appear taller, prettier, looking more like a bride than a flower-girl (seeing as how my vertically-challenged body and child-like features leave me perpetually struggling for a more grown-up look befitting of my age).

I was prompt for my appointment, armed with pictures of other vertically-challenged (though still taller than me) women who manage to look stunning in their made-for-the-red-carpet gowns. Yet I still couldn't decide if I wanted a haute couture lookalike dress - read: high glamour factor - or an elegant, understated outfit. I don't usually enjoy being looked at, but as a bride, I'm not allowed to hover in the background. People keep telling me, "It's your day, it's your night! Shine, shine, shine! You will be admired, fawned upon, everyone will want to kiss you!" Er, sure.

One of the magazines I brought with me contained an article on Alberta Ferretti, exquisitely groomed Italian designer, who says, "Clothing shouldn't be a protagonist in [your] life, but it should support your desire to live to the fullest, to be the best you can be." Ms Ferretti is a prime example of attaining one's best. She not only designs beautiful clothes, but also runs Aeffe, the corporate entity that is home to Jean Paul Gaultier, Narcisco Rodriguez and Moschino.

"I wish women would go out and find a new dress that works for them, rather than for the occasion," she said. "Too often women go over the top and buy a dress they think is dramatic because they are unsure of themselves but they want to be noticed. But the dress they choose is obvious and sometimes vulgar because it doesn't really reflect their personality. A dress can't make you shine."

How does a small person shine? Alberta claims such style deficiencies or problems have less to do with one's external proportions than their internal ones. "I am very short. So is Salma [Hayek] and so is Reese [Witherspon]. You adjust. Regardless of their sizes and ages, all women have the potential for beautiful style. A small woman with a healthy sense of self can be very hard not to notice."

After a good hour of sifting through silhouette and pattern possibilities and considering my own sense of self - how healthy or unhealthy it is - I settled for something more elegant than glamorous, but still possessing a small element of drama. Very small.

Posted by Monoceros at March 7, 2003 11:33 AM