New Work!

I leave for my jewelry show in Las Vegas this Thursday, and I finished up my new pieces just in time! Here are a few things from my Gothic line...

These are from my Baroque line...

I've been taking plenty of photos of my process, but I've been very neglectful of actually posting them to my blog. My goal for this series was two-fold...

In the past, I've always displayed my work by color, which looked great, but it was all a little higgly-piggly. I'd end up with a super modern necklace next to a medieval style gargoyle. For this show, I wanted to group my work thematically- I've got my new gothic line, the baroque series, and the clean modern line. (pictures coming soon of that, I promise!)

I've also been really exploring my grinding/polishing process. It's one of the steps that you can't skimp on, so I really explored some new techniques and took copious notes this time around. If you are interested in my exact polishing steps, let me know, and I'll do a step-by-step post later...

So I am so excited to do my first Vegas show. And excited in general to go to Vegas! (Haven't been there since my elopement 5 years ago, but that's a whole different blog...)

;)

Sarah in a 1930s satin wedding dress: Heavenly Vintage Bride of the week

Dear Reader

Sarah is our Bride of the Week, so serenely beautiful in this original 1930s satin and lace gown.

To complement the gorgeous 30s dress, I also sourced this lovely vintage veil. I think it suits her so perfectly, and Sarah was delighted too,

"I just wanted to say thank you so much for your help with my dress. The veil too was amazing. Your advice was great and it all worked out perfectly." 

Inspired by Sarah's gorgeous style, let's take a closer look at 1930s dresses next week. Check back on Monday for lots more!

Have a great weekend,
Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides 

1940s lace wedding dress and jacket - what a darling!

Dear Reader

For my original vintage wedding dress of the week, I'd like to show you a charming little 1940s lace dress and jacket. 

The 40s are sometimes overlooked, getting a little lost between the glamorous slinky 30s and the super-pretty 50s. But I think dresses from the 1940s have so much to offer: from lovely elegant crepe gowns, to sweet and subtle lace styles like this one. 

And 1940s dresses are usually an easier fit than those from the 50s. They are less exaggerated, with a softer, more flowing fit. (Although please bear in mind that some fitting will usually be required with any vintage dress, to ensure it's perfect for you.)

This little darling is priced at £995 including the jacket and swishy rayon fitted slip. Or if you prefer, it can be worn with an extra full petticoat (at an extra charge of £45). 

Thanks as always to Robert Lawler for these beautiful photographs. And thanks, Reader, for stopping by.

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Vintage Glamour article

Read the article at

lovemydress.net

Click here

or click the image above.

Vintage Wedding Fair dates - June

• Sunday June 19th, 'Discover Vintage', Chiswick Town Hall

Hope to see you there. 

A 1960s vintage wedding dress for Rebecca's Berlin wedding

Dear Reader

This week, I'd like to show you beautiful bride Rebecca, who married Gerald in April. 

For her city wedding in Berlin, Rebecca wanted a very chic vintage dress. She chose this lovely sophisticated 'tape lace' dress from the early 1960s. 

The dress looked fabulous! Rebecca teamed it with a very pretty pair of Rachel Simpson shoes, and a dainty bouquet of roses.

 In Rebecca's words, 

"We were married in Berlin at a registry office. The office is in the town hall from which JFK spoke when he visited Berlin in the 60s. And then we celebrated at a local villa in Kreuzberg, central Berlin.

The dress was perfect, just the right thing for the day. I got so many compliments - thank you!"

 

Thanks, Rebecca, for sharing these lovely pictures!

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

bridal wedding sets size 9

You might think that your goal of looking like a princess on your wedding day is not going to happen because you are a larger, curvier woman and think you cannot find a great dress in your size. You are wrong. You can have the dress that makes you look like and feel like a princess in one great place. This store has an entire line of plus size wedding dresses, dresses plus size for the bridal party and even plus size maternity dresses.

If you are looking to purchase a plus size wedding dress, then you need to know a few things. The first is that you absolutely must make an appointment for most bridal boutiques. It will save you a ton of hassle and you will be able to schedule a set time to have your bridal party meet with you so you can see how their bridesmaid dresses will look on them.

The second thing you should know is where to shop for some of the best deals on plus size dresses. David's Bridal is an excellent source of dresses plus size and any other size you may need. They often run promotions where they will outfit your entire party should you enter their contest and win. It is certainly worth the time to fill out and submit the form. You will also have the opportunity to check out their entire coordinating lines for everyone in the bridal party from the groom to the mother of the bride. It may be the only place you need to shop, especially since they also offer tailoring, shoes and jewelry.

That special day is going to require some sheer lingerie, so you may want to consider hitting a store that specializes in sexy plus size lingerie. You may not be able to find what you are looking for at Victoria's Secret but if you go online to Hips and Curves, http://www.hipsandcurves.com, then you may find some great deals on wedding lingerie for that special night.

Find your plus size wedding dress and feel like a princess on the day of your wedding. This is your special day and you deserve to be the center of attention. All eyes will be on you as you walk down the aisle towards your future mate. When the stress of the wedding starts to get to you just pull out your brand new dress and you will remember that it is all worth the effort.

princess cut wedding sets

The diamond wedding ring symbolizes the eternal love between the engaged. The popularity of diamond wedding rings and their designs have led to a variety of cut and style options to fit your needs. Modern diamond cuts and his and her bands and settings are designed to match the uniqueness of your relationship, and the uniqueness of your love.

Why Diamonds And Wedding Rings Are The Perfect Match

Traditionally wedding bands and engagement rings did not usually contain a diamond. So how did it become so overwhelmingly popular today? The answer lies in the beauty and significance of a diamond. Much like your choice of metal for your wedding band sets, gold, platinum, white gold, which are durable, beautiful, and valuable. The diamond comes to symbolize the long lasting love you are building, a love that also is durable, beautiful and valuable. Your diamond ring set is an eternal symbol for your very love.

There are various diamonds and diamond cuts available that are popular for use with engagement rings. There are princess cut diamonds, cushion cut diamonds, round cuts, marquise diamonds, pear, oval and standard radiant cuts. Each have their place and significance, and your decision should be based on what creates the brilliance and beauty that fits your engagement ring set purpose.

Diamond and Wedding Band Color

You have a selection of colors to choose from with your wedding bands, as well as your diamond. Wedding bands are most traditionally gold, white gold or platinum. Less known is that there are variations of color in your gold depending on your gold's karat. Karat is an indicator of how much alloy is contained in your gold, affecting the strength of your wedding bands as well as the color. 14k is the most popular gold in that it provides a good compromise between strength, color, purity and value.

When choosing a custom wedding ring design, you also have the option of diamond color. Color is a determinant of diamond value and more information should be sought to make the right diamond choice.

Wedding Ring Setting Designs

Men's wedding rings continue to have a more understated style. Diamonds can be embezzled along the band to add additional brilliance, and there are also popular modern designs that feature more advanced cuts and band variations. When you go into the wedding band design process and work with a quality custom jeweler almost anything is possible. They can design wedding ring sets limited only by their creativity.

Women's wedding rings traditionally are made of gold or platinum bands and feature a singular diamond. The featured diamond is the symbol of love and eternity for your relationship and should be chosen with care. Diamonds can be embezzled along the band to accentuate the brilliance of the featured diamond or other custom changes can be made. Choosing a popular wedding ring set is much about your style your diamond wedding ring, like your love, should stand the test of time.

his and hers wedding ring sets

There are rings and then there are skull rings. A skull ring as we all know have the closest resemblance to the mankind, the human cranium. It may not necessarily be the average selection to choose a evil ring as one's choice of ring. It takes a different human perspective of life to sport a biker ring and enjoy wearing it. It is not required of only the daring to wear a skull ring. Anybody who is game enough to experiment and has a fancy towards rings ought to add this one to their treasure trove.

People have different reasons to wear biker rings - it could be out of a personal choice of adornment, by simply considering them fashionable, out of superstition, religious reasons etc., while some regard it as a fashion statement for others it appears to be threatening and appealing. Skull rings symbolize mortality and the fear of the unknown.

It is a common misconception that skull rings are only for the adventurous and daring, the bastion of all that is male. The efflux of time has only turned this into an item of jewelry that woman would flaunt as part of their jewelry makeover. Today both genders have found reason to wear these rings. The sterling silver skull rings and the leather ones available in various sizes have found a good market for both sexes.

Men, who wear skull rings, usually live life on the edge. This is evident from the number of rock band artists who choose to express themselves through their choice of biker rings.

Skull rings come in with a multitude of colors and designs. Demon Rings can be customized according to individual choice of pattern, metal, and finesse. Some of the popular biker rings are the ones with colored eyes. Women love these choices as it combines their love of the unknown and adds a vibrancy of color, complementing their attire. The skull mens ring can be created in a variety of metals; sterling silver being one of the most commonly used metals. The silver brings out the intricacies of the carving involved in creating the biker ring.

The skull silve ring has also takers in tinsel town. At the forefront has been non other than Johnny Depp. His taste for rings, in particular biker rings had drawn international notice from fans and media alike. His latest possession being a solid gold skull ring by a high end jeweler. There are many other actors and actresses who have sported skull silver rings, with the likes of Mischa Barton and Paris Hilton and the Metallica band members sporting rings.

There are many online websites from where these skull silver rings can be purchased. One can do a comparison in terms of pricing and the type of metal one to be used. However, it is impossible to determine the quality of the ring without checking it physically before purchasing one. It is also advisable to purchase it from a reputed seller with an exchange policy.

If you have a thing for things or whether you live life on the edge or out of it, a skull ring is something one should wear, at least once in a lifetime!

Vintage-style dresses triumph at the Met Ball. And the relaunch of iconic Charles James label.

Dear Reader

Last week’s Met Ball was themed in honour of vintage British designer Charles James. Did you see my earlier post about this iconic designer? If not, you can find it here. 

Following the success of the Ball, it has just been announced that the Charles James label is to be given a new lease of life. The relaunched label will be headed by Georgina Chapman, designer and co-founder of luxury eveningwear label Marchesa.

The announcement was made by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who is married to Georgina Chapman and who personally struck the deal with Charles James' family. 

This is interesting news and follows in the footsteps of other couture houses being resurrected, notably Halston and Vionnet in recent years. Designer Georgina Chapman explained:

"Charles James designs and gowns took everyone's breath away at the Met Ball. He's long been an inspiration to me and everyone at Marchesa."

The Met Ball itself is held each year in the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Musuem of Art, New York. Its purpose is to raise money for the Museum's famous costume collection. It is always themed around a designer or fashion movement, chosen each year by Anna Wintour. 

It also serves as a chance for celebrities to strut their stuff in fabulous dresses and has been compared to the Oscars without the three hour ceremony! This year, many of the dresses paid tribute to Charles James in style and proved that contemporary fashion's love affair with vintage style continues as strong as ever.

Karen Elson wears Zac Posen dress

Here’s my favourite dress from this year, worn so beautifully by Suki Waterhouse below: a layered silk organza gown by Burberry.

Suki Waterhouse wears Burberry

Suki Waterhouse wears Burberry

I also loved Emmy Rossum's floral Caroline Herrara dress - though perhaps it is closer in style to Dior than to Charles James. And the stunning Blake Lively looked fabulous as always in her vintage-styled Gucci gown.

Emmy Rossum wears Caroline Herrara

Emmy Rossum wears Caroline Herrara

Blake Lively in vintage-inspired Gucci Premiere

I personally thought many of the dresses were overdone and Charles James himself would not have approved... Especially lovely Lupita Nyongo who is usually the picture of elegance!

Lupita Nyongo overdoes it for once, in Prada

Model Liu Wen wears Zac Posen, the last word in fabulous vintage style

I hope you've enjoyed this brief glimpse into one of the fashion calendar's biggest social events, and the enduring influence of vintage style. You can see more fabulous dresses from this year's Met Ball here. And read about the new Charles James label here in Vogue or the report in The Independent.

And of course, there are many more fabulous original vintage and vintage-inspired dresses to enjoy here on my own vintage wedding blog!

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Another wonderful Edwardian vintage wedding dress, on real bride Francesca

Dear Reader

After talking about Edwardian vintage wedding dresses last week, I wanted to show you these pictures of beautiful Francesca, who recently married in Italy. 

Francesca's lovely outfit is very similar to an Edwardian dress I just saw in the V&A exhibition. But, actually Francesca's is an original Edwardian lace blouse teamed with a contemporary bridal skirt I sourced for her. They were a perfect match...

For more gorgeous Edwardian wedding dresses, do check out my Original Vintage dresses for sale here. Thanks for dropping by!

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides