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.

Alisha Petty Hats

 I was very fortunate to be able to work with Alisha Petty and her gorgeous hats whilst shooting the bridal collection and they were the perfect finishing touch to the dresses. 

My favourite was the beautiful hare ear fascinator on a dark green wool base and vintage roses, it's perfect in every way and so very soft. It reminded me of surreal 1940s hats from Schiaparelli and Dali with that same design quality.

The veil is a soft asymmetrically cut tulle with a fine feather crown and rhinestone detailing and the two pearl beaded fascinators and incredibly demure. Thank you very very much to Alisha for bringing these along x

Contact Alisha Petty here. and Here

Spring Summer 2011 Bridal

Here is the lookbook for the long awaited Spring/Summer 2011 Bridal collection. I have loads more to tell and say about the collection but first need to share these pictures of the gorgeous Sian Estelle Petty modelling with hats by Alisha Petty. The Petty Sisters are a fantastic pair and thank you very much to them and their talented ways. x

Beading

Just adding the finishing touches to the bridal collection with beading. Above are the art deco beaded motifs for our bias cut gown, one still in it's embroidery hoop. These have taken two days and are labour intensive but also very relaxing to sew and the result is always exciting.  Our dresses are not something to be rushed. : )

Singapore in more detail

I am at last recovering from our trip to Singapore. The first time it's taken nearly a week to get over jet lag.  This week I've fallen asleep in the cinema (which is a major sin), tripped over an awful lot, slurred my speech and woke up in the middle of the night convinced I'm cuddling my Mum, complete brain melt down!

It may be just getting over two solid days of fabric sourcing from the wonderful Arab Street full of the most gorgeous fabrics from around the world. Robbing a bank during my trip would have been temping amongst the incredible French laces and mouth watering silks.

This is my 4th trip to Singapore and it gets more and more interesting each time I visit, so much more than the tourist attractions and the shopping.
I had a major shock when I was told that Singapore doesn't 'do' Human Rights, Homosexuality is still illegal (a seven year prison term) and they hang people on Fridays. Something I really didn't expect from such an advanced country.
It is a really wonderful place on one hand, full of Utopian perfection of how cultures can live very happily together, great prosperity and very high levels of education. I just can't fully rave about Singapore as much as I wanted to with these ethical issues still outstanding.  Hopefully they will come up to date soon.
Amnesty International on Singapore
Human Rights Watch on Singapore

Anyway enough about politics here are some great things in Singapore.

The awe inspiring new SOTA School of the Arts Singapore building.  Just for school age students aged 13 - 18,  it would be such a luxury to study here I would have killed to work in a building like this at University level.
It's great to see Singapore encouraging the arts at last which hasn't been such a focus in the recent past.

The fashion section at the National Museum, not bad with some gorgeous Batik printed 50s dresses, a spectacular fabric exhibition and vintage rhinestone hair pieces from the 50's displayed in old gramophone boxes. The exhibition design as I mentioned earlier was really top class in the National Museum. (don't be put off by the website, it looks dodgy but is the official website)

Vintage portraits in the National museum, Singapore did have some fantastic style capturing that iconic 1920s and 30s distant travelled inspirations. This picture is of a cut out which is very convincing and the other two ladies just look fabulous.

Incredible fine glass beading at the Peranaken Museum. A whole museum dedicated to mixed heritage culture in Singapore. The celebration of different cultures in Singapore is one of it's greatest successes and something I wish we could adopt more of here.The art work here at the museum and beaded delights are stunning, well worth a trip.

Sorry I'm being very mean but this made me giggle whilst having a break on Serangoon Road, I wonder if I could advertise my skills like this?
This will certainly stop my moaning about having to everything just so before I can start any work, this person wrote a sign and just got on with it!

 

Haji Lane is the best road for independent shops, designers and all things gorgeous in Singapore. A bit of genuine creativity and style in OhM.Mani full of vintage, reconstructed and bright pretty designs by Manita Mae. The sales assistant Celeste (pictured) was the most lovely and friendly of the whole street too!

Wicked laundry had a great shop design and some beautiful pieces, shame my long body just wouldn't fit into these petite dresses.

Some of the preserved 19th Century buildings in Singapore. The original style of Singapore is fresh, colourful and fabulously tropical with some exquisite detailing. I really hope the insights into the old culture of Singapore in the architecture and history are kept along with it's modernity. Vintage is always best when it come to quality and style!

The Perfect 50s Silk Wedding Dress

This dress, commissioned a while ago, has to be one of my very favourite dresses I have created so far, it's always wonderful when a design works out perfectly.
There was a lot of work involved working on the line of the dress and the bodice which has a figure hugging, integrated corset with stays in between it's layers. The just off the shoulder neckline was a real success and in the customers chosen pale silver grey silk, it just looks spectacular. A 50's dream of a dress which I have fallen in love with.

Originally there were to be rhinestones over the waist but when the dress got to this stage it was working it's simplicity and elegance so well, the rhinestones would have been a spangly distraction.  I adore anything that sparkles but this time it was best left be. 

The silk is a smooth taffeta which is very crisp and falls beautifully with that vintage 'Gone with the Wind' rustle as you walk. Plumped with lots of soft tulle underskirts and a silk lining.

This dress titles 'Sarah Jane' is now available as part of the made to order bridal collection in white and ivory.  Take a look in our new etsy shop here. A whole bridal collection is being worked on as we speak.  

You can see fabulous photo's by Julie Bee of the dress being worn here 

Dove Grey Stripes, We love Stripes

The last of this little collection of stripe dresses for now. This dress is a super crisp, heavy dove grey cotton with screen printed fine stripes.
We cut this dress with a classic 50's halter dress in mind with a structured bodice, curvy sweetheart and long fine halter straps. The skirt was cut into quarter circle pannels making the skirt wonderfully full and swapped around the stripes for a geometric pattern (something we stole from a 1940's sun dress).

Fully lined with lots of nets and the compulsory ribbon bow to finish. Available to buy here in our etsy shop.

Pink Stripes

This shocking pink silk was quite a find.  Interwoven with gold and pale gold metallic threads to form this electric pink stiff silk taffeta. I needed to tone it down a little with a layer of black tulle and satin outlines to keep it contained and the as always satin bow is the finishing touch.

We've started using metal zippers in some of our dresses of which this one. It's a little tricky to move away from the ease and invisibility of the concealed zippers but the metal zips are from the golden ages of elegance and always move nice and smoothly. No breaking, sticking or wiggling if the dress is on the tightly fitted!