Simona Levi turned heads in her form-fitting Berta gown.

Dress Continued from Page 19
Whitcraft, who is also the author of The Bride’s Instruction Manual:
How to Survive and Possibly Even Enjoy the Biggest Day of Your Life.

“This bride wants something that’s different,” said Denny Whitcraft,
“something that’s not the strapless A-line all her friends wore.”
“Different” was the guiding principle for Simona Levithan, whose
form-fitting lace Berta dress featured a neckline that snaked down
to her navel and a sheer-illusion back whose transparency extended,
well, about as far as was legal in public. “I wanted everyone’s jaws
to drop,” said Levithan. “Especially my husband’s. I wanted to hear
gasps.” (She did.)
The person most shocked by Denny Whitcraft’s own dress might
actually have been the bride herself. A jaded observer of bridal wear
and a fashion sophisticate, Denny Whitcraft had always pictured
herself in a fitted lace sheath — until she saw a nude-colored party
dress from Inbal Dror’s 2015 line, part of a lineup for the fall-winter
magazine spread.

“I was just obsessed with it,” recalled the editor. “I shot it for the
cover. And as it happened, the next week I got engaged.”
Denny Whitcraft headed to The Wedding Shoppe to try the dress
on “just for fun,” never thinking she’d go for a poufy tulle skirt —
or a gown the color of tea. “Five hundred million layers of tulle, it’s
kind of like, not me,” she said with a laugh. “And I knew I wanted
to wear a white dress. But then Pattie was like, ‘It comes in ivory…
’” And just like that, the way a cowgirl sometimes falls in love with
an investment banker, Denny Whitcraft ordered a poufy white party
dress — sight unseen, all the way from Tel Aviv.

That kind of gamble — shipping prepaid items from the turmoil-
prone Middle East — initially gave Pattie Lamantia pause as well.

Like many of her stateside colleagues, Lamantia was wary of working
with Tel Aviv couturiers, many of whom demand up-front deposits
for the custom-sewn garments. The designers also require an ex-
haustive list of custom measurements, “all in centimeters,” said
20 MARCH 31, 2016
Lamantia. “I asked myself, ‘Why am I taking a measurement of her
neck and biceps for a strapless dress?’ But they say it gives them a
sense of her silhouette.” The process is a departure from American
lines, which produce gowns in standard sizes for the bride to alter.

Another critical difference: price. “These lines are not in every-
body’s budget,” allowed Lamantia diplomatically. Inbal Dror dresses
start at about $8,500 and can exceed twice that figure; The Wedding
Shoppe added a second Israeli line, Flora, to give brides a more af-
fordable alternative, with “simpler sexy” designs retailing for $5,000
to $8,000. The high price tags have not deterred couture-focused
brides, Lamantia noted, adding that her gamble has paid off in brisk
orders, crowded trunk shows — and brides driving from as far away
as Canada to try on the exclusive styles. “Some say it’s not a Main
Line look, but don’t kid yourself,” Lamantia said. “It’s amazing the
hold that these dresses have over people.”
Berta gowns range from $7,500 to $12,000, making them out of
reach for “nine out of 10 brides who are interested,” said Hart Bado,
who added that sales are nonetheless robust enough to support a
thriving business — on just one line. Another Israeli couturier, Mira
Zwillinger, is carried exclusively in the Philadelphia area at the Eliz-
abeth Johns boutiques in Ardmore and Morristown, N.J.; dresses
start at $8,000.

Price tags like that are why most local shops don’t carry Israeli
lines, according to Abby McGrath, bridal manager at Van Cleve
Wedding Pavilion in Paoli. “I’ve looked at some of them, but it’s cost
prohibitive,” said McGrath, who said the average dress at her shop
sells for $2,000 to $3,000. “For us to invest in a bunch of dresses that
are at the top end doesn’t really make sense.”
Couture connoisseurs understand that Tel Aviv prices reflect a fas-
tidious craftsmanship that simply does not come cheap, according to
the experts. “The quality of the construction really stands apart,” said
Hart Bado of Israeli bridal wear, noting the degree of labor involved
in hand-appliquéing hundreds of tiny rosettes, or crafting a garment
to as many as 40 separate measurements. Custom-tailored clothing
is more of a tradition in Israel, according to industry experts, whereas
the lower cost of American lines reflects our mass-market culture.

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