Rockin’ Pockets
A place to stash nervous hands or go-to lipstick is the latest gown style
Image courtesy Tara Keely
Brides looking for a confidence boost on their big day may want to make sure their gowns come with pockets. Not to be alarmed that gowns are turning slovenly. Five-pocket jeans or cargo pants they’re definitely not. What designers are creating are elegant, sumptuous designs with discreet pockets sewn on the side, ideal for calming fidgety hands or creating new drama for wedding day photos.
Like a number of trends, designers are simply sprinkling their collections with a handful of pocketed styles though Web site gown descriptions don’t make mention of the pockets; pictures are the only clue. In terms of image, pockets fit in with J. Crew’s insouciant sensibility. A number of its bridal gowns offer pockets, including a tiered gown with a bubble hem, a tank silhouette gown and a strapless silk dupioni dress. Both Alfred Angelo and Priscilla of Boston also have embraced the trend. On the home page of the Priscilla of Boston Web site, a model channeling Audrey Hepburn tucks her hands into a strapless silk ballgown with an illusion neckline.
Pockets are one of the few embellishments that offer functionality and can change the mood of the bride. Brides can slip in a lipstick or a tissue or even a good luck charm.
“Pockets create another attitude for the dress,” says Francesca Pitera, design director of Jim Hjelm Bridal. “They’re fun. They help put a smile on a bride’s face.”
Pitera began adding pockets to the Jim Hjelm line three seasons ago after a successful test on the bridesmaid line. She’s incorporated them on a silk taffeta babydoll gown and plans to include them in the fall 2010 season, focusing on ballgowns and tulip shape skirts. The goal is to hide them on the side or in pleats. Another idea is to add one on the front of the side but do it with subtlety. “You don’t want to make the bride look too casual or give the gown a sportswear feel,” Pitera says.
At a time when designers are looking to create excitement in the bridal industry (bridal gowns were one of the few areas of wedding spending that actually increased in 2009, according to The Wedding Report), novel touches are helping close the deal, say bridal designers.
“When brides discover that dresses have pockets, they’re more interested in the dress,” says Jessica Williams, designer for Alvina Valenta. “It’s been a selling factor at trunk shows.”
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