Black Lace Classical Cocktail dress

We tend to take the little black dress for granted. It's reliable, gorgeous and always pretty much perfect but doesn't always push you as a designer. It may be why we haven't had so many reaching the shop recently or maybe we keep adding them to our wardrobes before they get there.

The 'Vasla' (a reference to the Diaghilev group) little black dress was designed with the corded lace in mind. Layered over a soft bronze nude satin it evoked the 1950s dresses we coveted and combined with a thick black tulle hem has flourished as a prom dress. The asymmetric neckline was hand draped over the fitted sweetheart bodice and finished with long satin ties to position the shoulder.

We suggest styling with black lace courts, a jet bracelet or cuff and jet dropped earrings allowing the sweep of the asymmetric neckline bring the eye to the face. Hair up in a soft ballet style bun.

We're glad to say this little black dress made it to the shop, in all it's classical cocktail beauty.

A Chartreuse Green Silk Dress

Introducing a new cocktail gown in the electrifying colour of Chartreuse. Named after a naturally acid green French liquer, this dress is just as demure. 

Featuring a sculpted bow on the shoulder embellished with a contrasting scarlet beadwork and tethered to one shoulder in a classical 1950s sweep. I wanted this dress to have a strong lone so after cinching the waist with scarlet velvet the skirt was to reflect a certain weight and sharpness. This was achieved with a luxurious red satin lining and deep draped pleats. 

The colour really is delicious and crisp as an apple laced with Chartreuse. The dress is available in the shop as a one of a kind piece from today. 

Prom Dresses For 2013

Vintage style prom dresses for 2013 ................

With prom season in the studio very much underway with dresses jetting off around the world I thought I should share some of our best dresses to style you through the end of year prom.

I had a few 'interesting' prom dresses whilst at school, all made by myself. The off the peg options like today were scarce. The offerings were either the long straight poly taff with a lovely sheen in burgundy, the big 90s barbie in aqua complete with tiara and spray tan/ringlets or wearing the same great Topshop dress as someone else!
My see through black lace and sequined bra wasn't too awful considering the options :(

As soon as I had my design and sewing skills vastly improved after uni I worked on the first version of the debutant Debby dress (bottom right). This developed over the years into the perfect prom dress in soft fifties tulle, cut to the knee, simple enough to be styled with boots or heels and stamp your identity on it.
Even though most of our dresses can be worn for prom season, these are my favourite picks for this year. All in the SHOP now. 

Vanessa's smokey grey dress ....

(I'm resisting 'shad of grey' here, my girls are way too intelligent for it to even be a joke).
 Today I'm going to show this first instalment from a colour popping, Pom Pom filled wedding up North. This is where that soft grey tulle dress you all love originated and Vanessa's beautiful deep grey and coral wedding dress was a dream come true to work on.

The dress made in a floating soft tulle in smokey grey was an inspiration making all colours around it totally pop. Vanessa art directed her wedding to the finest detail and this was also the case with the wardrobe, she really knew how she wanted everything to look resulting in some stunning ideas.

Vanessa's dress was then studded with coral Swarovski crystals, trimmed with metallic gold edging to the underskirt and finished with a coral silk belt all the match the gorgeous Rachel Simpson silk and leather shoes.

Coming up next in the 'Vanessa series' will be the bridesmaids .......... These are totally gonna brighten your day :)

N.B A few of you may have noticed that things have been quiet online for a bit and this is down to us loosing complete internet connection for 30 days! The mast has been damaged and the lovely 'three mobile' are less that quick about fixing it. It's still not how it should be but we are slowly getting up to date out here in the countryside.

Anne's Dress

 Anne's dress was made earlier this year for her May wedding all the way in Australia. This is the version 2.0 of the Betty in a silk taffeta with Anne's choice of the gorgeously green silk sash tied into a big bow.

I love this combination of ivory and emerald, this style sash with the dress is a great balance and the emerald silk, as always is an eye catcher.

Images by White Tulip Photography, Australia.

Images by White Tulip Photography, Australia.

Images by White Tulip Photography, Australia.

Images by White Tulip Photography, Australia.

Anne kindly send me her wedding snaps of her looking beautiful and oh so chic on the day, such a magical looking backyard marriage, it looks like a perfect setting to get wed. Beautiful images by White Tulip Photography, Australia.

Katy's Pretty Things ....

The Betty Dress in Fushia Silk with Blue Trim. Photography by Sally Thurrell

Thimble and Bobbin padded heart, Photography by Sally Thurrell

The Betty dress, made to order Photography by Sally Thurrell

 This gorgeous shoot was taken in May and styled by the wonderful Katy Howieson of What Katy Did Next.
I always love to see how Katy styles our dresses and her attention to detail is always second to none.
I love the way Sally Thurrell, the photographer has captured the shape and colour or our Betty dress and Katy's sequin shoes clips and blush blue bow work brilliantly to finish the look. The padded heart from Thimble and Bobbin is gorgeous!

Elsie Hairband by What Katy Did Next.

Elsie Hairband byWhat Katy Did Next. Photography by Sally Thurrell

 Katy always gets lots of people involved in her shoots so that everyone can share their wares. Sending the dresses up to Cumbria is really exciting as I never quite know what the photos will look like even though Katy goes to great lengths planning her shoots with moodboards carefully selecting what will compliment each other.
The dress above is our Tropical floral dress teamed with a bright turquoise cardigan and Katy's blue pearl hairband.

Our Pink Elephant Dress

The 'Red Dog' print dress

Our elephant and dog printed dresses available in the online shop with new bright prints coming soon.

Our Soft Tulle prom dress and Dorothy Hairband by What Katy Did Next

Our tulle prom dress

 And our dove grey tulle prom dress studded with rose swarovski crystals and tied with a ribbon belt. I love the use of the scarlet red with the grey, a great team together.

The Grey Stripe dress and prom dress worn with the Betty and Dorothy headpieces by What Katy Did Next

The Grey Stripe dress and Betty headpiece by What Katy Did Next

Last but not least our charcoal grey stripe dress, this was a dress made from vintage shirt fabrics and the mustard yellow of Katy's hairband and ribbon make it really pop.
A HUGE thank you to Katy and her team for producing these fabulous images.

Credits:
Styling: Katy Howieson
Photography: Sally Thurrell
Hair Accessories: What Katy Did Next
Models:  Beth Dooley & Pippa Welch
Cushions and treats: Thimble and Bobbin
Venue: Bousdale Farm
Make Up: Make Up By Jo
Hair: Vintage Tinsel

Refresher Dresses

Earlier this year we were asked to design and make some dresses all in soft pastel refresher colours. This couldn't have been more perfect for the Summer season, sherbet lemons, mints and candy pinks were bang on trend.

The dresses and the wedding had a definite late Fifties vibe and we took inspiration from some advertising and fashion shots of this era. The full skirts with built in nets were a must and the maids chose to go for the cross over neckline that worked well on each of them.
The colours were surprisingly difficult to find when considering they make silk in every colour imaginable. After many swatches of yellow in particular we found the right shade in a local shop that matched a sherbet lemon.

Each dress had a grosgrain ribbon bow tied at the waist in a different colour.

Jemma (the bride) then asked if we could possibly make silk ties in matching colours for the ushers, as you may be able to tell, I LOVED seeing them all together! We gave each tie a different coloured lining and of course the 'Alexandra King' label was attached.
The colours just look so yummy. Imagine with some added glitter or studs or Miami Vice styling and how awesome these super sweet colours could be for every day :)

 ....... And here's a sneak peek of Jemma's wedding day with her bridesmaids. Jemma had a stunning full length gown designed by Sassi Holford, wow factor all round and I was so proud to have our dresses stood next to a Sassi dress!

The little black dress .... Introducing the Sara.

Introducing the Sara .......

This dress was made for my friend Sara's hen party, as I wasn't making her wedding dress I thought she should have a super smokin' cocktail dress to wear instead beforehand. This will also prevent any old fashioned wifelyness in the future, it certainly ain't no kitchen dress! :)

The dress had to be a secret and I knew in all the excitement of the party a photo shoot wasn't really going to happen. Luckily the day before our gorgeous model Kimmy Lou popped over and she did the honours whilst we finished the hem.
The dress will be coming up on the boutique in the next week or so available made to order in this gorgeous draped silk with a corseted bodice. It's a showstopper that works wonders on curves. Complete with pockets as always and you can have any underskirt colour you like, I love the metallic gold trim. xxx