月別アーカイブ: 2016年4月

Don’t be intimidated by the notion of a custom-made wedding dress.

“Its easier than you think,” says local fashion designer Kelly Madden, whose entire business is based on bridal wear.

Indeed, many of Madden’s clients come to her just because it’s easy. They can’t stand the thought of spending endless hours shopping for, and fussing over, a gown. A custom design is often far less time-consuming for brides, some of whom are overwhelmed by the foaming racks of tulle, lace, chiffon and sequins spilling from most bridal stores.

Another advantage to custom design is that a bride can get what she wants, not always possible with pre-made dresses. Off-the-rack gowns may not work for brides who seek a simpler look. Women who fall outside of the average body type because they have a larger bust, or hips that are out of proportion to the waist, can feel hopeless digging through a raft of dusky pink bridesmaid dresses designed for their exact opposites. Custom design gives you the chance to mix and match design elements, too — a bodice from one dress, a train from another.

Also, Madden’s gowns are not crazy expensive. She doesn’t charge for consultations or fittings, and has created one-of-a-kind red bridesmaids dresses that range in price from $500 to $5,000.

“I can’t compete with the $200 knock-offs from China,” says the 33-year-old designer who studied at emcee College in Edmonton. “But I try to be competitive with the bridal stores.”

It’s a challenge to design lilac bridesmaid dresses, or any other original fashions, while living in Edmonton. The design community is very small, and it’s hard to get fabrics, lace and other custom touches.

Still, Madden, who began her career making mascots and designing attractive scrubs for nurses, had had success. She created her own line of clothing that was once carried by Awear Style Co. on Calgary Trail, where owner Leila Gumpinger was incredibly supportive. But Madden found it too difficult to make a go of ready-to-wear; it’s hard to be profitable when designing an entire line of clothing, from coats to tops, that aren’t mass produced.

She saw a niche, though, in developing expertise in custom wedding gear. (Madden also does bridesmaids dresses and graduation dresses.) In the last year, she has designed and sewn custom gowns full-time, producing about 10 wedding dresses and another 50 frocks for bridal parties.

Typically, clients come to Madden six to eight months before the event.

Sometimes brides-to-be have ideas gleaned from Pinterest or other online sites, or from magazines touting the latest trend (which is, by the way, bridal gowns in colours such as pale blush or soft rose.)

Often, Madden has to let customers know what’s possible, and what’s not, as some appear with imagined designs that are impossible to execute, like a deep backless gown with no obvious way to keep it up in the front. Lay people also don’t generally know a lot about fabric, how it moves, how it pleats or darts or dips. It’s Madden’s job to guide clients toward a combination of style, fabric and function that will result in a gorgeous dress for their special day. She doesn’t work with bought patterns, creating every look from scratch.

Madden has pictures of her designs, sample fabrics and some prototypes for bridesmaids’ dresses at her bright and professional studio, located in the trim basement of her Silverberry home. There’s a comfortable couch for clients, parents and friends, and a giant mirror against one wall.

The studio is where Madden learns whether she’s hit the mark for her brides. A sure sign is when the moms start to cry, or when the brides don’t want to take the gown off after a fitting. They twirl, and twirl again before the mirror, prolonging the moment. Loving the look.

“I love creating something from nothing, using my hands to create a product,” says Madden. “It’s satisfying to make people happy.”

Also see: young bridesmaid dresses – queniewedding.co.uk

Wedding season is just around the corner, and designers who are beloved by the stars now have lines accessible to brides everywhere! Check out these three new bridal launches:

Christian Siriano for Kleinfeld Bridal

Stars love the Project Runway alum’s sculptural tailored silhouettes on the red carpet, and now that impeccable fit available exclusively at Kleinfeld (you know, of Say Yes to the Dress fame). The collection contains 27 looks and runs between $3,500 to $10,000.

“I think wedding dresses are very different now,” Siriano tells PeopleStyle. “Some girls grow up and the only time they’ve seen an evening gown is at prom or at a wedding.” But thanks to social media and the ubiquity of red carpet fashion online, “It’s very different now. The idea of a non-traditional wedding dress is much more relevant,” he says. So among the ultra-glam gowns, Siriano created a sexy one-piece, a white suit and a bunch of unique wedding dresses.

“We also have so many women now who want to wear jumpsuits or pants or a suit and want to feel sexy in a totally different way, especially for destination weddings,” he says. “For a lot of brides, if they’re traveling, they aren’t really in the mood to wear a gown. That’s why we did the suiting.”

Jenny Packham for David’s Bridal

After launching successful collaborations with Zac Posen and Vera Wang, the brand teamed up with British designer Jenny Packham for the Fall 2016 season. Wonder by Jenny Packham is available in sizes 0 to 26, this season is inspired by “the belle époque era of the early 1900s,” Packham says. “The dresses are delicate with light beading and understated, flowing silhouettes alongside more contemporary structured shapes, elegantly exposed backs, and geometric embellishments for a modern bride.”

Packham has dressed stars like Adele, Blake Lively and Angelina Jolie. Kate Middleton is a huge fan of Packham, wearing more than six looks by the designer in the past four years. She’s even worn one dress three times! Her David’s Bridal collection runs from $800 to $1,500 for bridal gowns, and she has other evening looks for under $300 (perfect for bridesmaids!).

The classic brand has expanded its bridal line to 10 styles, including ballet flats and wedge sandals. The beloved Nudist sandal will come in four different heel heights (for those of us who admittedly can’t dancing in 4 1/2-inch heels). There are two unique options for customization of the shoes: Brides can add Swarovski crystals in clear, white or a pale aqua, for that “Something Blue, and have the sock lining of the shoe printed with their married name or wedding date.

Also see: http://www.queeniewedding.co.uk/lace-wedding-dresses

Armed with lookbooks, magazine tear-outs, my Pinterest app, and the image of my dream dress playing on repeat in my mind, I was ready for my very first wedding dress appointment. I had done the research for weeks, zeroing in on the single Amsale bridal gown I was sure I’d wear down the aisle. Only, after chatting with the bridal salon, I learned it was no longer available, a relic from the Fall ’13 collection that had been circulating all over Pinterest. The designer had crafted new renditions in her subsequent collections, but they were all missing the details I’d regrettably fallen in love with. How did I get it so wrong?

Well, it’s nearly two years later, and I’ve come out the other side, happily married in a dress I still love. It wasn’t a perfect process — I don’t know if it ever is — but to help with your own search, I’m sharing what I’ve learned, namely how to stay emotionally sane and in control of what you want.

1. Do Your Research, but Come Open-Minded

Being prepared is one thing, but (pardon the pun) being married to a dress you haven’t met — or tried on — yet is another. When you call ahead or book online with a bridal boutique, they’ll often ask you for a list or links of the red bridesmaid dresses you’re interested in, and this will help guide the appointment and help your sales associate be most helpful, especially since you’ll likely have a limited time frame. On that note, be prepared with designers and silhouettes you like that also fit within your budget. Still, don’t rule out a wild card once you’re there. Especially early on in your search for the dress, be willing to experiment with an unexpected style. It might not be what you thought it would look like, but you might just fall in love all the same — just make sure it’s in your budget before you do.

2. Don’t Fight Your Body Type

Like so many women, I’ve poured over the wedding pictures of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, her lithe frame carrying off her slip of a wedding dress flawlessly, wishing I might have the same bridal grace, the same elegant silhouette. The truth is, I’m just built differently. I pulled on a slinky satin gown at my second bridal appointment to channel her iconic look. I loved the way it hung on display, a minimalist cut with a sexy draped back, but on me, it looked entirely different. It clung to the wrong places, exposing parts of my body I didn’t even know existed but I knew instantly I didn’t like — at least not in this dress. No pep talk from Mom (who sat patiently with me in the dressing room) or wedding diet was going to change that. Knowing that was another step toward finding the right blue bridesmaid dresses.

3. Stay True to Your Style

No one else is wearing this dress — not your maid of honour, not your mum, your mother-in-law, your dad, or your grandma. So when you seek out the dress, make sure it’s one you love. Likewise, don’t let the location or the event dictate what you’ll wear too much. For instance, just because it’s a New Year’s wedding doesn’t mean the dress should come with tulle and a feathered skirt, unless you want it to. Clear your mind of what you “should” wear, and fill it with images of what makes you happy. And more importantly, be honest with your loved ones — and with the sales associate — about what that is, so you’re all on the same page right up front.

4. Crying Is Allowed, but Not Required

When I finally thought I’d found the dress, my dad joined my mum and my sister and came to see me in it. There I was, standing in front of my family having that bridal moment in a white ballgown; my dad smiled and I remember him saying, “I could dance with you in that green bridesmaid dresses.” I’d seen Say Yes to the Dress so many times, I knew it was my cue to cry, but I didn’t. I didn’t get emotional at all, in fact. I threw up my hands and said, “This is it then. Let’s do it!” Days later I would replay that in my head as a sign that I’d picked the wrong dress. I’d call my mum with doubt; “I didn’t even cry,” I’d reminded her. To her credit, she put it all in perspective: “It’s a dress, Hannah. I think that’s OK.” And it is — it’s OK if you cry, if you lose your sh*t, or if you don’t. It’s all OK. As long as you’re comfortable and happy and you feel like yourself, who really cares if you shed a tear just because TV or movies made you feel like you should? Remember, there are no “shoulds” here.

5. You Could Search Forever, but Don’t

There are countless pink bridesmaid dresses, new trends every season, new designers, and a million options out there. You could actually search forever and still not be satisfied, afraid you’ve missed the next great style or over-looked a dress that might be the one. I was admittedly caught up second-guessing myself long after I’d found my dress that I forgot to enjoy just being done with it. Every time I stopped to remind myself that the search was over, that I didn’t have to scour the Internet or call every boutique in NYC for appointments, I could breathe easy again. It doesn’t matter what every dress on the market looks like, just the one you’re calling your own.

Hiking boots, bug spray, long underwear — not your typical packing list for a wedding.

Unless it’s a summer-camp wedding, a hot new twist on the destination wedding. Such nuptials are increasingly popular, wedding planners say, and offer a mix of nostalgia and adventure.

“I was never that girl who grew up dreaming about her wedding dress, about her wedding day,” said Lorelle Binder, who got married last year at Camp Highlander in Horse Shoe, North Carolina.

Source: wedding dresses uk

Instead of engaging in the quintessential hotel or ballroom revelry, Binder’s guests spent the weekend doing traditional camp activities, including a color war.

“Everyone there was able to relive their childhood, and that was something we could give to our guests,” Binder said.

There are many reasons for the summer-camp wedding, but couples often choose it because they love the outdoors.

“It’s one of the newer trends, and I don’t think it’s going anywhere,” said Tonia Adleta, a Philadelphia wedding planner.

Destination weddings accounted for 1 out of every 4 nuptial ceremonies, according to a 2014 report from The Knot, which studies industry trends. Summer-camp weddings can capture the same appeal as a far-flung destination, but in a low-key and often low-cost way.

“What happens is that the wedding weekend turns into a family reunion, or it’s a time for the families from both sides to really get to know each other,” said Drew Taylor, who co-owns the 120-acre Kingsley Pines Camp in Raymond, Maine.

Taylor said the camp has hosted about 10 weddings a year in recent years, and the number has been growing.

Extended families typically “come in on Friday and stay all weekend,” she said. “Their meals and activities are provided.”

David Blacker, who got married in 2009 at a camp called Club Getaway in Kent, Connecticut, said he saved money: “The cabin was a fraction of the price a hotel would have been.”

For many couples, a camp wedding simply sounds like fun.

“We weren’t sure people were going to be game for this — showering in a public shower and all,” said Alison Bartolone, who got married at Sheldon Calvary Camp in Conneaut, Ohio, in 2013. But her guests “were enthusiastic and had a lot of fun with it,” she said. One group even broke into the camp’s costume closet one evening.

“It was old-school fun,” Bartolone said.

Mandee and Thor Morgan, who now live in Denver, met while working as counselors at Camp Highlander. They got married at the camp for sentimental reasons, and also because it let them incorporate their outdoorsy lifestyle into the big day.

“The biggest draw for us was that it wouldn’t be a quick night when we wouldn’t get to see anyone for more than a couple seconds,” Thor Morgan said. “It was a long weekend where people could do activities they had never done before and all in an outdoors setting.”

A summer camp also can offer some relief from the typical pre-wedding frenzy.

“What camp allowed us to do was to forget about the little tiny details, such as the table settings, signs, lighting, and focus more on our friends, family and the beauty of Maine,” said Emily Tong, who married Cory Elowe in 2014 at Camp-O-At-Ka in Sebago, Maine.

Of course, camp weddings aren’t for everyone. Bad weather can cast a pall, especially if you insist on wearing stiletto heels through the mud.

“If you’re the type of couple that wants to be at the Ritz or the Four Seasons, a camp wedding is definitely not going to work for you,” said Adleta. “It’s a completely different animal.”

See more at lilac bridesmaid dresses

Francesca Kearns first started making dresses at 19 for Liverpool girls wanting glam one-off creations for a night out.

But more than a decade later, the designer is now a mum-of-one and her customers have grown up too, so she’s decided it’s time to take her label in a new direction.

Alongside the going out dresses, Francesca has launched a new bridal collection.

“A lot of our customers have been coming to me since I started so we’ve got to know each other quite closely over the years and I’ve been there for different milestones in their lives,” she explains. “They’re now at that age where they’re thinking about getting married and so I started being asked if we did dresses for brides and bridesmaids.

“At first I wasn’t sure, it’s such a big responsibility, but in the end I thought why not? It gives me a chance to go to the next level creatively and make someone’s dream dress.”

The 31-year-old from West Derby made her first wedding gown for a London fashion blogger and couldn’t have hoped for a better response.

“I’ve made clothes for her before, but she said she’d looked everywhere in London for short wedding dresses uk and they were either over-the-top expensive or designers just wouldn’t do it,” she says. “We did and she was so happy with the dress and the service, we were really proud of it. We thought, why can’t we do this for everyone?”

Francesca now has a sample collection of 15 styles from which brides-to-be can choose features to create their own unique gown.

“We invite our customers to book in, try on some samples and then decide exactly what features they like so their dresses can be made just for them. No two dresses should ever be the same. Lots of girls now are seeing dresses on Pinterest and social media and they want them but can’t find them in bridal shops, so I can help them have the special dress they’ve got in their mind.”

Long-standing relationships with customers means there’s already a feeling of trust, which is all-important in wedding preparations.

“They know they can rely on us, and their dress will be perfect at the end of it,” she says. “And they feel comfortable at every fitting to speak to me and tell me what they want or don’t want, so we get it just right.

“It’s amazing for me to see girls I’ve know for years getting married and to be a part of that. It’s a lovely experience and an honour for me to know that, out of all the thousands of dresses they could have chosen, they want me to make theirs.”

Being in the Metquarter, in the heart of the city centre shops, means Francesca gets plenty of new customers too.

“We’ve opened the bridal studio upstairs from our regular shop, so it’s easy for girls to come in for appointments and it means I can be in two places at once: either in the shop if a customer comes in and wants to speak to me, or upstairs in the studio where all our vintage bridesmaid dresses uk are made by a team of pattern cutters and machinists.”

With both collections now side-by-side, Francesca says she’s working non-stop. “But it’s what I love to do and I can’t imagine anything else.”

Although she has a long-term partner and 18-month-old daughter Petra, she’s not had first hand experience of wedding planning herself yet.

“I think I’d have to make my own dress, though, otherwise I’d be like a traitor to myself,” she laughs. “I do think I’ll be very demanding if it happens, I don’t think my seamstresses will be too happy with me!”