iamthewitch.com

Posted: 01 Nov 2011 06:30 PM PDT

Do you still remember the character Giselle in the show Enchanted? I remember watching it a few years back and was captivated by her gorgeous wedding gown that was so fairy-tale like! Big, fluffy and lacy, the dress is so vivid in my memories even until now. But wearing such a big gown is no easy task. I’ve worn similar gowns before and it’s heavy and difficult to manage. Very often, I found myself stepping on my own dress while walking, simply because it’s too long.

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Amy Adams as Giselle in can-can wedding gown (Source)

Gorgeous wedding gown from Enchanted (Source)

Being a model, one has to be versatile and able to walk in various types of gowns. The three main and most common types of gowns in the fashion world are A-Line gowns, Mermaid gowns and Can-can gowns. Now I have written about how to walk in Mermaid gowns here, so today I shall write about my experience walking with a Can can gown. Can-can or crinoline gowns are worn with a stiff petticoat usually made from a steel structure underneath the dress. This structure is supposed to support the skirt’s shape by making it look almost like a bell.

Rebecca in her can-can gown

Thankfully, we were taught how to walk with this big can-can gown in our class at Amber Chia Academy. Of course, the fun part was wearing the gorgeous gown at first, and then learning how to walk in it. My first impression? My goodness the gown was heavy! It felt like someone was dragging me down from behind. Coupled with a long tail, it’s difficult to maneuver the gown if we did not do it the right way.

My purple can-can gown

Esther Tan was our instructor of the day

Compared to the Mermaid gown, the biggest difference with Can-can gown is that we do not need to use our leg to kick the gown. Instead, we had to use our hands to steer the skirt during posing and turning, to make sure that the tail did not get in our way. Esther Tan was, as always, graceful as ever and taught us the correct technique to walk and pose with the can-can gown, complete with music in the background. During the first few trials, a few of us tend to step on the front of the skirt since it’s rather long, but with more practice and the correct way of walking, we managed to master it beautifully. Here is the video taken during our first class practicing with can-can gown. Enjoy!