Tulle ballet skirts

SOFTEST TULLE BALLET SKIRTS - Some girls dream of the floaty tulle and satin ribbons of ballet, those textural symbols of femininity combined with the ethereal quality of a beautiful movement.
Finally finding the tulle that floats the most we have our new tulle ballet skirts in ivory and pale blue ..... more colours will be coming too.
Opt for a plaid shirt to offset the prettiness, the hard and the soft together make for a very enjoyable balance.

Red Dressing

Red Lace Cocktail Dress - This dress was first designed for a wonderful customer of ours who sent us brilliant design briefs for any occasion she could find to wear a dress too. A great customer on the same wavelength is always an inspiration and this red dress has to be one of my favourites, so much so that it has worked it's way into our collections.

The dress is built onto a nude cotton base with sweetheart bodice and the softest fine red lace laid delicately over with its scalloped trim, bouncing just below the hem. Elegantly cut with long fitted sleeves and a sweeping neckline to reveal the decolletage that plunges at the back where the self belt can be tied in a bow to finish.

Available in the shop from today. 

Rose Garden Dresses

Floral rose print dresses, skirts and a sheer lace top.

This vintage fabric was found in a lovely haberdashery shop in Wedmore, a little (very pleasantville) village set in the Somerset countryside.
This rose garden stripe print is perfectly fitting for this place, its quintessentially English, very pretty and prim on the outside but dressed in the right way can be gorgeously glamourous. Add a pair of shocking pink patent heels, a sprinkle of glitter or a pop art sweater with a strong splash of red lipstick.

Now available online as one of a kind pieces.

Any Brides For Cricket?

These fabulous photos arrived in my in box yesterday along with such a lovely message from our Bride Abby who was married just a few weeks ago.

From the moment I first saw Abby at a wedding fair in Bristol I knew I wanted to make her dress. Tall, beautiful beyond words, great style and a gorgeous manner.

Abby wanted to be comfortable all day and loved the late fifties / sixties style of dresses. The heavy corded lace layered over a textured silk under dress with a full skirt gave the right level of prettiness without being too delicate against her lustrous locks and patent heels.
Styled with vintage finds, her veil was 1960s,  shoes in a pale mint green and a candy pink Cadillac as transport.

Here's an extract from the lovely email ...

"The dress felt amazing to wear, I played cricket in it, it was incredibly comfy and I danced until midnight. I had lots of comments on it all day .................. and best of all it really captured the mood of the wedding! 

The whole experience of meeting you, coming down to the studio and seeing the dress from sketches to the final dress was really inspiring!"

I love that Abby played what looks to be a proper game of cricket in her dress, just how it should be!

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIAN JAMES 

Pink Liberty Print Dress

Pretty in pink tea dress using the Capel print by Liberty of London.

This was my first choice when deciding on prints to use from Liberty's, it's a classic and in the light Tana lawn floats effortlessly over the body. The soft sugar pink and cream delicate daisy print edged in a dark grey gives the impression of a fine vintage lace.
For the design I chose a simple sleeved cut, a preppy princess line bodice with higher neckline that lunges sexily to the waist at the back. Finished with a full circle skirt that drapes with cool nonchalant ease to the knee or can be worn with a flirty tulle underskirt for the evening.

We styled the Pink Capel dress for full candy girl impact with ...... a Johnny Love Rosie Rose Hair corsage ....... the gorgeous coral feather leather necklace from What Katy Did Next ......... Our vintage pink glitter clutch bag ...... Glitter pink shoes from New Look and ..... our Liberty Claire Aude print skinny belt.

Photo shoot - Enigmatic Stripes by Laura Power

Photography by Laura Power

Back in February when the weather was still freezing our favourite photographer Laura Power came down to shoot the s/s 13 collection. Packed into my beetle with hot water bottles for Natalie and a Laura's many shaped cameras, we braved the reservoir in the biting wind.
It was a case of run, pose, line up the shot, coat off and look elegant NOT freezing. Natalie did a beautiful job of looking exquisitely serene with the professionalism of a true star fighting the cold with the skills of a diva.
The resulting images of our deco striped maxi dress styled with a simple swathe of ivory silk captures  the pre-50s film resort romance that I envisioned. All thanks to Laura and Natalie x

Liberty Print Dresses - Beths Flowers

As Summer was fast approaching (now officially here in the UK) it was time to lay out our most prized fabric stash of Liberty London Tana lawns for a capsule collection of the prettiest dresses to wear this season.
The first being the fuchsia, scarlet and cobalt floral explosion that is Beth's Flowers in a plunging 1950s cut sun dress with a cinched waist and a swishing full skirt, finished with a fine matching belt. Of course the pockets are hidden in the pleats of the skirt so you can breeze around un-baggaged.

For the time being these are one of a kind dresses. Available exclusively online to buy here. 

Sarah In Her 'Sarah Jane' Dress

  

Sarah and Jason were wed in Chicago last year in a relaxed and what looks to be a beautiful day filled with family and friends.

Sarah chose the Sarah Jane dress (of course!) and styled it simply with a gorgeous pair of black pumps, classic pearls and a fabulous pair of 1950s specs. If you wear glasses this one more way to treat yourself with an ultra pretty vintage pair.

Boldt collective took some ultra cool photos of the pair, I love their expressions towards the cute parma puff flower girl and their 'official' husband and wife portrait. Their new Great Dane will fit in perfectly.

Congrats to Sarah and Jason and thank you for looking so beautiful in our dress! x

Photography by Boldt Collective

SUMMERTIME BRIGHTS

Bright yellow dresses have arrived online and we just love the way they look with our bright purple glitter clutch. The colours work mouth-wateringly well together, be bold and bring a third colour (maybe magenta, candy coral or a polished gold) to the equation in patent heels and hair bow for that all important stand out event this Summer.

Our linen and lace dresses are both one of a kinds in textured Lego block yellow with modern hard angled cuts contrasting with the soft scalloped lace. Strong lined accessories a must.

Black lace Prom Dress

This little black prom dress is now safely and very happily at it's new destination ready to be a showstopper at the prom.  Very kindly the new owner said 'The dress came today and is absolutely perfect, from the fit to the textures its amazing. I am so happy and content with it and would just like to thank you again for the dress.' A very good job done! 

The dress has been in my studio for a couple of weeks since completion and every time I looked at it (along with another lace dress I was working on at the same time) it made me feel the same way I do when I'm in a vintage shop or the fashion museum. A little panicked to buy and very desperate to touch.

The corded lace has lots of texture on a fine tulle background and the skirt is wonderfully full with soft nets underneath. Lined in silk taffeta which rustles slightly and keeps a great shape with a boned bodice and cotton facings.  The vintage 1950s cocktail dress inspiration became completely authentic in the weight, feel and design, all except for the concealed zipper at the back.

I am really in love with this dress!

This seasons prom requests have been the best so far, I have another in the pipeline that is equally gorgeous. Teenagers seriously have the best ideas at the moment and style, they look fantastic and aren't afraid to really indulge in a dress. I think I may have had some especially cool and creative individuals though.

I was told most were buying from the 'occasion wear' shop and sadly we all know the look of a generic prom dress nowadays. Girls there's no need for a  floor length frump of a dress when you can have a cute cocktail dress, unless there's a rule and then think red carpet not Disney princess. There are some gorgeous dresses from the main fashion retailers at the moment, or go for vintage or take a look around Etsy, there are some great designers there (apart from me :) and lots to suit different styles.

I cringe at my own from over ten years ago, a homemade see through lace affair which wasn't quite to my standards of today! What were yours like? or what do you have planned for your prom this year?

Liberty Capel Dress and Nike Trainers

It was great to see Liberty's classic Capel print used in the latest collection from Nike in the form of gorgeous high tops. Coincidentally the first dress from our upcoming Liberty print collection is the sugary pink Capel floral print. We think the high tops and the dress along with a sparkling belt will look pretty darn good if we do say ourselves.

Nike x Liberty Trainers available to buy exclusively from Liberty here. 

Our Liberty collection will be coming up at the end of May if not before. Email for pre-order and enquiries here. 

Running with Scissors Dress

Halter dress with bright scissors print.

We have many pairs of scissors here at the studio and I couldn't resist this 1940's inspired novelty print cotton. Wear for parties this summer with red flats and a panama hat trimmed with a matching grosgrain ribbon. Don't forget a sparkly bag.

Kitty Shoes by Charlotte Olympia 

Panama hat by Sensi Studio

Glitter bag by Alexandra King

Met Ball - My Favourites

My second favourite red carpet event, The 'Punked' Met Ball was held on Monday evening, I just love looking at what all the beautiful people wore. There were some shockers but the Punk theme this year was going to throw up a few problems for the stylists.

Here are my favourite dresses and styles from Monday night ....

The Elegant 

Carey Mulligan in Balenciaga trimmed with the ultimate punk safety pin in gold. The shoes are perfection. Emily Blunt taking part in the Green Carpet Challenge wearing a 1930s style Carolina Herrera bias cut gown in certified vintage wool and silk chiffon. I love those tiny buttons.

The way Leelee Sobieski styled her strapless Dior dress with a t-shirt and those fine embroidered gloves is the perfect balance of punk and slick style. 

The Colourful

The ultimate red leather punk mini dress that looks straight from an 80s album cover. Dress by Anthony Vaccarello. Uma Thurmann channelling her old Green Ivy but in this case winning in a breathtaking Zac Posen gown. Amber Heard, always stunning, this time in a red beaded Chantilly lace Emilio Pucci dress. 

The Prints

Katy Perry in Dolce and Gabbana's beaded icon dress and crown. Jennifer Lopez looking fierce in this Cheetah print by Michael Kors. Monochrome stripes are always a striking print and I adore the geometry of this J.Mendel organza dress worn by Chanel Iman. 

The Classics

Hailee Steinfeld fresh a gleaming as a young star in the prettiest Donna Karen prom dress embellished with safety pins and studs. Pretty Punk. Anna Wintour's daughter Bee Shaffer safe but very prettily dressed in Dior. If Galliano had designed it you bet it would have made more of a statement. 

Heidi Klum need is say more in Marchesa and Harry Winston diamonds.

The Couples

Tom Ford and the beautiful Joan Small in a sexy sheer lace slim cut gown. Obviously one of his designs. Livia Firth and Colin, Again heading up the Green Carpet Challenge in a 20 year old Franco Moschino gown from his ethical collection proving this Eco thing isn't so new era. 

Cara and Sienna, the favourite and the new girl of the Vogue covers both in Burberry make an obscenely gorgeous pair. 

The Little black dress

Felicity Jones in a Proenza Schouler black and gold Laser cut dress with cutaway shoulders and a beautiful cut. Pixie Geldoff in my favourite outfit of the night, her mix of a chic slash necked Moschino cocktail dress with embellished skirt and subtle tattoos works..  And finally Renee Zellweger, in the most divine little black dress by Prada, the long fitted sleeves and the sweeping neckline and sharper than sharp satin courts by Christian Louboutin. 

All images from Vogue.co.uk and photographed by PA and Rex Features

Confetti Print Dress

Fifties Style Printed Summer Dress ...

Bright, Light and oh so pretty in hundreds and thousands confetti print on crisp white cotton. This little dress will party itself through the Summer teamed with our velvet blue bow belt. x

Liberty Poppy Print Bridesmaids Dresses

I'm just about to start work on some new Liberty print summer dresses today and this reminded me of the red poppy print dresses we worked on last year for a wedding in Bristol. This is a slightly different style of print for Liberty away from the tiny ditsy florals and photographs wonderfully with such a vibrant print. We accessorised the dresses with vibrant pleated green silk belts and of course petticoats to make the skirts really full. The girls look brilliant stood beneath that grand statue and with the perfectly matched red and white roses. Just beautiful!

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MORAG MACDONALD, BRISTOL

Rainbow Stripe Ric Rac Dress

1950s classic tea dresses were the inspiration behind the latest set of tea dresses and this colourful ric rac print has to be my favourite of them all. Sassy stripes never fail to look striking. Add any colours shoes, I think I would go for yellow and away you go to the Summer dance ...

Available made to order in the shop, I'm keeping the original for me!