Dressing the stars for the Oscars is a very competitive business, with full public relations machine in the works. Actors and actresses are wooed with bottles of champagne, trunks of clothing, airplane tickets and hotel reservations.

Given that Wang can't afford to partake in any of the grand-scale schmoozing -- her solicitation efforts up to now have consisted of making phone calls. "I didn't have to solicit in the beginning," says Wang, "but I do now, because when I dressed Sharon for the first time she went to the Oscars, it caused such a fashion stir. No one for years had taken the Oscars very seriously from a sartorial point of view. Now it is like a war."

Unlike competitors, Wang doesn't have the resources to send actresses dozens of dresses to choose from. What she has to offer is herself, working closely with them for as long as it takes until they're happy. It is, Wang says, a labor of love. All this adds up to a schedule as hectic as any she ever had at Vogue or Ralph Lauren, which is ironic, since she originally left Ralph Lauren in order to have more time for her new husband and to start a family.

At Vera Wang Bridal House harried brides-to-be are put instantly at ease. The store is purposely designed to feel like a residence, with comfy over-stuffed sofas, soft beige curtains and fresh cut flowers throughout. There are no catalogues and everything is by appointment, ensuring a level of attentiveness one would be hard pressed to find at any retail operation anywhere these days. Downstairs jittery young ladies are greeted by a sweet, older woman, and then proceed upstairs to what appears to be a series of living rooms with gowns lined discreetly along the walls. The initial consultation lasts as long as the client wishes to stay, which is usually about an hour. Throughout the appointment she will have her own dressing room and her own assistant who won't even begin to point out dresses until first sitting down with the client and discussing her wedding plans at length.

If a bride does decide to buy a gown from Vera Wang, she will also have purchased guidance on anything and everything having to do with her wedding, including caterers, invitations, flowers, even the ceremony itself. If she wants, she can even have a bridal consultant sent to the wedding to make sure everything runs smoothly.