The move was shrewd; it grabbed attention, and targeted older and second-time brides who don’t want to look like fantasy virgin princesses. Yet retailers are skeptical brides will chuck the white uniform. Eleanore Rosenstein, who operates Toronto’s Vera Wang boutique, ordered a half-dozen black dresses due to arrive any day. She doesn’t expect them to fly out the door. “Brides are traditional,” she says. Demand for colour—lavender, pistachio and blush—is limited, she says, pointing to a $4,000 violet gown: “It’s gorgeous, but more of a red-carpet look.” White is a “look-at-me” hue—it’s fresh. “Could Kate Middleton have walked down the aisle in black?” she asks. Black for the bride will fuel bridesmaids’ hell, she says: “What will they wear? White?” It also means no veil—unless a bride wants to look like she’s mourning the end of her independence.

Molly Guy, owner of Stone Fox Bride, an “anti-bridal showroom” in New York City, is doubtful black will catch on. It’s not unique enough for her high-fashion clientele, she says: “Everyone has a black dress.” She’s seeing coloured dresses, noting a friend recently married in purple: “She was stunning.” Yet white is a mainstay, Guy believes, recalling shopping for her 2010 wedding: “There’s this visceral gut feeling of excitement that comes from seeing a bunch of white dresses next to each other; it’s special.” She bought a red and pink Alexander McQueen gown, then changed her mind and wore a white Alice by Temperley dress. “There’s something really beautiful and pure about getting married in white,” she says. “And I’m not someone who cares in the least about things like that.” Brides want to wear something that hints at a wedding dress and bridal tradition, she believes: “Chances are your mom got married in white, and your grandmother.”

Brooklyn, N.Y.-based filmmaker Therese Shechter was momentarily sucked into white-dress frenzy while filming herself trying them on for her documentary about virginity, How to Lose Your Virginity. “After trying on five or six dresses, I was in this weird place, like ‘This is really, really pretty,’ ” the Toronto native says. But she rejected the purity symbolism for her own wedding in 2010, choosing a green gown with an overlay of black netting. “A lot of women love the idea of the white wedding and becoming this princess for a day,” Shechter says. “But for me, it smacks of advertising some kind of sexual status that my groom didn’t have to do.” “Re-virginizing” for a day didn’t appeal, she says with a laugh: “My sexual history is one of the good things I bring to this marriage.”

Marking the occasion with “very special clothing” was important to her, and she wishes women felt freer to reflect themselves fully at their weddings. “The industry sets up this template and you have to fit yourself into it, and they trick you by giving you different sleeve lengths or white and ecru. But it’s a narrow range of choices.” And now we can add black to those choices. Or can we? If early backlash is any indication, Wang may have found it “fun to step out of the box,” as she put it, but brides are happy to stay within it—which suggests the designer’s walk on the dark side was even witchier than it seemed.

For Fall 2011 it is all about being romantic with textures, fairy and princess designs, and even getting two gowns out of one. Wuzhou Changlian bridal wedding dresses will add their unique stylish designs in the middle of the year and will hold a series of fairs, Fashion shows to expand our service zones. This increases more choices for customers to customize their personal requirements. Customers will get to experience the most sumptuous expanse of bridal merchandise and connect with elegant and decent elements of fashion culture. Designers in Wuzhou Changlian International Trading Co. have a green thumb for the blossoming gowns in many of the collections; Skirts of the gowns were covered in large cabbage roses, silk petals, and floral embroideries. There were even dresses that were shaped as one big flower. Brides to do not even have to wear traditional white anymore since gowns also came in ivory, pearl, nude, and cream colors, among them, some wedding dresses are starting to look like ball gowns. To enjoy one of bridal’s largest moments, try out one of this season’s new super-sized wedding gowns as a very reasonable option. The dresses are light and soft since they are made from delicate light fabrics such as tulle, organza and silk. The form fitting bodices made of satin show off the bride’s natural figure to balance out the over-sized skirt.

To all customers that place an order in Wuzhou Changlian please inform relative customer service staff sizes about hip, bust, waist, height and any sizes they think necessary thus we can save time to custom make the wedding dress.

Stylish websites and boutiques are hiring out designer duds for a fraction of their usual cost to girls wanting to get their favourite celebrity or catwalk looks.

With Royal Ascot this week and wedding season in full swing, MELISSA SHEDDEN has tried and tested the UK’s three biggest dress-hire websites.

See how you can save hundreds with our guide.

Girl Meets Dress

THIS is the high end of dress hire. From its slick design to the brands available, this website is top-notch.

But get your calendars out early – our favourite three dresses were booked out a month in advance.

Search by designer, occasion or Style and hire a matching handbag.

BEST FOR: Designer darlings wanting the Rolls-Royce of dress-hire websites.

Above: Herve Leger mulberry bodycon dress, Hire for two nights, £129 (To buy, £1,252), Marc Jacobs rainbow sequin dress, Hire for two nights, £89 (To buy, £900).

My Celebrity Dress

Get your hands on the same dress as Cheryl wore on The X Factor but for only a fraction of the price.

Or if you fancy a Herve Leger bodycon or the Phillip Lim sequin mini seen on The Hills star Lauren Conrad, get browsing by celebrity, size or designer.

Dress to impress … Phillip Lim sequin dress, and middle, Herve Leger gold dress

Hiring periods range from three to eight days – the longest of all the websites – so you can get a few wears out of the frock.

BEST FOR: Style-savvy celeb watchers wanting IT dresses.

Phillip Lim sequin dress, Hire for three days, £125 (To buy, £780), Herve Leger gold dress, Hire for three days, £110 (To buy, £1,500).

Celebrity Dress Hire

This latest online offering features a mish-mash of High Street and high-end dress designs.

Topshop Unique and Lipsy VIP sit side by side with Herve Leger – as seen on reality TV star Kim Kardashian and X Factor judge Kelly Rowland - plus Preen and Phillip Lim. But these dresses come in under the £100 mark, making them great value if you have your heart set on a catwalk number.

Dress from the stars … middle, Herve Leger hot pink bodycon dress and right, Alexander Wang aqua colour block dress

BEST FOR: Herve Leger and High Street limited collection lovers.

 Alexander Wang aqua colour block dress, Hire for three days, £70 (To buy, £600), Herve Leger hot pink bodycon dress, Hire for three days, £99 (To buy, £1,400).

Pear-shaped mayhem
While it’s never small enough, for some, thunder thighs and heavy bottoms are a genuine problem and not just irrational fears of the narcissistic. Skirts and dresses are in fact, a great way to veer the eye away from the rear.

- Dark colours work best for a slimming look. Black is your friend but don’t be afraid of colours. Bold bright prints and hues work great when paired with a neutral coloured blouse.
- Fit and flare A-Line skirts that hold the narrow waist and flare out from the hip balance the proportions of the body and get it in sync with the narrowness of your shoulder frame.
- For those measuring 5 feet or under, keep the length at knee level, shorter, or go full length. This will show off your slender legs or hide them completely and give your body an illusion of length. Skirts that end mid-calf break the flow of a glance and make you look shorter. Taller women have the liberty of having a free hand with the length.
- Skirts with flare or dresses that fit well at the torso and flare out from the waist accentuate the narrow parts of the body and are a great way to camouflage the wide hip area.
- Those with a heavier behind should steer clear of very short skirts. It accentuates the width of the hip attracting attention to your problem area.

Pint-sized petite
Blessed with a slender frame, proportionate assets and a flat stomach, the petite are often the most envied lot. Their genes do give them an upper hand when it comes to finding the right fit.
- Most colours work well for a slender frame – bright colours, pastels, richer hues. But steer clear of very dark colours or black unless you wany to look anorexic and gaunt.
- Flaunt the narrow waist and hips with short skirts in denim or cotton. These work wonders for both tall and short women. Team it up with a tee and flip-flops for the classic casual look.
- Figure hugging dresses and pencil skirts that hug the body until just above the knee also look great.
- Add a little flounce with balloon skirts and flaring dresses or skirts for a more formal occasion. Pair them with a smart fitting blouse to complete the look.

Top heavy
Being top heavy does pose a substantial problem for those looking for a fitted look.
- Cloak your upper torso in something loose fitting and light. The heavier the fabric and print, the more attention it’ll attract.
- Complement this with a well-fitting A-line skirt to balance out the body ratio. Slim-fitting pleated skirts will also highlight your slim waist, narrow hips and legs while taking attention away from the bust.
- Avoid tops with padded shouldered tops, deep necks or wide boat necks.

Big boned
While proportion isn’t a problem here, an over-all bigger frame does make it difficult for the body to take on a delicate look. But there are a few styles that can help tone it down and do wonders for you.
- Semi-fitted clothes are your best bet. Nothing too tight and no need to hide behind oversized flowing clothes. A simple semi-fitted top with an A line skirt with a little more flare that ends around the knee works great.
- For a formal dress, keep it from hugging your body but don’t hide behind folds and cowls. Dark colours will aid in the slimming effect and the flare helps hide bulge.
- For a more formal look, teem the semi-fit with a belt and scrunch up the waist or underbust to highlight the narrowest part of your body while still managing to hide the tummy and thigh problem areas.
- Feel free to use height as an advantage and wear knee level skirts with heels but if heavy thighs or wide hips are a problem, avoid the hem lines from receding any further.

The two glamours have put business differences aside for marie claire magazine Australia’s Red Dress campaign, which is raising awareness for heart disease, which kills more women than breast cancer and lung cancer combined, reported The Daily Telegraph.

"Politics aside, it’s about coming together to support a cause that is relevant for women, and they’re both great champions for charity and both understand the power of their celebrity to be able to make a difference," editor Jackie Frank said.

Dressed in stunning crimson frocks, the David Jones and Myer ambassadors appear in the magazine’s July issue alongside female stars including Sonia Kruger, Stephanie Rice and Sophie Vallejo.

"Heart disease is the biggest killer of Australian women, but often we forget just how much we’re at risk," Hawkins said.

Gale said that before joining the initiative, she wrongly thought heart disease was an old person’s curse.

And a movie memorabilia collector is giving you a chance to do the same – if you cough up a couple of million dollars first.

The pleated halterneck dress is being sold in an auction of iconic film costumes and is expected to fetch up to $2 million.

Other lots include Judy Garland’s costume from The Wizard of Oz, Audrey Hepburn’s Ascot dress from My Fair Lady and Julie Andrews’ clothes from The Sound of Music.

All belong to actress Debbie Reynolds who is selling off her entire memorabilia collection, of 3,500 items, in Beverly Hills on June 18.

Reynolds, 79, who is Carrie Fisher’s mother, starred in Singin’ in the Rain and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and has been buying old film costumes for more than 50 years.She got more serious about her collection in 1970 when MGM announced it was going to auction off everything except its properties.

The actress offered $5 million for all the costumes, scripts, props and music. But the Hollywood movie studio sold everything to an auctioneer for about the same price.

So Reynolds bought selected items from them instead.

Over the years she has collected items including the bowler hat Charlie Chaplin wore in Tramp and Barbra Streisand’s sleeveless gold jeweled gown from Hello, Dolly — said to be the most expensive dress ever made for a film.

But it is the ’subway dress’ that is the star lot.

The gown, designed by Travilla, is no longer quite as white as when Marilyn wore it. But has boning that was sewn in by hand to create a built-in bra.

Reynolds’ whole collection was supposed to be displayed in a museum but that project fell through, so she decided to sell the lot.

She said: "I’m heartbroken. I don’t want to see the collection broken up. It should stay intact.

"It’s a real shame but that’s the way it’s going to be."

The collection will be on view to the public at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills early next month.

UK gypsies live on the outside of society and there are more than 300,000 travellers living in the Britain.  Many are Irish or Roma.   Their biggest traditions, which will be explored in this series, are the milestones in life where modern and ancient fashions collide.  Thelma Madine is the coveted dressmaker in this culture.  Each bride approaches her wanting a dress bigger than any she’s ever created, no matter the cost or weight of the dress.  Yes, I said weight!  Little Margaretha went to Thelma for her first communion dress, which is another rite of passage that is done up huge in gypsy culture, right down to the huge dress which had more than 500 yards of pink netting and more than 5,000 crystals.  This seven-year old wore a dress than weighed more than she did, and yes, to a communion!!  Sixteen-year old Josie, getting married to 19-year old Swanley, had her dress created with Thelma, too.  Her dress weighed more than 70 pounds and included a thigh high opening in the front.  Not to worry, she ditched the bundle of tulle after the traditional cake cutting so she could boogie down at her reception.

An average of a bride is 17, but the average age for an engagement outfit is 14 years old.  It is something that gypsy girls dream about from the time they are young.  They are bred to get married and be housewives.  There are several strong felt traditions in their culture that are different from those in America.  They consider it to be the man’s job to go out to earn money.

While shopping for furnishings with her fiancé’, Josie and Swanley were accompanied by his mom.   Josie was pulled out of school at age 11 to help take care of her eight younger siblings and to help take care of the home.  Traveller girls can’t be seen alone in public, so Josie shops with her sisters and cousins.  This is a safeguard to protect the girls’ reputation.  Girls definitely aren’t allowed to approach guys and have to report in to help preserve their reputation.  Girls are also not allowed to drink alcohol until they’re married.

Traditions are set up in the gypsy culture so there is no sex before marriage (gasp, imagine that??!! Tongue in cheek), yet the ladies dress in very provocative ways, almost mimicking prostitutes.

In looking for a guy, ladies have to travel in pairs, at minimum, and are not supposed to approach the guys.  Two friends of Josie’s, Cheyenne and Montana, were looking for a dress to impress a guy at the (sound familiar?)  and Cheyene buys a new wedding for every wedding they attend.  Cheyenne has spent as much as $500 for one of the 15 weddings she has attended this year.

Margaretha arrived at her communion in a stretch limo. To get in the spirit of communion, “she grooved with her friends to dance music while drinking non-alcoholic cider”.

All in all I can understand why this show was a hit in Britain, mainly because those living in the UK likely see this culture on a regular basis, but its shrouded in such secrecy, the general UK population likely knows little about this sub-culture and its strict lifestyle and unique traditions.

Will it be a hit in the US where gypsies are not as prevalent?  Only time will tell, but whatever the case, we are a society that likes to judge other people for the differences they have in their lives.  While I would not have been caught dead wearing a dress like Josie wore (it simply wasn’t practical) I am left admiring the tradition of remaining a virgin till married.  Of course I realize that just because it’s the tradition doesn’t mean everyone, or even a fraction, of the traveller culture follow that tradition, but these highlighted on the show said that was the way of their life and I admire it!  I also admired that the daughters live with their family till their married, of course I’m not particularly understanding the belief behind getting the kids married off so young, but if it’s their tradition, that means it wasn’t just established this year!  It has been in success for many years, apparently.

Would I watch this show again?  Absolutely!  I found the whole culture fascinating.  I am interested in finding out why they are nicknamed travellers when it appears that many live a stationary lifestyle.  I wonder what the percentage of stationary gypsies versus nomadic type is.  It seems as if these people have the same negative connotation that Americas sometimes use on people who live in trailers and both are wrong!

And even going through a busy international airport, the former Baywatch star could not resist teasing fellow passengers with a glimpse of her world famous body.

At 43-years-old the actress is still in enviable shape and wore a see-through white dress as she strutted through Los Angeles Airport yesterday.

Bay-watch out! Pamela Anderson jetted into Los Angeles airport yesterday wearing a see-through white dress

The light cotton maxi dress left little to the imagination as the sunlight shone through the flimsy fabric.

Outlines of her underwear could be seen and her famous long blonde locs blew in the wind.

Pamela carried a large woven bag and teetered on high brown sandals.

Transparent: The dress made from flimsy material left little to the imagination

She had flown in from Argentina where she had taken part in their version of Dancing With The Stars.

The show called Bailando por un Sueño saw Pamela dressing up in a red leotard reminiscent of her Baywatch swimsuit and looked in great shape.

She recently credited her two sons Dylan and Brandon for helping keep her trim.

Energetic: The mother-of-two says her children keep her in shape because she plays sports with them

She said: ‘My kids keep me in shape. I play every sport with them – football, basketball, baseball.

‘I’m always outside and on the beach and in the water and I’m not a real gym person.

‘I don’t do the gym and I don’t diet. I’m vegetarian but I don’t diet.’

Got the moves: Pamela was returning from the Argentinian version of Dancing With The Stars

Read more:

Kate has enlisted the help of Galliano’s boyfriend, Alexis Roche, to oversee every last detail of the dress while the former Dior supremo readies himself for a court appearance in Paris next month.

Galliano was sacked by Dior earlier this year after he allegedly made anti-Semitic comments, and Roche also left the company.

The supermodel, 37, is marrying rock guitarist Jamie Hince on July 2, ten days after Galliano is due in court accused of making racial insults.

‘Alexis has stepped in to ensure everything goes according to plan with the dress,’ says a fashion mole.

‘Kate knows that John is deeply sorry for what happened and has always been a loyal friend.’

Kate Moss is determined to have a John Galliano dress for her wedding

Meanwhile Kate’s pal Katie England has revealed that the design includes a veil.

Kate has enlisted the help of John Galliano’s boyfriend, Alexis Roche, to oversee every detail of her wedding dress for her big day on July 2

MARILYN Monroe sent men’s hearts a-flutter when she stepped on a grate in this scene from The Seven Year Itch.

And a movie memorabilia collector is giving you a chance to do the same – if you pay a couple of million dollars.

The pleated halterneck dress being sold at a film auction is expected to fetch up to $2 million.

Other lots include Judy Garland’s costume from The Wizard Of Oz, Audrey Hepburn’s Ascot dress from My Fair Lady and Julie Andrews’ clothes from The Sound Of Music.

All belong to actress Debbie Reynolds, who is selling her collection of 3500 items next month.

But Monroe’s white dress is undoubtedly the star lot.

The gown, designed by Travilla, is no longer quite as white as when Marilyn wore it. But it has boning that was sewn in by hand to create a built-in bra.