Bridal gowns becoming simpler in style

The bridal gown is the most important symbol of the traditional wedding. All brides place importance on what they will be wearing this significant day. After all, there is no erasing the photographs of the special event! On the other hand, of course, the bridal gown itself should not be the only focus of the day either. We probably all know brides who have spent months searching out the perfect dress only to emerge in a gown that has gone way beyond the limitations of taste!

It can be difficult to find a bridal gown with a headscarf

We recently toured around shops selling bridal gowns in İstanbul’s Fatih district, examining models and details there. Faith is a relatively conservative district and is also an important area for bridal shopping for many people from neighboring districts. But up and down the long boulevard, there were nearly no bridal gowns that someone who wears a headscarf could actually buy ready to wear. Instead, you are meant to look at the model, pick the one you like and then imagine how it would look with a headscarf. The results might not be what you expect, and it seems as though those who want to buy such a bridal gown need to have the ability to act as a designer as well as a wearer. What’s more, it is very difficult to even find a more modest bridal gown here; the bulk of the models we saw had exaggerated décolletage cuts.

Bridal hair

How you choose to do your hair on the big day is almost as important as the gown you decide to wear. And it is important of course that your hairstyle reflects the details of your bridal gown. Brides who wear the headscarf have had trouble in this area for years now, especially since most hairdressers tend to associate bridal hair with the chignon, and don’t go much beyond that in creativity. A lot of hairdressers, operating on the principle that the chignon basically hides the hair, do styles that pull out interesting details in the front but can wind up making the bride look quite silly. The best way to decide on how to do your hair for your wedding day is definitely to bring your bridal gown to the place where your hair is going to be done and decide together with the hairdresser. It is also never a bad idea to try out the style at least once in advance. These days, some of the accessories that are popular with bridal gowns when it comes to the hair are natural flowers, crowns and fascinators.

More interest in ready-to-wear bridal gowns

The Spanish bridal gown label Rosa Clara offers many dresses I personally have followed over the Internet. This label appeared this past season in the windows of Beymen Bridal. When I saw the bridal gowns at Beymen, I really was surprised at the sheer extent of the simplicity. The only real detailing appeared to be at the waistline of these gowns. This year, many fashion houses are displaying bridal gowns that boast embroidery at the waistline, almost like a belt. Moreover, there are tiny bows and peplum details. And boleros are also back as an indispensible accessory for these gowns! Though I am not a huge fan of bolero jackets, these ones really seemed to work with the dresses. Perhaps it’s all due to the design mentality behind them, with the focus on real harmony with the bridal dress. We had a chance to talk with Sebla Devidas, the procurement manager at Beymen Bridal. “In recent years, not just Beymen but other boutiques in Turkey as well have been bringing in designs of bridal gowns from a variety of different foreign labels for sale in Turkey. Yes, the ready-to-wear bridal gown sector has grown rapidly recently in Turkey. Customers lean towards labels they trust and items they can try that fit their bodies perfectly. When they find these sorts of items, worries about sizing and models are erased. And Turkish customers can finally try pieces from collections with no problems. These are some of the factors that have contributed towards the increase in interest in ready-to-wear bridal gown collections. One of our most popular labels that we provide is the Rosa Clara label. The models they provide are perfect for Turkish body types. And the focus on lace and embroidery is something that makes them popular with our customers, too. The bridal gowns that feature lace and skirts that puff out from the waist like ball gowns are particularly popular. There is also much interest being shown in models that sit snugly on the body, that are narrower and tighter.”

Where are global bridal trends going and how does this reverberate in Turkey?

“While more plain models are popular in Europe, Turkey does still tend towards comparatively more puffy, embroidered, detailed bridal gowns. At the same time though, the typical Turkish bridal gown these days is simpler, less embroidered and less puffy than in the past. This is at least what I have observed.”

What sorts of changes are you seeing in  materials and colors of these gowns?

“You can see a wide range of materials used in bridal gowns: satin, chiffon, lace and taffeta. Most of the brides choosing their gowns from Beymen Bridal tend towards lighter materials. I am seeing chiffon and lace more often than taffeta and satin. However, there is not much interest in bridal gowns that are not either white or ivory.”