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BRIDES (special section) Dresses From Victoria's Closet: When The Flower Girl

Has Her Own Style

(with cut)

BY SHANNON HICKS

Children have always been an important part of weddings. Before the turn of

the 20th Century, it was felt that having children in the bridal party would

bring the new bride added good luck in her marriage. As wedding planning

continued into the 20th Century, having young girls as flower girls and young

boys as ring bearers became standard practice for most weddings.

Today's weddings are putting more attention on details than ever before.

Careful selection goes into not just The Gown but also in choosing what the

attendants and flower girls will be wearing. These are the first impressions

of the wedding the guests will be introduced to during the ceremony.

Flower girls are the first to walk down the aisle, which gives their outfits

even more importance. Flower girls can wear dresses that are miniature

versions of what the bridal party is wearing, which is the traditional

approach. Today, these dresses can also be their own entities.

When a bride decides to dress her flower girl in a design different from that

of the bridal party, the next step is to find the dress that will make

everyone in the church go "Awwww." A growing trend in wedding planning is to

get away from the "Cinderella fluff" of past weddings, according to Diane

Warner's Book, The Best Wedding Ever (Career Press). Weddings are increasingly

leaning towards what Mrs Warner calls sophisticated elegance.

This is where Victoria's Closet comes in. Specializing in upscale clothing for

girls sizes newborn to 6x, the Newtown-based business (426-4525) offers a

seasonally changing collection. Flower girl dresses are a large part of the

business. Customers also visit Victoria's Closet seeking holiday dresses, or

outfits for elegant events where young children are included.

After the birth of her daughter 18 months ago, Melissa Lee of Newtown became

enchanted with dressing her. "This whole business came about by the birth of

my daughter," admits Melissa.

On a recent visit to the Lee residence, Victoria herself answered the door,

along with her mother. The youngster was wearing one of her mother's dresses

-- a deep blue velvet dress, with a tulle (similar to an organza, but much

softer) pocket over the skirt. She looked darling, and quite comfortable

bouncing around in such a formal dress.

"This is really exciting for me," Melissa said. "I think this service is

completely unique to this area." Melissa purchases the dresses for Victoria's

Closet directly from designers, including Isabel Garreton, Leanne Woodall ("I

spend a great deal of money on her," Melissa confessed) and Halabaloo. She has

a showroom in Westport, but has been working from her Newtown home recently.

Melissa suggests a flower girl be purchased at least two months before the

wedding ceremony, which will help the bride-to-be see a complete picture of

what her wedding is going to look like as soon as possible. Although the

dresses should be purchased in advance, Melissa will go to the wedding to help

with the flower girls' final fittings.

Colors are a large part of most of the dresses on the racks of Victoria's

Closet. Children are used to wearing clothes with a lot of color, so to put a

child in something that is completely white is not only asking for trouble

when it comes to spills and food, but it also tends to make children

uncomfortable.

"Not many brides go beyond ivory or white," Melissa pointed out. "And those

colors can be matched with anything."

Put a little girl in a tan sheath with a removable flower on the back (which

makes for easier cleaning in the future), and she can feel like she is wearing

something Mommy would wear. She also feels very special walking in front of a

bridal party in such a pretty dress.

Another dress that is currently available features a beaded lace bodice in

ivory, and a pink skirt with gold flakes in the skirt and a white tulle pocket

over the skirt. The pocket can hold flowers, or petals. A sheer organza bow is

on the back of the dress. Melissa also has a dress of hand painted silk. There

is a handful of the dresses from the winter collection still available; the

spring line has just arrived.

There are over two dozen dresses to choose from. The styles are very elegant.

They are sometimes simple elegance, in other cases there is more adornment on

a dress, but all are absolutely adorable.

Dresses can run between $100 and $500 each. The smallest sizes are usually

available for under $100. Prices depend on the sizes of the dresses. The

uniqueness and amount of work that has gone into making a dress also plays a

factor in its cost.

"These are very unique dresses," stresses Melissa. "They're so beautiful! A

lot of detail and work go into these dresses."

While children have always been an integral part of wedding celebrations, it

was not until the cultivation of grand, exotic flowers in Europe's Elizabethan

era did "flower girls" arrive, according to A Bride's Book of Wedding

Traditions (Arlene Hamilton Stewart; Hearst Books, New York, 1995). Young

girls of the time who walked before the bride carried nosegays of roses,

dianthus, foxglove, and other garden exotica.

While flower girls are famous for carrying flowers, many also wear them. With

a wreath of flowers circling their heads, these little girls continue one of

the oldest traditions: the wreath, an enduring symbol of innocence, has been a

part of weddings for over 2,000 years.

A number of the dresses Melissa has selected for her current collection take

the inclusion of wreaths of flowers and incorporates this idea right into the

flower girl's dress. Many of the dresses were designed with tulle pockets over

the skirts, which can hold real or fake flower petals or buds. There are

openings at the back of the dresses, so the flowers can be removed when it is

time to have the dress cleaned, and then new flowers can be used for the next

wearing.

And what about accessories for the elegant young lady in the flower girl

dress? In the jewelry box, there is a large number of one-of-a-kind "Tin Cup

necklaces" -- necklaces using freshwater pearls and/or semi-precious stones,

all on a silk cord with a sterling silver heart-shaped clasp, similar to the

style the actress Rene Russo made famous in the recent movie of the same name.

Melissa Lee's daughter is probably one of the best-dressed children in the

area, because her mother loves to shop. Now Melissa Lee has taken her love of

shopping and turned it into a business that makes children feel even more

special than they already are.

Not only are flower girls very important parts of weddings, but in the dresses

they can find at Victoria's Closet they will also look very distinctive.

To make an appointment for a private viewing at Victoria's Closet, call

Melissa Lee at 426-4525.