Lest you think couture gowns like the Verrieres & Sako Princess Fati Farmanfarmaian donned for the Mid-Winter Gala held late last month magically create themselves, we’ll have you know that the Ruckled Gown by the Oakland-based design duo required nearly three weeks of toiling 10 hours a days to make – and that’s with an existing pattern (yeah, and we thought we worked hard).

“There’s over 3,000 hand stitches on it and 20 yards of silk taffeta,” Stephanie Verrieres told us when we caught up with her at her East Bay studio yesterday.

Of course, that's the very kind of work ethic it takes to stand out in a sea of gala gowns by Oscar de la Renta, Dolce & Gabbana, Balenciaga and others. Along with the painstakingly constructed skirt Verrieres and Kimie Sako built using the ruckling technique that’s become one of their signatures, the silver gown features a body-skimming strapless bustier that gives way to a back peplum flip we think perfectly offsets the skirt’s mermaid-like shape and train.

Feeling a surge of couture envy? Meet Verrieres and Sako next weekend and explore their latest ready-to-wear collection during a spring sample sale at the Golden Bridge Lofts, 330 13th St., Oakland. Sale hours: Saturday, 11 am-7pm (Champagne reception starts at 5pm); Sunday 11 am-4pm.