Revisiting the Astor Dress

Working again on dresses from past collections is always like visiting an old and very lovely friend. The Astor dress is one that I am always happy to go back and revise to each of our brides specific bespoke requests.

This year the Astor was re-designed with a mirrored asymmetric draped back and side button fastening. The original had no buttons and this year the buttons have ran along the side and cascaded down the spine. Both are a welcome addition to the overall look of the dress from all angles.

I photographed the dress nude without the beaded embellishments and I love the raw texture of the handwoven silk that drapes and folds like an origami dream. The sparkles make it really something but in its naked state it's just as beautiful which is rather reassuring.

http://www.alexandraking.bigcartel.com/product/astor-hand-woven-silk-and-tulle-asymmetric-gown

Purple Lace Reception Dress ...

Ishita's pink and golden woven silk wedding Sari was just stunning. Photography By Lisa Jane.

Photography by Lisa Jane

Photography by Lisa Jane Photography

Early last year Ishita came to me for a reception party dress for the evening of her wedding. I love it when a client actually inspires me and is able to teach me something. Ishita had just got back for an incredible trip to India and told me all about the beautiful textile printers, taught me all about Sari's (which is going to be a big project for me this Summer) and bought me some stunning fabrics to make dresses for her with. (which will be another post)

We decided on a rich vibrant purple, the colour is so popping with violets! The design to be a lace and tulle prom dress and ballerina length. This length really works as it's still easy to manoeuvre like the shorter knee length styles but looks oh so elegant and when you are lucky enough to be tall it's the perfect dress length.
So the dress was built on silk foundations with a sweetheart bodice and the purple slightly lighter tone tulle was layered up for the skirt. This lighter tone purple showed the fine leavers lace detailing on top with a higher contrast and faded to the hem. The bodice was then hand pleated (this is my favourite part of the draping technique) and stitched in place.

And WoW didn't Ishita just look so stunning in her dress, I love the rich reds of the garland and of course the sparkling glitter shoes! Beautiful. xxx

BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHY BY LISA JANE - WE RECOMMEND THIS LADY! CLICK HERE FOR HER WEBSITE.

Caroline and her dress ......

Caroline first came to me last year looking for a bespoke wedding dress. I immediately wanted to make her dress within seconds of meeting and when I closed the door to the studio I kept my fingers crossed that this better than Audrey Hepburn lookalike would be wearing my dress on her big day.

So lucky me, it turned out good! I worked on the designs with Caroline so that we could have a dress that not only looked spectacular on the day but could be worn again. As we speak I am just finishing a blue lace over dress for her Christmas party.

This post is going to have to span a few weeks long as there is so much to show you. The first pictures are of the engagement shoot which made it to the Times engagement section with my tie dye and black lace dress. How society!

Times Newspaper - Photography by Assassynation 

The initial sketches for Caroline's dress 

 Here is the first design of the dress and the development pictures. The dress was made from silks from Caroline's very local supplier in Gloucester, Beckford Silks. They dye all of our silks in Gloucester and are a brilliant company who print, dye and make sure all our silks are top quality.

One of the fittings at the studio.

So we had a few fittings at Caroline's Mums house and at the studio, it was always so lovely to see her twirling around whilst I pinned and gave my usual critical glare over the dress. (this isn't ever me glaring it you it's me checking the dress is just right!) Caroline couldn't have been a better bride to work with, always positive, gorgeously ladylike and wonderfully relaxed whilst knowing exactly what she wanted. It's also a great help having a super lovely family and friends to bring along too.

 And this is what the dress looked liked in the end ..........................  silk duchess satin, silver lace removable jacket and a huge detachable bow.  There will be lots of photos of the wedding coming up soon, after I share the bridesmaids dresses. xxx

The week away from the computer ........

This past week has been quite exciting really, I stepped away from the computer, banned myself from facebook, twitter and even the blog, switched to radio six and got on with work. Funny how things start to happen when you don't sit for hours in front of a screen!
The first task was blue tulle underskirts for 50s dresses..................

I then worked on the final details of the summer collection, this dress is a sneak peek (I'm liking cardboard backgrounds at the moment as it makes the colours a little sparkier) .....

I had three visits from brides to be this week, this is Theresa who came for a whole day whilst we created her wedding dress. It was a long, long day but her dress looked incredible, elegant and terribly chic by the end of it. I can't wait to see the final looks over the two days of her wedding bonanza, there is even a music festival planned with some pretty awesome bands.
This reminded me of our wedding where we found our bands on myspace and they all did an excellent job. It's great to give young bands the opportunity to perform and get paid and you usually end up with something really cool, not too weddingy and at a far better price by not going through a wedding entertainment agent who tend to charge an extra chunk for that every word 'wedding'.

 And then I was in the local paper which was a really lovely surprise and from this single article in the local rag last Thursday I was invited to talk on BBC Somerset this morning about the bridal collection and a wedding magazine also rang for an interview, so not at all bad from the Cheddar Valley Gazette.  Many many thanks to them and Beth Perry.

I was so shocked to be asked to talk on the radio I immediately said yes and then it sank in over the bank holiday weekend that I would have to talk out loud and this is something I find very very nerve wracking. I was convinced I would be sick on the radio and very luckily I wasn't. Emma Britton the presenter was wonderful and made it all relaxing, she was so lovely and I recognised Rachel Andrews the producer from school which was quite a comfort. So a HUGE thank you to them both!

Here is the radio interview

So, it's been a very exciting week away from the computer and I can't think of anything happening this next week that might be worth talking about?

Faye's Art Deco Bow Dress

Photography: Alexandra King
Model: Sian Estelle Petty
Pearl beaded Pill Box Hat: Alisha Petty

The 'Faye' dress is the 1930s glamour gown, sleek, sweeping and fit for an art deco, silver screen goddess. I love using crepe and this is a very fine wool crepe that drapes beautifully and feels gorgeously soft. 

We designed and hand beaded the bow after researching more art deco, 1920s and 30's flapper dresses and motifs, the glass rhinestones are extra sparkly too.

Bows are a recuirring theme in my work, hence our logo and I'm thinking of this panel cut design for a tea dress and a flapper dress in a future collection.

Christy, The 50s Satin Bridal Gown

 

 

The Christy Dress. Audrey Hepburn is a slightly obvious inspiration here but I needed to do my take on the classic 50s wedding dress.
Made in a gorgeous, heavy silk duchess satin which creates beautifully smooth bold lines and stays very clean without too much shine in the satin. Designed to be elegant, chic but a whole lot of fun to wear and swirl around in. The bodice is cut with princess seams and an integrated corset inside the lining to create the cinched waist. The hips are fitted with a graduated skirt seam to show off the pulled in waist and move the fullness away from the waist area. This gives a beautiful line to the back and the skirt as you can see is supported by many layers or nets.
Trimmed with hand beading (see note below)and satin covered buttons all the way down the back to finish. Looks amazing with Alisha Petty's Veil.

Onto my soap box............
The beading around the neckline and cuffs is hand beaded at my studio. I adore beading just as much as the next girl, in fact probably more and have bought cheap beading in the past but, when I see complete, bead encrusted dresses on the high street it drives me mad.
There is only one way to bead a dress and that is by hand, one by one and it takes days. The beading the Christy dress took two full days to complete.
So next time you look at a heavily beaded dress on the high street for £100 ask yourself this. Who hand sewed all these tiny beads one by one for such little pay? I know this is the way or the world and if people didn't sew beads they would probably sew something else but beading is labour intensive, far more so than a plain dress for the same price and someone (be it adult or child) is being paid less that £1 a day to do it.
................And off again.

Here is the Christy Dress in full spin!

Scallops and Tulips, The wedding dress and Coat

 Photography: Alexandra King
Model: Sian Estelle Petty
Hats: Alisha Petty

 I now have the chance to say a little more about the bridal collection and will post each dress in detail over the week. 

The capsule six look collection was inspired by the women that kept asking for our cocktail dresses in white and the reason I have eventually produced this collection. Always being inspired by vintage dresses, the golden age of couture mainly Christian Dior and Jeanne Lanvin and old Hollywood movies, these dresses are the first expression of all of this inspiration in my head directed to Bridal wear.
 

The dresses had to be wearable, there are already many designers creating wonderfully extravagant, long strapless white wedding dresses and I wanted these to be different. These are the dresses that if I was to get married another six times, I would want to wear! 

So, they had to be light, not bulky, not trapping (I had a horrible experience when I was looking for wedding dresses years ago and felt physically ill being trapped in a this huge wedding dress, like being forced to get married and there would be no running away or moving in the huge skirt that surrounded me!)

These are for the bride who loves a bit of vintage, old movies and wants a dress that's for and about her not just her wedding. 

The 'Dew' and 'Dalzell' (names taken from the Sunset Boulevard cast list) dress and coat are inspired by those 1950s and 60s Hollywood weddings where the stars have a low key and terribly stylish marriage at the town hall or in Vegas. Think Jackie, Audrey, Elizabeth and Mia. 

The dress is made in a silk duchess satin with an integrated bodice and dramatic folds in the tulip skirt to create the strong lined hourglass silhouette. This is designed to be clean and simple with just our hand beaded belt at the waist.
The Scalloped coat again works well with the simplicity or the shift dress with echoing curves at the centre front and cuffs. This was also designed to be quite a princess coat with the rhinestone trim at the cuffs and the pleats at the back of the full skirt. It's softly tailored with no shoulder pads and just a little structuring in the bodice with boning like a Victorian made jacket. 

I imagining new brides in Vegas and at gorgeous old Town Halls in this with a killer pair of kitten heels and a vintage clutch to match. And maybe just a very chic fascinator from Alisha Petty.