As a bride (the sales pitch goes), you can choose among hundreds of gowns in your quest to find your dream dress—provided that dream dress is strapless, full skirted, and pearlescent. Brides in search of something unique—or just less fussy—often come up empty-handed. Whither the tea-length styles? And heaven forbid you ask for a dress with straps (nay, sleeves!) without eliciting a sympathetic look from the sales associate, whose next suggestion invariably involves the word “bolero.”

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