Bridal Separates 2016 - Wells Photoshoot Part 1

At the beginning of August we shot some pieces from our bridal separates collection in Wells with models Kim and Tie. It was a beautifully sunny day and we chose to shoot around the market place and centre. I'm still discovering Wells and the interesting corners. The Cathedral and Vicars close felt a little too obvious to start with and are locations that will need more planning.

The images come in two sets, this gorgeous Moroccan yellow from the entrance to the Bishops Palace grounds and the black and whites.

The Aria, Strapless tulle bodice
The Agnes, Boat neck bodice
The Anais, Tulle Ballet Skirt 
The Astrid, Silk chiffon Ballet Skirt

Bridal Accessories - Polly Victoria, Wells

Models - Kim and Ti - We are always looking for models so message us if you are local and would like to be added to our books.

Styling and Photography - Alexandra King

Street Style, Wells - Rainbow Girl

Helen walked past our shop three times before I plucked up the courage to ask if I could take her picture. I couldn't miss this outfit.
I must explain that Wells is the smallest city in the UK and in Somerset, 10 minutes from Glastonbury. It's main claim to fame is the Cathedral and the film Hot Fuzz which was based on and filmed here in Wells.
Helen stood out with her style. The outfit is a collection of finds ... blue patent Dr. Martens, rainbow leggings from The Trading Post, Wells (our favourite shop other than ours!) A 90s floral fleece mini and a rainbow crochet crop top. The pastel hair wrap, baby pink rucksack and beaded jewellery are all the details of a 90s club kid reinvented to perfection.

Vintage 1950s Floral Dresses

New arrivals to our vintage collection with three floral dresses. I love florals to soften and feminise a look, they look great dressed down with long messy hair or a short boyish crop and 90s grunge boots.
The new pieces are .... A 1950s Horrockses full length gown with strapless ruched bodice and pink gladioli print. A 1930s delicate peach rayon tea dress with roses and a sweetheart neckline. And a great 1950s Mid Century modern print party dress with olive green bow back.

Click the images for more info ....

Hayley's Orange Silk Dress

One of our most inspiring customers commissioned a special dress for a Paris birthday in the most vibrant of vermillion orange silks.
The dress was designed as a one of a kind piece with a plunging back, classic bodice and a voluminous skirt that featured a graduated hem. Of course with pockets.

The dress looked fabulous in Paris! Check out our instagram for more photos @alexandraking

Street Style Wells

Sitting in the shop, I see so many beautifully dressed people walk by. I really want to capture them to share what a stylish little city Wells is.

The first person to photograph was of course Lois. She is in charge of vintage clothing at the legendary Trading Post and is running for Miss Vintage UK at Twinwood next weekend. Currently with child.

Our boutique - Inside The Shop

After four months we are still working things out in our little shop. The move from online to bricks and mortar has been a huge change. No more having a nap on the studio chase or sitting on the floor sewing all night surrounded by fabric. We have people popping in and out, the dresses are on display and I sit at the counter listening to all the comments outside. Our window is made from paper thin glass!

The first time I saw the shop I fell in love, certain that this was the one. The alcoves where the dresses hang are hand built and perfectly lit in a tasteful french grey to match the outside of our five storey atelier. But maybe it's time to really make it ours? A complete colour change to show we are here and this is us!
Its hard not to react to every mean comment? I can never decide how to space the rails, do we have lots or very few? Some people say it's too fancy? It's all very strange this new world.

Its been interesting to see what people are like, who comes through the door, who doesn't. Mainly the customers of the ladies outfitters before us, to see what we've done to their much loved shop.
There are times I wish I could just grab the girls walking past and say "come and try our dresses, they'll look amazing on you!" And times I wish I had a giant boxing glove to boing spiteful tongued frumps back onto the pavement. This has been the biggest challenge, having the general public come in and comment on your work. I'm no longer in the safe surroundings of my online vintage niche.

Wonderfully, Wells is filled with fabulous people who do understand the beauty of a vintage gown and get excited about the possibilities of having something designed for them. Our new customers are brilliant and it's special when they put on their dress and say how great they feel and look.

Everyone is so interesting too. Gorgeous girls who squeeze their baby buggies through our awkward door with the hope we can tweak their dresses before the weekend, to farmers wives who have decided it's time to treat themselves to a bespoke dress with new found confidence. There's headmistresses, owners of MBE's, students, new Mums, Mum's to be, brides to be and little girls who run in just to tell me how pretty the dresses are and "did we really make them?!" To my absolute delight, girls with skateboards come in with nirvana T shirts. I love them all and hope I to can share some of their style here soon.

The Red Dressmaker Dress - Bespoke Mother of the Bride Dress

One of our first customers to the boutique was a very lovely lady looking for something to wear to her daughters wedding. The time scale was short (three weeks!) and as I was saying how "we really need at least six weeks and sorry we can't help on this occasion" the lady said how she really loved Kate Winslet in the dressmaker, a knockout red dress was what she was looking for .... 

"Of course we can make your dress"! 

So we sketched up the design quick sharp and found the perfect lipstick red silk to make a mother of the bride dress that looked fabulous and sexy not frumpy. 

We took inspiration from the dressmaker film dress with a large picture collar and cut the dress to the hourglass with a sash belt and pencil skirt to the knee. A simple bow design headpiece was created from the same silk with pheasant and arrow head feathers as trims to sit elegantly at the back of the head. 

We have so many women visit us looking for the mother of the bride or groom outfit after bad shopping experiences. Sadly preconceptions of women of a 'certain' age have produced a rather ugly conservatism in design from some other shops and has done serious damage to self esteem. 

 To me, women over 50 look incredible and deserve clothes to match. They have such style, elegance and a fabulous beauty we can all look forward too. Just look at Advanced Style. 

Our dress below was worn with hair styled at Karen Christensen and killer red heels. 

To book a free design consultation for a bespoke dress please call or message alexandra@alexandra-king.com. Or visit our boutique at 8 Sadler Street Wells, Somerset, BA5 2SE

Prices from £600

New Arrivals to Our Vintage Collection

We always have gorgeous dresses arriving at the shop and here are a few pastel lace pieces that are my favourites this week. Our collection is always carefully selected to work together with the other dresses and our own collections.

Above is a beautifully delicate 1950s silk organza and lace cocktail dress in pastel baby blue. The lace is some of the prettiest I have seen and the fine piping at the waist finished with a bow is perfection.

 Ivory vintage 1940s fine French lace wedding gown, cut on the bias allowing the wearing to simply slip on the dress and fit with the ties at the waist. I love the quilted satin shoulders and collar. The sleeves are a gorgeous fit too with pointed cuffs.

 Finally a little cuteness from the 1960s with the pastel yellow babydoll mini dress with lace bodice, satin bow at the empire line and chiffon skirt. If I can find the twin of the dress they would make the most gorgeous bridesmaids dresses!

The Red Gown

Prom Night 2016 

The first prom night in Wells has been and gone and we can share the first dress of the season. We arrived a little let to the city to really capture the imaginations of the teen population but those on the uptake had some gorgeous ideas. 

This is the red gown, Rose red to be precise in a French silk chiffon for a beautiful girl at the Blue School in Wells. I will need to keep tabs on who is wearing what from which school next year, as there are no fewer than six schools in the area!

This particular 16 year old was looking for simple and elegant, something without the sparkle of the 'normal' prom dress shops. To me it was important to have a dress that could be worn again and altered in the future. And most importantly a design that was a knockout beauty on the red carpet instead of hotfix poly-satin on the tarmac.

So we looked to Valentino, the king of the red gown for inspiration and an early 1950s old hollywood silhouette with a draped sweetheart bodice, wide halter neckline and a full circle cut silk chiffon to billow around the hem. We used a selection of trims for the belt, a little sequin (the disco sequins didn't go down too well,  note to self to remember what it was like being 16!) grosgrain and satin, the matte of the grosgrain was the winner. 

I couldn't be more happy with this gown and hope it will be worn for years to come. It was a little difficult to let it go especially after documenting the fit as it felt amazing on. A bespoke gown is always incredibly special and someone in Wells has this dress that should be treasured forever. 

Kim's Bespoke Wedding Dress

 Back in February Kim our gorgeous friend got married and of course we made her dress.

We love getting the chance to photograph our customers outside their events where we can strip away everyone else and focus just on the beautiful woman and her dress. A couple of weeks ago we took a short walk to the Cathedral and photographed Kim in her dress. 

The styling was simple, I love big tousled hair and classic make up, Kim chose the perfect shade of Ruby Woo. We remembered to take photos during the original fittings and did a final few shots in our bridal room to create a great set of images.
Kim has a really strong sense of style and knew she wanted separates, sheer lace and a huge skirt. Together we designed the final dress and Anna worked on Kim's dress creating a perfect fit.

Kim's bodice was a ballet wrap design in French Chantilly lace, cropped at the waist with full length fitted sleeves and a plunging neckline. Kim totally got the idea of maintaining your style for your wedding, making sure you are you and not dressed up as a 'bride'.
The skirt was cut with a smooth front panel and full voluminous skirt. For dancing at the wedding Kim hitched her skirt up at the front to create a gorgeous graduated hemline which showed off her Nike's.

Kim's wrap top was worn with a bustier on the day and is a custom version of our Babette ballet wrap top. The skirt was custom designed and made for Kim. Prices from £800.

Book in for a Thursday or Saturday appointment at our boutique by clicking our Appointments section or contact us via email at alexandra@alexandra-king.com