Red Dresses

Our latest capsule collection of red dresses have arrived in the boutique. Each a one of a kind piece hand crafted at our Somerset atelier in brilliant vermilion silk chiffon's, vintage rose print chintz's and the prettiest of laces and flocked tulles.
Each a one of a kind piece.

Clockwise from the top left:

Vermilion silk chiffon ballet dress with button back detail and full sheer skirt. 

Red rose vintage cotton wiggle skirt with pleat pockets 

Poppy red lace T-shirt dress with fitted cotton lining.

Rose pink silk draped strapless bodice top. 

Red rose vintage cotton wiggle dress.

Love Hearts red flocked tulle prom dress. 

Vermilion silk chiffon and lace ballet skirt.

Red Roses vintage cotton print tea dress. 

Coming up ...... 10 reasons to wear red.

Artisans - Lindsey King Embellisher of Beautiful Things - Bridal Sashes

Lindsey King hand beaded bridal belts. 

I met Lindsey last year whilst working on her wedding dress and we instantly shared our love of all things embellished and sparkly. Lindsey really wanted a beaded belt to wear with her wedding dress and knowing her skills with a paint brush (check out her hand painted table wear here) I gave her the option of making one herself.

After a few months working away on the belts a little at a time, Lindsey arrived with the most breathtakingly beautiful beaded sashes. Very different from my strictly patterned designs, these belts included vintage 1950s rhinestone hearts glistening in scarlet reds surrounded by silver, gold and pearls, all individually picked and placed. Coral and blue Swarovski crystals are hidden amongst opalescent vintage milk glass beads and tiny crystal bugles that contain the sparkles.

Turn the belt over and you can see the painstaking craftsmanship in fine beautiful stitches where each of the two and half thousand beads have been hand sewn.

One of these belts is all you need with a simple ivory dress to make your wedding dress shine and you will most certainly wear it again!

These belts are available from Lindsey's Etsy shop here. 

Every Day Collection Dresses

Courtney - baby pink cotton shift dress

 Alice - Black cotton embroidered collar mini dress

 Love - Red pleated back wrap dress

 Honey - hot pink mini t-shirt dress

I'm well known for prom dresses, wedding dresses and all sorts of special occasion dresses that particularly cinch you in at the waist with sparkle and froth. There are my three staple black organic cotton tea dresses which are great for dinners and dates but no real every day, breath out, throw on and get to work dresses.
I also wanted to see if it was at all possible to design and make a dress, in the UK, cut and made one at a time for under or around £100. So here was the brief.

1. Fabrics must be purchased from an independent UK supplier.
- this was the wonderful Millie Moon Shop in Wells and Frome

2. The dresses must be designed, cut and made one at a time (like all our other dresses) at the studio here in the UK.

3. The dresses must be easily wearable, washable and be beautifully made.

4. They have to be well designed for everyday wear but not frumpy. Simple is not ugly.

This was about producing clothing locally and fairly. I have nothing against overseas production, If I was in China, you bet I would be having everything made there. I just like to see that everyone is taken care of, treated fairly and paid fairly. The only way I can guarantee this is by making where I can see everything at the studio and supporting local businesses.

So the final dresses. The designs were inspired by the late 80's and 90's minimalist cotton designs. Legs on show, relaxed but feminine cuts, supermodels, grunge (see if you can work out the names of the dresses) beaches and mods.

The Courtney - pink, mini, loose cut with a fit to the thigh and oh so chic worn with black.
The Alice - black, collared, mini mod moving to the twenties with an embroidered collar and belt
The Love - red, brightest lipstick red in a wrap that pleats at the back
The Honey - pink, mini t-shirt style with a long sash belt. 

Each dress is lined in satin and yes, £99 for the Honey dress delivered to your door. Simple minimalism is harder than it looks, the weight and cut is even more important to the design, every fold counts. The other dresses are a little more than the £99 but worth the extra bit of fabric and detail. And there are many ways to style them.