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Barge’s
bodice rippers
Atlanta
bridal gown designer brings mix & match approach to trunk
show in Bay Ridge
By
Lisa Selin Davis
for
The Brooklyn Papers
Brooklyn brides are a tough crowd.
“They’re very savvy shoppers, and very ahead of
the trends,” says Anne Barge, the veteran bridal gown
designer whose sixth annual trunk show comes to Kleinfeld’s
in Bay Ridge this weekend. “They don’t want the
status quo.”
But Barge is prepared to handle Kings County’s most persnickety
shoppers. Her gowns avoid the familiar, and are tailor-made
to the bride’s specifications: choose the bodice of one
dress, the skirt of another; change the fabric or the embroidery.
It’s an almost modular approach to dressmaking.
“Some dresses we order with a few changes, and some have
pages and pages of changes,” Barge told GO Brooklyn in
a recent phone interview from her Atlanta atelier.
The Barge bride is one who’s fashionable, but not trendy,
and whose choice of a Barge gown can please more than just
the bride.
“Usually a girl’s mother is delighted that that’s
the kind of look she wants,” she says. They’re not
too sexy, pleasing the parents, and not too reserved, pleasing
the bride and, very often, the groom.
Barge’s calling came early on in her Georgia childhood.
Her mother was a church organist, and always took Barge with
her to the ceremonies.
“As a child, I was drawing brides from the time I can
remember, and that was the only thing I wanted to do,”
recalls the 58-year-old designer.
Although she was always creating gowns in her mind —
gathering up her sketches, freelancing, dabbling in design
— she worked for many years as a bridal buyer for Rich’s,
an Atlanta department store, and ran her own bridal shop for
14 years in Atlanta.
When it came time to break into the design side of the business,
she says, “I happened to have a bit of advantage: I knew
so many people.” Not only that, but, “I knew what
was out there and I knew what people were asking for,”
she says. “It was all right there in front of me.”
“Out there” were mostly very simple gowns, with
no embellishment, or the alternative: what Barge describes
as, “lace, lace, lace.” Barge did something different,
using handcrafted embroidery, and even metallic embroidery,
to make each dress slightly different.
Barge’s Spring 2005 line, which she’ll showcase
at Kleinfeld’s this month, straddles those two schools
of bridal gown design — the Camilla Parker Bowles look
on the one hand, and the Princess Di on the other. Most modern
brides don’t care to be mummified in endless swaths of
lace with 45-foot trains, nor do they wish to slip into something
that resembles a summer suit. Instead, Barge’s dresses
often have clean lines with hints of extravagance, little
secrets of detail. She scours through history books for inspiration
— anything from French 17th-century bustle dresses to
Spanish dancer flounces.
Her more modestly priced La Fleur collection has prices hovering
in the $2,000 to $3,000 range (her others are often priced
between $4,000 and $5,000). They have the same classic lines
as the more expensive dresses, with less embroidery and embellishment:
strapless gowns in silk satin organza, or fitted drop torso
bodices with a trail of buttons down a trumpet skirt.
“The dress shouldn’t depend on embroidery,”
says Barge. “It’s got to have a great design and
line on the dress.”
One of the year’s most popular choices from the regular
collection has been Barge’s pearl silk satin ball gown,
with a ruched skirt — asymmetrical layers of satin that
float like whipped cream.
“That skirt is absolutely what’s happening right
now,” says Barge. “People are really wanting more
on the bottom, and more on the back.” One dress has a
back pleat that opens to reveal flamenco-style flounces of
black lace; another has an oversized bustle of silk. The bride
does have her back to the audience for most of the ceremony,
after all — why not give them something on the rear of
the dress to admire?
These days, Barge is designing the 360-degree dress, to look
good from the front, the side and the back.
You won’t find her designs at your average discount bridal
shop. She’s very finicky about which stores handle her
creations.
“It’s the most important dress a woman will ever
buy,” she explains, “and a very emotional purchase.”
Because Barge’s dresses are so particularly tailored
to a client’s wishes, ordering and buying the dress is
only the first step.
“You have a relationship with the store,” says Barge.
“Most brides really need pampering and taking care of,
and discount stores just don’t do that.” So you’ll
have to head to Kleinfeld’s — and don’t forget
to make an appointment — if you want a chance to meet
the venerable Barge in person.
Even if she’s a pro at handling the every whim of a potential
bridezilla, Barge chose a much simpler path for her own matrimonial
event 12 years ago: She had a friend design a simple, short
dress.
“I’m happier designing for other people,” she
says. “For myself, I just wanted to hurry up and get
married.”
Bridal gown
designer Anne Barge will be at Kleinfeld’s (8202 Fifth
Ave. at 82nd Street in Bay Ridge) May 12-15. Appointments
are required; call (718) 765-8500. For more information, visit
www.kleinfeldbridal.com.
May
7, 2005 edition |. Read
more about Brooklyn Weddings
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