| They work on everybody and that's probably the strongest selling point,” says Nicole Bitove, co-owner of Canopy Blue, a Toronto boutique that carries convertible dresses from Butter by Nadia, a popular Brooklyn, N.Y., line. “It's sometimes hard to get people in the dress; it looks like it's for someone very thin. But it's deceiving. Nine times out of 10, women buy it.” Beyond practicality, there's a philosophy behind the idea too. Designer Nadia Tarr uses words like “shareable” and “reusable” to describe her dresses. “You can really use it in so many ways for so many occasions and share it with friends,” she says by phone. A former dancer, she stumbled upon the idea in 2002 while learning to sew costumes. She launched a “beach-to-black-tie” dress a year later and has expanded to seasonal collections including satin and full-length styles. |
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