Manolo for the Brides

So, the AP tells me that lace is back in for brides. The question weighing on my mind, however, is whether it was ever really “out.” Sure, you didn’t see a lot of lace gracing gowns, but those who dreamed of walking down the aisle in lace were not denied their pleasure. Luxury lingerie designer Claire Pettibone knows lace and it shows in this Chantilly lace and silk charmeuse empire silhouette gown.

And there’s more at her web site, which features a limited selection of gorgeous gowns embellished with beautiful lace!

From the AP article:

The classic white lace-adorned bridal gown emerged centuries ago, supposedly first in France, on Anne of Brittany, when she married Louis XII in 1499. It later was popularized by Britain’s Queen Victoria, in the mid-19th century, and has been a favorite ever since.

As a fabric, designers says, delicate lace is surprisingly adaptable. It can be used in a classic silhouette — Badgley Mischka’s cap-sleeve gown in sheer Chantilly lace, for example, with a chiseled bodice and lace godets at the hem to give the dress volume — or something edgier: perhaps designer Melissa Sweet’s “patchwork” lace dress, a collage of seven kinds of lace.

Lace became standard in bridal attire in the 19th century when it was wildly popular in all of fashion, according to Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

“People were crazy for lace. … People really knew their lace. You could tell handmade lace from machine-made lace. That’s all gotten blurry now,” Steele says.

The popularity of machine-made lace — no matter how good it was — might have led to lace’s decline around the turn of the 20th century by degrading its value.

In addition, fashion moves in cycles; while lace was part of the “delicate and peekaboo aesthetic” of the 19th century, the 20th century quickly embraced a more revealing look, eschewing lace for bare skin. And fewer people had maids and servants to hand wash the lace, Steele says, leading it to fall further out of favor.

Maybe this means a touch of modesty is coming back into fashion? One can only hope.

Even if you’re not serving huge turkey legs and bowls of ale at your reception, you can still dress like a princess. Your loved ones may look askance at your larger-than-life bustle, but there is no reason at all why you shouldn’t articulate your old, old, old fashioned sensibilities on your wedding day.

The Tudor gown you see here was crafted from silk satin by Fashions In Time. It features an embroidered, beaded chiffon overlay and a separate chemise with long, gathered organza sleeves. The skirt opening and hem are edged with detailed gold and pearl roses, and the center of the bodice is trimmed to match. Plus, this gown is made to a bride’s measurement and customizable, so you’re not limited in terms of color, cut, or hem. For $1,500 and up, that’s a good deal. Don’t miss the other gorgeous gowns, like this wonderful Edwardian number.

Want to go all out? Make your champagne toast with a pair of pewter knight wine glasses!

From the Philadelphia Inquirer comes a sweet tale of a man who couldn’t decide how to propose, a string of Christmas lights, and three hours of frustration as said man endeavored to figure out why the damn string of bulbs kept blinking. Okay, only kidding about that last part. Maybe. Charlie Warner of West Berlin (NJ, that is) never mentions in the article whether or not he had to make an emergency trip to Wal*Mart for more lights.

Warner, 32, a special-ed teacher for Lenape Regional, only put his marriage proposal in lights on the roof of the house he shares with his girlfriend, Ashley Lees, 23, and their 21-month-old son, Brandon.

A couple of Fridays ago, Lees went out with her family, and Warner got out the ladder. When he fired up the display, cars stopped, and occupants began hollering, “Yes, yes, I will!”

His girlfriend’s was the answer that mattered. On her way home from her family excursion, “she looked up and saw it and got all excited,” he says.

Now if I could only figure out how to finegagle The Beard into hanging lights in our apartment windows!

Screw the silver. Poo-poo the pots and pans. And say so long to sheets. The Big Day Travel reminds us that “part of the honeymoon is the most romantic, memorable gift you could ever give.” Whether or not that’s true doesn’t take away from the fact that almost everyone likes taking a fantastic holiday.

But those airmiles and tours are expensive, which is why The Big Day lets gift-givers purchase a fraction of the airfare or a single outing. Alicia and Daniel, who no doubt enjoyed having this much control over their wedding gifts, said,

“People like to put together little package gifts; like dinner and a bottle of wine. Or a room and a bottle of champagne. Adding little gift plumpers for $20 lets people put more thought and personality into the gift - so don’t hesitate to include the small, quirky stuff!”

If you’d rather not leave your honeymoon to chance, however, why not charter yourself a private yacht? Yes, that’s right, I said private yacht. Ed Hamilton & Co. will hook you up with a boat, a crew, a loose itinerary, and, of course, cocktails. Before you embark, the nice people at Ed’s will send you a booklet in which you can record your food and drink preferences. These are then used to create a custom menu for you and your new spouse.

But let’s not forget that space is now an option. If you and your lawful honey have about half a year and $40 mil to spare, you can celebrate your nuptials on a Soyuz spacecraft that takes you to the International Space Station. Um, provided you are healthy enough to pass a number of taxing physical tests and intellectually flexible enough to learn Russian.

When the happy couple does get up to the ISS, the question of privacy will arise. Since they will have been transported by the Russians, it will be up to our friends at Moscow’s mission control to provide the necessary private space. The Soyuz capsule and its service module are probably too small, but given what generations of teenagers have been able to accomplish in the back seats of cars this may not be out of the question. If the decision is made to use a space station module careful preparations will have to be made. It will be interesting to hear how the ISS partnership will plan for this.

Friend and reader Sterlingspider, with whom I’ve been discussing corsets, recently sent me a link to Faernyn’s Grove Sustainables. Yes, they have bridal corsets…really nice ones, in fact. But they also have a small selection of dresses and today I want to talk about those.

Check this out:

Wouldn’t this A-line jade green formaldehyde-free silk piece make a gorgeous bridesmaid dress? It’s practically making me salivate. What’s sustainable about it? According to the web site, every design listed is produced with at least 70% sustainable textiles and, additionally, every design has a 100% certified organic fabric option.

Now, to shift topics to your least favorite topic and mine, holiday shopping. If you happen to know someone who, like me, is fascinated by corsets, I can’t recommend The Corset: A Cultural History by Valerie Steele and Fetish Fashion: Undressing the Corset by Larry Utley highly enough. Both are absolutely stunning!

The ever fabulous SJ sent me a link to this article about a Romanian priest who is levying a fine upon non-virgins who want to marry in white in his church.

Father Petrica Bratu, 37, from Valea Sarii in central Romania said he wanted to introduce the fine to uphold Christian traditions.

Father Bratu said: ‘The fine depends on how intimate a couple have been before they get married. If they have just moved in together it will be around ten pounds but it goes up to 60 pounds if the bride is pregnant or already has a child.’ Thus introducing the interesting concept of a sliding scale of virginity.

He added: ‘What is the use of the white bridal dress if the bride went from one man to the next, or if she comes into church holding the hand of her child? White is a symbol of purity. I want this to stay unchanged. I do not want young people to think that there is no such thing as sacred matrimony.’

Okay, then. I just hope Bratu isn’t ’seeing for himself’ before levying the fine.

Susanna of The Bling Blog pointed me toward a recent post of hers that discussed Vera Wang’s new line of matresses. Yes, that’s right, the black-clad gown designer is turning into Martha Stewart.

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If you want a wedding gown with sleeves, you want to be Mormon chic. No, really, that’s the name of an online shop I came across today. For those who are picky about chic, there is ‘gospel chic’ gear, ‘mommy chic’ gear, and even ‘deal diva chic’ gear, though I’m not quite sure what that’s all about. In their bridal showcase, you’ll find ‘bridal chic’ gear. Okay, I’m done saying chic now. Seriously.

But before I show you a gown with sleeves, I thought I’d share some of the gown guidelines Mormon brides who are married in temple must abide by:

Gowns must be white, long-sleeved with a high neck and high back. Lace must be lined and any ornamentation must be white. You can choose to wear inserts during the marriage ceremony if necessary.

When they say white, they mean white-white…none of this off-white jibberjabber. I’m not quite sure what they mean by inserts, but I do know that all gowns must cover the LDS “temple garments” in their entirety.

While the thick satin construction of this gown–crafted by The Gallery by Lynette–seems just a tad harsh (I’m picturing iron underwear underneath), I can guarantee you that no bride who dons this number will have to worry about cold shoulders, frozen elbows, or chilly wrists. And though I can’t say I agree with the choice of off-lime for the sash, it would look rather fetching in white, pale blue, or blush.

Not much for the mother of the groom out there, huh? Tell me about it. I know a few MOGs who would love to receive something as simple as a t-shirt or a mug this holiday season. But while MOBs can find everything from aprons and sweatshirts advertising their roles, MOGs are usually left out in the cold where gifts are concerned.

So, in case you, like me, know some proud MOGs in need of gifts, I’ve discovered a few options for you to look into.

Though A Song For My Son On His Wedding Day is just a single, it’s a real tearjerker. If you know a MOG who wants to enjoy a truly memorable mother-son dance, this may the gift you’re looking for. You might also try Drew’s Famous Mother & Groom’s Dance.

Sharon Naylor’s Mother Of The Groom: Everything you Need covers the basics from what to wear to what to pay for while touching on other helpful facts with eloquence.

Of course, there is the obligatory MOG t-shirt. And if that’s not enough free advertising for the MOGs in your life, don’t forget the “WARNING! BEWARE OF THE MOTHER OF THE GROOM! tote.

And, if you happen to know a MOG who is into those charm link bracelets, she may love a Mother of the Groom link from Pugster Exclusive.

Good luck, gifthunters!

I’ve recently fallen in love with Black Hills gold jewelry. What is Black Hills gold, you ask? Let me dazzle you with the backstory: In the 1870s, sometime after a prospector named Horatio Nelson Ross found a bit of gold in the waters of French Creek in the Black Hills of South Dakota, a French goldsmith named Henri LeBeauold (or LeBeau, depending on who’s telling the tale) traveled to the Dakotas to cash in on what is often called the last great gold rush in U.S. history.

LeBeauold’s skills as a prospector were not up to snuff, however, and he found himself parched and starving in the Black Hills. Fearing his death was imminent, he went to sleep. And, as he dozed, he dreamt of beautiful rushing stream with lush grape vines growing on its banks. When he woke, he climbed over a rise similar to the one he’d dreamt about and came face to face with the very stream and vines he’d seen in his dream.

In his gratitude, LeBeauold chose to dedicate his life to crafting jewelry in yellow, green, and rose gold that featured grape leaves, vines, and clusters…no doubt after he’d slaked his thirst and calmed the rumbling in his belly with hefty handfuls of ripe grapes. So, Black Hills gold refers to the design as well as its origin. Here is an abridged description of the Black Hills gold jewelry-making process from Black Hills Gold Outlet:

The process of making Black Hills Gold jewelry begins with pure 24 Karat gold. It is alloyed with exact percentages of other metals to achieve a more durable karat quality of 10K, 12K or 14K. The traditional pink and green color gold used for leaves and other details is made when copper or silver is combined with the pure gold. The resulting gold bars are then readied for rolling.

The alloyed gold bars are rolled by presses to different thicknesses for different types of jewelery. Component parts are carefully stamped, one at a time, out of the rolled gold sheets using patterns and dies. The solid gold leaves and other patterns are now ready to be added to a cast jewelry base.

Great for engagement rings or wedding bands. Provided the male component of the partnership is willing to do pink.