Hervé Léger, Or The Dress That Never Was

When hitting a super upscale clothing boutique, I immediately prepare myself to deal with slim pickings. Most of the clientele resemble the pin-thin models donning the couture they're looking to purchase for themselves -- and I definitely am not of the wire hanger variety.

But last weekend when I paid my first visit to Hazel, the latest luxury boutique to open in Toronto, I was skimming the sale rack when a cream Hervé Léger dress caught my eye and a lightbulb went off in my head.

For those not in the fashion know, Hervé Léger was a fashion icon in the '80s. He pioneered the skin-tight bandage dresses that were all the rage and oh so Blade Runner. The label was relaunched in 2007 with BCBG designer Max Azria at the helm. His designs are a modern interpretation of Léger's simple yet sexy creations, and are already a hit with young starlets, such as Ri-Ri and Mandy.

In bright colours the dresses are look at me loud, but in basic black, they are killer LBD's suiting to a variety of occasions. The elastic material hugs your curves, pushing in and propping up in all the right places. It's like the outerwear version of spanx - genius much?

So back to my epiphany... when I picked up the cream Léger it occurred to me that skin tight body hugging lycra doesn't look so good on the straight and narrow - you need curves to pull off the skin tight silhouette and make it sing (as Rose McGowan demonstrates so well below in a sea of washboards)

I tried on a stunning number that featured an unexpected halter strap (see left but in basic black). It went very low in the back but was still classy and would be perfect for some upcoming parties.

Apparently it wasn't meant to be though because 3 days of specialty bra shopping didn't result in any do-able undergarment solutions (going bra-less is not an option!)

I've been in mourning for my fashion loss ever since.

I know there will be others and I'll be keeping my eye out for other Léger creations to contemplate, but i'm still pissed it didn't work out...

(Hazel photo via Ian Milne)