Fabrics are becoming more luxurious, colors are more varied and trains are being cut shorter and shorter.

And many engaged women are choosing to help design their own once-in-a-lifetime dresses.

‘‘The customers want something that’s elegant and comfortable to wear,” said Tony Houston, owner of Joy’s Bridal in Bowie.

He and his designing wife, Joy, who is originally from Thailand, have been working to deliver gowns to women across the region. And with so many brides visiting the boutique, it’s sometimes hard to pinpoint exact trends.

Still, Houston said, certain design elements have changed. His wife has broken away from using traditional, heavy fabrics, and now many of her elegant creations are made with a lighter Thai silk fabric.

‘‘It wears well, it reflects light well,” he said of the material, which is known to glimmer in wedding photos.

Carmen Marius, owner of Carmen’s Bridal in Langley Park, knows all about textile changes. After growing up with a love for sewing and design, she’s worked with women in the area since 1989 and is seeing some of the older fabrics come back in vogue.

‘‘Taffeta has come back a lot,” she said, noting that the newer fabric from China is different than the rustling material that many people remember. ‘‘1980s taffeta was really noisy,” she said. ‘‘The newer fabric is very silky, very light.”

This modernized taffeta is a good choice for summer weddings, according to Marius. And, speaking of summer weddings, she also said brides are going shorter with the length of their trains and tighter with the fit of their gowns.

‘‘What we’re seeing now is more mermaid gowns,” Marius said, describing the popular style as similar to that of the slinky red dress made famous by cartoon character Jessica Rabbit.

And the hemline of gowns isn’t the only thing changing. Houston said another big trend in wedding fashions is the inclusion of color.

‘‘Traditionally, you just have a white, white gown, or maybe an off-white,” he said, noting that many new brides have chosen to take a more modern approach with colored accents and embroidery to break up the solid appearance of wedding dresses.

With women needing an average of three to five months to work with boutique owners to choose and customize their gowns, Marius also said brides are thinking ahead and choosing different colors for their dresses.

‘‘Dusty rose is very popular,” she said, noting that another shade falling in between ivory and white — diamond white — is also trendy.

And the introduction of color doesn’t stop with the bride.

‘‘Another big thing, which I think is really good, is color coordination,” Houston said, noting that many wedding gowns are accented with colored bows or embroidery, with that accent color also worn by bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Although some popular styles have emerged for wedding gowns, both boutique owners noted that there is no one-size-fits-all trend.

‘‘The wedding day is the bride’s special day,” Houston said. ‘‘She should wear something to complement her personality.”

Marius agreed, telling stories of women borrowing features from multiple dresses — she cheerfully refers to the inventive drawings as ‘‘Frankenstein sketches” — in order to create one, personalized design.

‘‘That final product has to be perfect,” she said.

And after working with brides all day long, Marius loves connecting them to the dresses of their dreams.

‘‘They want to feel sexy,” she said, explaining that brides are thinking about the ‘‘wow” factor at the altar when they choose their wedding gowns. Her voice bubbly with excitement, she added,

‘‘They want to know that their husbands have the biggest jewel out there.”