Edwardian lace wedding dresses: two rare original beauties

Dear Reader

As I mentioned last week in my post on Edwardian flower crowns, I've just photographed these wonderful Edwardian dresses which are new to my collection. You are the first to see them!

Edwardian wedding dress 1.

Edwardian wedding dress 2.

I was thrilled to find these dresses, as original Edwardian gowns are now very rare, particularly in such fine condition. These gowns are each 100 years old! They've lasted so well as both are made from cotton - a lovely strong fibre that has many years of life left in it. And with the popularity of Downton Abbey, Edwardian wedding dresses are very much back in fashion. 

EDWARDIAN DRESS 1

Edwardian Wedding Dress 1 (with 1930s under slip), price £1350

Dress 1, pictured here, is a wonderful old-fashioned deep cream colour which used to be known by the French name 'ecru'. It is made in a charming mix of lace styles, all hand-dyed using natural dyes - most probably tea.

Edwardian Wedding Dress 1 (with 1930s satin slip), price £1350

In Edwardian times, the dress would have been worn with a whale bone corset, a bodice and petticoat underneath. Here, I have matched it with an original 1930s satin petticoat - a beautiful garment in its own right.

Edwardian Wedding Dress 1 (with 1930s satin slip), price £1350

The Edwardian bride it was made for had a 23 or 24 inch waist. But my clever seamstresses have invisibly adapted it to fit a modern 26in waist.

Edwardian Wedding Dress 1 (with 1930s satin slip), price £1350

This lovely dress is currently available from my West London studio, priced at £1350 (inclusive of 1930s satin slip).

EDWARDIAN DRESS 2

Edwardian Wedding Dress 2 (with 1930s satin slip), price £1250

Dress 2 is a similarly classic Edwardian style, again using a variety of cotton lace styles. The colour this time is a purer white.

Edwardian Wedding Dress 2 (with 1930s satin slip), price £1250

Again, the dress would originally be worn with more complicated undergarments, but I have teamed it with a simple and elegant 1930s satin slip, which gives a lovely warm hint of shine under the lace dress. The white lace is perfectly complemented by a delicate ballet pink silk ribbon tie.

Edwardian Wedding Dress 2 (with 1930s satin slip), price £1250

This dress also was originally made with a 23 or 24 inch waist and has been cleverly and invisibly adapted to fit a 26 inch waist.

Edwardian Wedding Dress 2 (with 1930s satin slip), price £1250

Dress 2 is available now in my West London studio, priced at £1250 including the lovely original 1930s slip. Just email or call to book an appointment if you'd like to see these or any others from my extensive collection of around seventy original vintage wedding dresses. (Some of my original dresses can be found here on the blog.)

As I mentioned in my post last week, I've complemented the dresses with an original Edwardian flower circlet - brought to life by the addition of fresh greenery. I hope you agree that the dresses, and circlet, are each so delicate and beautiful.

A big thank you to Robert Lawler Photography for the images. And - as always - thank you for dropping by today! Hope to see you again soon.

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

All photographs c. 
Robert Lawler Photography

www.robertlawler.co.uk

Vintage Wedding Dress Trends 2015 - Number 1!

Dear Reader, 
The year is flying by, isn't it? … high time I made my predictions for the upcoming seasons! So today and all next week, I'll be sharing my Vintage Wedding Dress Trends for 2015. Here's my No 1…

1. SUBTLY SEXY BACKS

Brides often ask how they can be a little bit sexy on their wedding day, and still keep the vintage look. I love an open or low back dress as a way of revealing a little skin while keeping the charm and modesty of a classic vintage wedding dress.

1930s inspired lace wedding dress, ANGEL, from my Heavenly Collection

Butterfly (below) and Angel (above) from my Heavenly Collection both have glamorous - and quietly sexy - low backs.

1930s style lace wedding dress BUTTERFLY, from my Heavenly Collection

Keyholes are also showing strongly in this trend, as in mainstream fashion. I've just updated my lovely Florence 1940s-style satin dress with a keyhole detail.

1940s style wedding dress in satin and lace, FLORENCE, from my Heavenly Collection

As you can see, I kept it very subtle…

1940s style wedding dress in satin and lace, FLORENCE, from my Heavenly Collection

This subtly sexy look translates to most vintage wedding dresses with great success. You probably know by now - I'm all for subtly restyling vintage wedding dresses to make them perfect for a new bride. Just so long as it maintains the beauty and character of the original dress.

Pop back tomorrow to find out my Trend No 2…!
Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

Thanks to Robert Lawler for the gorgeous photography.
And thanks to Abby at Cherished Vintage for the beautiful headwear.

Ali, in her beautiful 1950s vintage wedding dress

Dear Reader

Today's real vintage bride is Ali, who chose this beautiful 1950s dress for her wedding.

Like so many of the best 1950s and 1960s wedding dresses, this chic and simple gown was inspired by Grace Kelly's 1956 wedding dress. (Many wonderful photos of that iconic wedding can be seen here.)

With its very fitted bodice, elegant lace sleeves and boat neckline, the dress suited Ali's lovely neat figure so perfectly. And in Ali's own words,

"I adored the dress. I felt amazing in it, and my husband loved it!"

I have two or three beautiful examples of this style in my collection of original vintage wedding dresses at my West London studio. Do contact me if you'd like to come and visit.

Thanks for dropping by today.

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Dragon Part II

This is a large piece, so I added the wires in two stages, starting with the face and main divider lines. All those tiny scales are going to want to drift all over the place, so it's better to have everything else already fired in place first.

When I bent my wires, I used extra care to make sure the scales would fit as perfectly as possible.  With so many tiny little pieces of wire, one too-large piece could throw the whole design out of whack.  Even so, I spent time trimming things as I was laying in the wires.  

It looks like a lot of gold now, but ultimately, it's going to be a red dragon.  I used a foundation of 24K gold leaf so the reds will be as brilliant as possible.  

Happy Year of the Dragon!

One of the most common questions I get asked at shows is "How long did it take to make that?"  Well, it's complicated, because I tend to work on at least a dozen pieces all at once, usually one or two showcase pieces, plus some earrings and cuff links to fill it all in.  

But to give you a sense of the time it takes, I spent 5 hours bending the wires for the single dragon necklace shown in the above image.  I'm pretty psyched about it- I used 24K gold wires, and it's going to be a brilliant red dragon.  If all goes well, it should be complete by the time I go to the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore in February.  I will keep you posted!

Also, here are some highlights from last years work that I totally meant to put on my blog, but never really got around to it.  It's way more fun to make art than to blab about it online, but I've resolved to be better about it in 2012.  Seriously.  :P

Accessorising vintage wedding dresses: Edwardian flower circlets.

Dear Reader

For each of my vintage wedding dresses, I love to picture the whole outfit and imagine what accessories will work best. Today on my vintage wedding blog, I'm writing about the current fashion for fresh flowers in the hair, and the origins of this lovely trend.

Model Evelyn Nesbit, photo 1903

Traditionally, a country bride wore a wreath made of local wildflowers. Depending on the season, she might include branches of leaves and wheat, wrapping them with twine to create a natural flower crown or circlet. 

In contrast, wealthy and Royal brides typically wore tiaras. Until, in a break with tradition, Queen Victoria rejected the usual diamonds and chose a romantic orange blossom head-dress for her 1840 wedding. 

Queen Victoria's orange blossom bridal crown, 1840

Her husband Albert even commissioned a whole set of jewellery in the same style, as an anniversary gift. Victoria was thrilled and wrote in her journal, 

"My beloved one gave me such an unexpected present, a wreath. It is entirely his own design and beautifully carried out. The leaves are of frosted gold, the orange blossoms of white porcelain and four little green enamel oranges are meant to represent our four children."

Queen Victoria's gold and porcelain 'orange blossom' jewellery

The custom of brides wearing orange blossom had originated in ancient China where this flower symbolised purity, chastity and innocence. Following the Crusades, the idea spread from the East slowly across Europe, becoming popular in England by the early 1800s. At one time, the phrase 'to gather orange blossoms' became synonymous with 'to seek a wife'.

If orange blossom was not available, wax replicas were made in the form of tiny flowers and buds. These became very fashionable in Edwardian times and continued through the 1920s and 1930s. 

1910 bride in delicate Edwardian flower circlet

1925 bride in floral crown

And these delicate wreaths have now been reinterpreted as contemporary 'hair vines'. But many of the original antique ones are still very wearable, and are so beautiful.

This week I photographed two lovely models in original Edwardian wedding dresses. To complement the gowns, I twisted fresh foliage around an antique Edwardian circlet. The new leaves completely brought it to life - do check back next week to see the pictures. 

Model Evelyn Nesbit, photo 1903

It's surprisingly easy to add greenery to a headpiece. Many types of foliage last very well out of water. And if they are already flexible, they don't need any special wiring. Ivy, for example, is lovely just twisted around an original circlet. 

Model Evelyn Nesbit, photo 1903

I hope some of these wonderful original images have inspired you to think again about natural flower crowns and antique wax flower circlets. 

Thanks so much for dropping by today. And please do check back next week to see my original Edwardian wedding dresses. 

Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

Real Vintage Bride Genevieve - Keeping it in the Family!

Dear Reader,

Today I'm specially pleased to show you gorgeous vintage bride Genevieve…

Vintage bride Genevieve in 1940s lace and satin wedding dress

Genevieve is one of four stunning sisters from a truly charming family. And Genny is the third sister who visited my London studio to find her perfect vintage wedding dress!

Champagne satin and beading on glamorous 1940s wedding dress

Genevieve chose a champagne-coloured satin 1940s wedding dress. It's a very glamorous dress with exquisite beading on the bodice and a long, long train with delicate lace inserts.

Real vintage bride Genevieve shines in her 1940s dress

Genevieve has such a lovely personality, and her 1940s dress was the perfect complement - allowing her graceful beauty to really shine. 

You may remember seeing more of Genevieve's family here on my blog and on my website. First, at sister Felicity's wedding (with bridesmaid Genevieve on the far right)...

Felicity in vintage cotton lace wedding dress, with bridesmaid sisters!

And then again at sister Molly's wedding...

And sister Molly wears gorgeous 1960s wedding dress with high neckline

Each sister has her own distinctive style. And as you can see each is a stunning bride! Charming mother Sue and Aunt Molly add to this remarkable family who were such a pleasure to work with. In Genevieve's kind words...

"I wanted to say a huge thank you for all your help in finding me my wonderful wedding dress! It was a perfect day and I felt beautiful in the dress and had so many compliments on it.  

The day really wouldn't have been the same without your help! I will of course be recommending you to everyone (not just for the family tradition!)"

What a family! I hope you've enjoyed seeing them. (And thanks to photographer Mairead McDaid.) Pop back next week for my Vintage Wedding Dress Trends for 2015.
Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

Welcome to my New Studio!

I am very excited to share with you my new studio space at Cedar Creek Gallery!  I packed up the old studio and moved in on Friday... It's very awesome, and right next to my friend Lisa Oakley's glass blowing studio.  There are also many ceramic artists working in studios there too, but I'm the first jewelry artist.  I'm particularly enjoying the radiant heating in the floors, because it's been so cold outside!

So, next time you visit Cedar Creek Gallery, do pop over to my studio and say hi!  (You can also buy my work from the gallery, so do that too!)

My kiln and main work table.  Also, my butterfly collection.

My grinder

Nice deep sink and view of the forest...

Still some unpacking to do.

Here's the studio from the outside.  There's Lisa Oakley!

Looking into my studio....