New millennium brides are searching to capture the essence of traditional beauty and transform it through contemporary style, according to Mara Urshel, former Saks Fifth Avenue senior vice president, and now the president of the renowned bridal retailer called Kleinfeld.

Urshel explained that in both the designs being created exclusively for Kleinfeld and in the recent shows in Paris, she is seeing this blending of contemporary and traditional for 2000 brides and beyond. Some wedding gowns have even incorporated suitable pants, and Kleinfeld is designing its own line that will include some separates of skirts and tops.

However, elaborate beading is still in the future for the millennium bride, while the aim of the bridesmaids will remain to look beautiful while not outshining the one they are attending.

As for the color schemes and styles awaiting future brides, Urshel said "we are seeing a lot of black" despite the old-fashioned concept that it was unlucky "as well as black and whites are still happening. We are also starting to see white and white as the bride picks an ivory dress and the bridesmaids, selection is white" breaking another wedding taboo.

Urshel explained that the way brides dress, the way they plan their wedding day, reflects the trends of the times we live in and the future we are on the verge of. "It is interesting what is happening lately . . . the brides are getting a little older. People are establishing their careers before getting married," she noted, adding, "The tradition to have the husband-to-be not see the dress is getting a little cloudy. They [bride and groom] both want to see it, as compared with the bride showing up at the last moment."

Couples are sharing the cost of wedding expenses and the responsibility of selecting the style and color. Watching a bride choose a dress as the century turns has also become a study in the complex mechanisms of the modern family, Urshel said.

"There are fathers who walk up and down the street; fathers who patiently wait sitting down in the waiting room at the entrance; and fathers who sit just outside the fitting rooms, who have very strong opinions, very strong feelings. I have seen fathers who are much more active than mothers," said Urshel.

"What we experience here is the product of a lifelong range of things going on in your family – things that are away from the future husband’s role and the wedding itself – that suddenly are now coming to the surface. The mother wants you to have a dress like hers, or she wants you to have a dress she couldn’t have . . . All of these emotions come out in the fitting room and they are central, so I had a psychologist come [to advise our consultants] and help them deal with it," Urshel said. The consultant team learned not to sound as if they were taking sides.

"Our strategy is to be there not only for brides but all life events," Urshel explained. "The bridal dress also becomes a debut dress, a high-level-price sweet-16 dress; and our Sweet 16 dress is like a bridal grown but with colors. In the orthodox religious weddings, we take care of the ‘marchers,’ who are those walking down the aisle together with the bridal party. Then we have the bride’s maids, the bride’s mother, plus the proms’ dresses, bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah dresses, night suits, short evening dresses . . . you need to supply everything for the lifestyle of 2000 and beyond," Urshel said.

As you select the retailer for your wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses, Urshel said that there are some things which never change. A bride should always look for the location that will offer the highest quality of work, as well as the kinds of services take some of the stress from wedding planning.

At Kleinfeld, that includes a one day fitting service which is open to any bride, although it is usually out-of-state brides who take the most advantage of it. Brides who are on tight schedules and have already selected their gown can make an appointment to come by in the morning for their first fitting, remain through the day as the work is done on the dress as well as the second fittings, and take the dress home with them that evening.

However, Urshel explained that typically, buying a wedding dress is a process that begins six, nine, or even twelve months before the wedding.

The recommended time frame is to have the first fitting three months before the wedding and schedule the second fitting for much closer to the wedding, to allow for any weight increases or decreases due to nerves.

Among the other services offered at Kleinfeld for bridal convenience are van service to their Brooklyn location and newly-created monthly training shows where their staff learns about the latest fashions and customers can listen to the advice of designers. Urshel emphasized the importance of knowledgeable wedding planning, adding that Kleinfeld is currently looking to hire additional staff to train in wedding planning and thereby expand the service they have become famous for.

Kleinfeld, which was founded in 1941, was recently acquired by a new investor group, headed by Wayne M. Rogers, W. Clay Hamner, and Ronald Rothstein, and bringing in an initial infusion of $3 million in debt-free capital to spearhead the restoration of Kleinfeld to its glory days as the nation’s premier bridal emporium.

Urshel is responsible for all merchandising and sales operations. "Our goal is to re-establish Kleinfeld as the ‘bridal mecca’ for brides of all ages and sizes, from across the country and around the world," she explained.

Among the investors’ first priorties was to complete renovation of the famed Brooklyn store, located at 8202 Fifth Ave. in Bay Ridge. Michael Keith Design Group, an international retail design firm, will oversee the interior renovation, visual merchandising and store planning for Kleinfeld.