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This dress also was originally made with a 23 or 24 inch waist and has been cleverly and invisibly adapted to fit a 26 inch waist.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

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

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

Trends in vintage wedding dresses for 2014

Dear Reader

One of the best things about January is meeting all the new brides, each beginning the search for her perfect vintage wedding dress. 

It's a great way to keep in touch with what my girls are looking for, and see the new trends coming through. I can already see a lot of excitement around some trends. So today on my vintage wedding blog, here's my predictions for 2014.

1. Pastel coloured lace wedding dresses

Sorbet and pastel shades are a major feature in all the designer fashion collections this year. And vintage wedding fashion is no exception. Blush shades are proving very popular already, especially 1950s tea length styles.

For more on pastel lace vintage wedding dresses, see my full blog post, A GUIDE TO VINTAGE LACE WEDDING DRESSES here.

2. Leafy, natural flower-themed weddings

This year, many of my girls are aiming for a more natural, verdant feel for their wedding - and for their vintage wedding fashion. Not just in the flowers they carry, but also in their headpieces.

This can be a full-on romantic and relaxed boho style, with voluptuous blooms like the full flower-crown worn by real vintage bride Olivia above (you can see more of Olivia here).

Or it may be a more minimal and dainty circlet. These vintage 'hair vines' are usually Edwardian-influenced, perhaps inspired by the delicate glamour of Downton Abbey.

This is such a beautiful trend - soft and flattering, and the perfect complement to vintage wedding dresses. I'm planning a full post on floral crowns and circlets very soon.

3. 1930s wedding dresses - for art deco glamour 

1930s original and vintage-inspired dresses continue to be very highly sought-after. These dresses offer such wonderful glamour and style - they are truly timeless. 

You can see more of the 1930s-style dresses featured above, here in my Heavenly Collection or on my website. And of course, if you would like to arrange a visit to my studio, you can always contact me here. 

I'll be writing full posts on each of these trends very soon - do check back. 

And thanks for stopping by today!

Love 

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

On my vintage wedding blog today... TWO vintage wedding dresses for delightful Leah!

Dear Reader,

If you visit my vintage wedding blog often, you may remember I promised to feature lovely real vintage bride, Leah... 

Leah married Tommy in an amazing Tudor barn in Eltham, London. And for her perfect day she chose not one, but two vintage wedding dresses from me! 

The first was this stunning full-length 1930s lace wedding dress lace and cape. The sash we chose to complement it is made from gorgeous vintage 1940s satin ribbon. Leah wore this 1930s dress for the ceremony and the early part of the day.

Leah describes the emotional moment when she found her dress,

"I love vintage, and I knew I wanted lace, so I tried on all the lace dresses Helena had. This one stood out because once the sash and cape were put on it became unique and didn’t look like an ordinary dress. 

My mum and my bridesmaids all cried when I put it on - so that’s when we knew!"

Leah's second choice was a wonderful late 1930s satin wedding dress. Leah had loved this dress at my studio too, and in the end decided to take both. 

Although it's quite unusual, some brides do choose two wedding dresses - one for daytime and one for evening. One of my brides actually bought three vintage wedding dresses: a 1930s satin dress with Cathedral length train for the ceremony, a 1950s lace cocktail dress for the dinner, and an 80s ra-ra dress for dancing! 

Leah's second dress was tea length - perfect for dancing! As Leah shows when they hit the floor for David Bowie's 'Let's Dance'...

Here are lots more inspiring images of Leah and Tommy's wonderful Tudor barn wedding. And there's a full feature on the great wedding blog LoveMyDress - do check it out. 

 

Thanks for dropping by today.

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Leah and Tommy married in the historic Tudor Barn in Eltham

Leah's hair and make-up were by Lawrence from Pimps and Pinups

She danced to David Bowie in shoes by Rainbow club

And sparkled in accessories by John Lewis

Tommy was dressed by Ralph Lauren

And the lovely 1950s-inspired bridesmaids dresses were by Vivien of Holloway  

With flowers by Joanna Marriott

And all photographs with thanks to Sophie Mutevelian