On the few times that I’ve wondered about getting married, I’ve skipped past the whole cupcakes and cutlery business and gone straight to imagining domestic life. When watching wedding scenes in movies, or even witnessing friends exchange vows — I don’t break out in hives or anything — but I can’t seem to mentally Photoshop my face onto the bride’s body like a normal girl. “Why can’t I be normal?” I ask myself sometimes. But that’s a story for another day. The story here is how I skipped past several episodes of life yet again and went straight to fitting a wedding dress — without a ring, without an entourage, without a groom.
Here’s how it happened: Spanish label Rosa Clará invited me to be a “bride for a day” and try on their selection of ready-to-wear bridal gowns. I have not touched a wedding gown in my life; all I knew was that they are delicate creatures disguised as garments, possibly with souls. The prospect of trying one on terrified me. In my mind, a wedding dress is like the One Ring, and I may as well be Gollum — I try it on once and it corrupts my non-wedding-oriented disposition for life. I might never want to take it off. My precioussss. (Why can’t I be normal, again?)
Nevertheless, on a fine Tuesday morning, I find myself at the Rosa Clará fitting held at Aruga by Rockwell. I wore a black leather top so the consultants wouldn’t get any ideas: I’m not wearing a fluffy Disney Princess ball gown, or J.Lo-cut front, or anything with butterfly sleeves. A bridezilla is born. I chat with Obee Ham, head of business development of Trimark, exclusive distributor of Rosa Clará in the Philippines, and she more or less tells me that my dreams (or nightmares) are valid. “Brides, in general, still go for classic wedding gowns. The sweetheart neckline is still very popular. There are a lot of serpentina cuts — not so much on the ball gowns. Rosa Clará lets you choose and try them on, you get to see what suits you,” she says.
At the fitting area, the gowns are displayed in a row, bathed in soft, yellow light. I can imagine how a perfectly rational woman could turn nuts during wedding preparations. Seeing the dresses alone is overwhelming. Everything is so…white. The consultant asks me if I am looking for any style in particular. I tell her I would like something modern-boho and she pulls out what looks like the most understated dress in the bunch — a classic V-neck, sleek bodice, sleeves, and a reasonable serving of lace, sequins and tulle. “I’m not sample size,” I whisper. “That’s okay,” she says, adding, “I noticed your shoulders are broad. The straps on this one will make them less prominent.” I feel like I’ve made a friend.
I step into the dress — because that’s how you do it. The dress literally sits on the floor, kind of like a really sugary, crusty donut, and you get in there, one foot at a time. She zips me up, and after some pulling and tugging and clipping, I realize I haven’t been breathing. (I also realize that it’s not easy to look boho-chic when you’re not rail-thin like Sienna Miller.) And I exhale.
The dress is comfortable. The fit is perfect. It flares out at the right places. I feel like everything that needs to be tucked in is in place. Zing! Boom! There’s a song in my head as I walk (or rather, awkwardly stomp around in the dress, still wearing my sneakers) … “There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done…” Am I in love, actually? It doesn’t help that Emphasis Salon also did our hair and makeup — dammit, I’m in the zone. Before the power of the One Dress could rob me of all reason, I step out of it and snap out of it. You have no power here, Dress.
Do a lot of real-life brides-to-be end up feeling this way at Rosa Clará? “Getting to try on the dresses, actually seeing them in front of you, amps up the anticipation,” says Ham. “It’s certainly a different experience compared to when you’re having a dress made for you. A lot of women have come to us at the last minute, because the wedding dress they had made didn’t turn out as planned, but, there are more and more brides who get their gowns off-the-rack.” She adds that women are concerned that they might end up having the same dress as another bride. “At Rosa Clará we actually alter everything. One bride wanted her dress lower in the back, another one wanted something lower in the front…we can add a bolero or do additional beading,” she explains.
As I hang the dress back on the rack, Anna Canlas of Stylebible.ph jokes, “So, was it everything you’ve ever dreamed of?” I reply, “It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more.” Sarcastic and cynical, that’s what we are. Still, we can’t help but feel excited. Shopping — whether it’s for a bathing suit or a wedding dress — is always fun. Now, if only there was a store selling grooms….
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The Rosa Clará showroom is located at The Residences at Greenbelt Tower III. For information, visit www.rosaclara.es and www.airebarcelona.es. To book an appointment with a bridal consultant, email rosaclara@trimarkholdings.net. or call 238-1310. Follow Rosa Clará Philippines on Facebook (RC Bridal Philippines) and on Instagram (@rosaclaraph).