Kelly Chase Couture 26-658 is a floor-length black velvet gown covered corner to corner in a swirling baroque scroll of black and pewter sequins, so the same pattern reads matte where the velvet pile lies deep and liquid gunmetal wherever the light catches it. The neckline is strapless with a softly dipped sweetheart edge finished in plain velvet, the bodice is seamed and lightly boned, and the skirt runs as a narrow column through hip and thigh before releasing just above the hem. There is no slit, no train and no applique; the sequin ground is the entire ornament. It comes in one colorway, Black, in sizes 0 through 28, with the designer's 20 percent surcharge above size 18, and the price shown is for the gown only, since the sheer organza bubble cape with off-the-shoulder puff sleeves photographed alongside it is sold as a separate piece. Worn bare the dress is a narrow black column; worn with the cape it becomes an off-the-shoulder silhouette with two floor-length panels trailing behind. Black velvet under sequins is the fabric the mother of the bride and mother of the groom reach for once the weather turns, and this one carries just as easily to a black-tie wedding guest or guest of seat, a holiday party, a New Year's Eve dinner, a charity gala, a military ball, a bar or bat mitzvah, a debutante evening, or a grandmother of the bride who wants shine without a single bead to catch on a grandchild. Pair it with a diamond or pearl drop earring, a narrow satin clutch and a closed black pump; skip the necklace entirely and let the sweetheart edge do that work. It sits with the rest of the Kelly Chase Couture collection at Jan's, alongside our best-selling evening and cocktail dresses and our evening and plus size gowns.
A strapless column is the least forgiving thing in the store, and it is decided in a mirror rather than on a screen. The bodice has to hold its own line through a ceremony, a receiving line and a first dance without a hand on it; a column carries no ease to borrow, so the hip line and the hem length are settled on your body and on the shoe you will actually wear; and an allover sequin ground has a direction, which means it has to be taken in on the seam rather than through the pattern or the scroll breaks across the waist. Velvet also reads one way in daylight and another under tungsten, so it is worth standing under both. See it at Jan's Boutique, 406 Marlton Pike E, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 - roughly fifteen minutes from Center City Philadelphia, half an hour from Wilmington, and an easy drive from Princeton, the Jersey Shore, Bucks County, the Lehigh Valley, northern Delaware, Maryland and New York. Inside you will find 13,000 square feet, 50 private dressing rooms, more than 15,000 dresses in stock, Jan's Boutique tax-free clothing, and on-site alterations by fitters who work on couture construction every day. More about Jan's. Call 856-428-8181 or book an appointment online, and mention style 26-658 so the Kelly Chase rack is pulled and waiting before you arrive. Appointments are required to try on, and special orders can take up to three months, so start early for a winter or holiday date.
