Plus Size Bridal Couture with Cc. Elaine

This Spring, my little sister was married. As a plus size woman, finding her perfect dress took a little more time than usual, as the options available for a full figured fashionista yearning for a couture piece greatly diminishes, however, as the realm of plus size fashion is evolving, so are its options!

So you could only image one’s surprise when I stumbled across Cc. Elaine. An intimate design studio that infuses creativity & passion with innovation & style to produce High Fashion Bridal wear for The Modern Bride Who Deserves To Be Different”

I had the pleasure of chatting with this lovely designer, please read on to learn more about the daring designer of plus size bridal wear:

Well hello there! Can you tell me, who and what are you wearing today?

I am wearing my “professional gear” today, as I have meetings with clients all day. Black suit jacket by 9West, jeans by Polo, black sheer top by DKNY and pumps by I don’t know who because I wear them so much that the name has faded.  Anyway that is my usual daily ensemble.

Cc. Elaine. Can you tell me a little bit about your name? Is there a story behind it?

Cc.elaine is a combination of my first name Caren, my maiden name Croomes and my middle name Elaine.  Growing up my nickname was CC and when I began my career as a designer, I just put the two together and came up with Cc.elaine.

Miss Elaine, you are an amazing dress designer! But what most notably caught my attention was your Curvy Bride section, what inspired you to create this line?

For many years, I’ve heard brides complain about the embarrassment and disappointment of being plus size and shopping for a wedding dress.  And the biggest thing is that they were tired of being offered A-line dresses, with typical styling, that would hide their beautiful and sexy curves.  So, after hearing this tale over and over again I decided to design a ready-to-wear bridal collection inspired by the women who I’ve been dressing.

How long have you been designing for the Curvy Bride?

My career in the bridal industry began over 12 years ago and I have been designing for women of all shapes and sizes ever since..

Let’s talk about your signature line, Femme Luxe! OMG! Breathtaking!

Cc.elaine Plus Size Bridal- the Femme Luxe Collection

Femme Luxe is a line catering to the bride sized 12-32. How did you create this line, and what makes it stand out?

Oh yes!  I am so glad you asked.  This has become my passion.  Femme Luxe by Cc.elaine was created for brides with curves and those who want to accentuate her curves.  Often times brides who wear sizes 16 and up don’t have many choices at bridal salons today and are almost always offered the A-line style dress, which hides everything.  And with the right undergarment, any bride, no matter her size can wear a more fitted, figure flattering silhouette.  I love designing high-fashion women’s apparel but my focus is bridal so I mixed the two, along with adding the special details that a women with a voluptuous bosom and hips would need to create a pulled together, fashionable look.  It’s all about fashion for me and being able to offer it to all brides is my mission.

Tell me about this corseted body shaper!

I’m glad you asked about that too.  I have developed a corset style body shaper that is made into the inside of each dress..  It is sewn to the outside of the lining so that it fits right up to the body and has a lace up cinch-er in the back allowing one the ability to suck it all in giving that hourglass figure that we all like.

Asides from gowns for us Curvy women, do you fashion other garments?

I am first of all a wedding gown designer, but as I mentioned before, I love high-fashion so I custom design funky jackets and leather gear. I’m currently working on a ready-to-wear of my jacket line to be sold in stores.

Where can we find Cc. Elaine?

Cc.elaine’s wedding gown collections are currently sold only at Cc.elaine Bride Chic. As the Femme Luxe by Cc.elaine collection is completed we will launch our campaign and work very hard getting the attention of buyers and the media so we can work to fill this deficit.  Our goal is to make aware to the bridal salons that this is a market that is sadly being neglected and the importance of accommodating this bride and encourage them to carry larger size samples for brides to try on in their stores.

You also have a poll for Jennifer Hudson’s wedding gown, what is the story behind this?

When I heard that Jennifer Hudson wanted to design her own gown I had to jump on it.  I submitted design inspirations to her in hopes of getting her business and wanted the public to get involved in helping her to be inspired. Haven’t heard anything back from yet.

Lastly, what is your definition of Curvy.Confident.Chic.?

The Curvy, Confident, Chic women is one who knows how to, and isn’t afraid to, accentuate the positive and flatter the rest.

Thank you so much!

To see more of Cc. elaine’s collection and her Femme Luxe Collection, please visit her site!

Do you like??