Can I Please be Your Bridesmaid?

So, I came into work today and was immediately floored by this sample from the Jim Hjelm Spring 2010 collection:

How many ways do I love this dress? Let me count. First, this dress is made of Jim Hjelm’s NEW silky taffeta, which is now among my top five favorite fabrics in the store. It’s lightweight enough to keep some movement and drape in the dress, but has a sheen and texture which remind me of a rich silk Dupioni. Best of both worlds!

I’m also pretty excited that this fabric comes together with some of the most beautifully draped rouching I’ve seen on a dress like this.

I’m very picky about rouching, which is the fancy name for the folded effect around the middle of this dress. I hate when ruching adds any extra bulk in the middle of a dress because I have enough bulk of my own and if I’m in eveningwear, I want to look as teeny as possible. The beauty of this fabric and this design together is that the lightness of the taffeta allows the ruching to lay nice and flat against the body and keep the whole silhouette very sleek. In addition, the asymmetrical sweep of the folds creates even more of an hourglass effect which is complimented by the modified sweetheart neckline. My only regret about this dress is that it wasn’t designed in time for MY wedding. I might order it anyway, because I suspect it would be stunning in black with some blingy accessories added to it. Although I do love the raspberry color that our sample arrived in – I can picture it working beautifully in a fall, spring or summer wedding. It has just the right amount of ‘pop’, and would be such a breath of fresh air in the midst of the Chocolate Brown Tidal Wave we’ve seen over the past few seasons. (I mean, I still love chocolate brown, but it has had a huge moment recently and it’s always nice to be ahead of the curve…)

Incidentally, some genius who works here put this dress up next to Paloma Blanca’s sweet “Cindy” gown, which is in a lightweight Dupioni with pearls and Alencon lace, and the combination is SO elegant. I immediately wanted to be a bridesmaid at that wedding, and that says a LOT…

(Link to these images and more information at http://www.jlmcouture.com/Jim-Hjelm-Occasions/Bridesmaid/Spring/2010/Style-5030 and http://www.palomablanca.com/)