Dressing Miss Dolly: Elie Saab Couture 2010

"...a bit too fantasy-prom to cut it in Couture week", were the words of Sarah Mower in her review of Elie Saabs latest couture collection. As a huge fan of Saab's collections year in and year out, I quite predictably disagree. Ok, it wasn't as breathtaking as I found it to be for Fall/Winter '09 - that frosted, ice cold elegance created a league all of it's own, but to not 'cut it in Couture week'?, now that's just plain wrong. I don't know if my perceptions are blinkered though, because I do have a slightly Cinderella based obsession with fantasy floor length gowns, intricately beaded and embroidered within every last inch of fabric (I'm also one of those who's had their wedding dress planned since I found out how amazingly fantastic a dress can make you feel. I may have been four and in a Laura Ashley summer dress, but the feeling is the same!). However, this collection was very worthy of Couture week and I hope the following photos illustrate this!

The dresses were expectantly exquisite, and had an air of vintage sophistication and style which reminded me of the gowns Kate Winslet wore in The Titanic. There were repetitive styles of dress (I reluctantly admit there were a couple a little too easy to click the 'next' button on), but hang on a second, didn't Karl Lagerfeld just show us jacket and skirt combination...after tedious jacket and skirt combination? Repetitive as either may be argued to be, they both stuck to what they do best and with what their labels have become synonymous with. The weakest points to the collection were probably the shorter dresses, as Mower did have a point in her review, they were a little too reminiscient of a school-girl prom. However, the rest was stunning and maybe the theme was inspired by the dress-dreams of many, many women? And that last dress....well, I'll let you decide!