Wedding Gowns & Bridal Fashion

Victoria Gooch is dressed in a black, tunic-style pantsuit and heels.

A Mimco cuff adorns her wrist, her hair is perfectly coiffed and her face made up, but not in an over-done way.

The fact that she looks this immaculate would not be so unusual for anyone in the fashion game … except that in her arms is her four-week-old baby boy, Mason, and it’s only 10am.

I’m in awe – and that’s even before I cast my eyes around the store and see some of the stunning pieces Victoria currently has in stock at her Maroochydore boutique, Eve.

Eve Boutique is located in one of Ocean Street’s original buildings. Polished floorboards and French-style boudoir chairs create the ambience of an exclusive dressing room.

Up until two years ago, this space was known as Victoria Ann Bridal. Victoria saw the possibility of widening the boutique’s appeal by incorporating cocktail, evening and racewear to the mix. And it’s a mix that works.

“It’s developed quite beautifully. We’ve got a nice little client base and a wide cross-section of women shop with us,” Victoria says.

“We still carry bridal lines, but we wanted to be a bridal boutique that wasn’t for production line brides.”

When sourcing designs for the boutique, Victoria says she looks for quality, a good cut, and interesting fabrics.

Eve is the only boutique on the Sunshine Coast where you’ll find Wayne Cooper.

“I made an effort to go down and actually meet Wayne and his team and, of course, to find out whether the product would work,” she says.

“There are certainly products that won’t work in here… the pieces that do work are from his formal Wayne Cooper label.”

These dresses sit well alongside other Australian labels such as Matthew Eager, Buonitta, Bang by Messina and Party.

“It’s so important to me to support Australian products. I think the fit is superior, the quality is superior and I think our designers are fabulous.”

A wide range of accessories, bags and shoes is stocked to complement the gorgeous frocks. Victoria is particularly excited about the millinery she has in store for the first time from Melbourne-based Ward & Wylie.

“I was just researching the internet for fascinators and everything I came across was the same old, same old.

“Then I clicked on this tiny link to Ward & Wylie and I clicked on this website and I said, ‘I had to have them’.

“When they arrived, I was just ecstatic. The quality is beautiful, they’re finished beautifully and the tags even refer to them as ‘she’ and ‘her’.

“They are for those who want the hat or fascinator to be the feature of their race day outfit.

“I only bought one of each style. I wanted them to be such that people would fall in love with them, wear them and put them on their dresser, look at them every day and just love them.”

Eve Boutique, 1 Ocean Street, Maroochydore; ph 5443 7472; www.eveboutique.com.au

Source: thedaily.com.au