Demetrios Evening A124 is a floor-length dark purple off-the-shoulder chiffon formal dress built on two fabrics that do very different jobs. The bodice is hand-beaded lace worked in a fine lattice of tonal beads and sequins, fitted and lightly structured through the rib cage and dropped to a low basque point at the hip, so the beading reads as texture in candlelight rather than sparkle in a camera flash. Short gathered sleeves sit softly off the arm and finish the straight off-the-shoulder neckline, framing the collarbone while still covering the upper arm. Below the beaded hip, yards of crinkle chiffon fall in fine gathered pleats into a full A-line skirt that sweeps the floor with a short train and moves with you across a room. The back is closed and high, with a seamed beaded-lace panel and a concealed center zipper, and there is no slit. It is cut in sizes 0 through 28 in this deep aubergine purple and in a classic navy, with the same Demetrios Evening construction through the full run.
This is the gown for the wedding where you are in the photographs rather than just at the table. The off-the-shoulder line and covered arm make it an easy yes for a mother of the bride or mother of the groom, and the purple sits beautifully against a black-tie gala, a wedding guest or guest-of dress code, a grandmother of the bride moment or any evening that calls for real fabric and real tailoring. Sizes 18 and up carry a size upcharge ($150 on 18-22, $200 on 24-28) and are shown in our evening plus sizes and plus size collections; if the short sleeve is what sold you, see everything with a sleeve in cap sleeve and sleeves, and more hand-beaded work in our beaded and best-selling evening and cocktail pages. A124 is a try-it-on dress: chiffon of this weight has to be seen moving, and our fitters can pin the bodice and set the hem in one visit. Jan's Boutique is at 406 Marlton Pike E, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034, about twenty minutes from Center City Philadelphia and an easy drive from Delaware, Bucks County and the Jersey Shore. Appointments are recommended: call 856-428-8181.
