From the reader mailbag category comes this very simple question from a certain Jackie:

I found this wedding dress on your website through a Google search. Is there any way you could give me some more information on where I could purchase it or who it is by?

For whatever reason, I did not go immediately back to the original post containing the image, which clearly stated that the bias-cut silk wedding dress was created by Natalia Misslin Designs. I even linked the image to the designer’s web site! However, since I assumed I couldn’t have put the deets in the post itself if people were asking to know more about the dress, I embarked upon a fruitless GIS journey searching for bias-cut silk wedding dresses. Oops!

However, before referencing the original post, I did get to experience the joy of rediscovering Natalia Misslin, who creates beautiful, airy wedding gowns and accessories like these:

And hey, finding pretty things is what this job is all about!

Somewhere a newly-married woman is probably very unhappy. What we know for sure is that there is one unhappy wedding dress in the Lincoln County Highway Department shop in Tomahawk. It sits surrounded by oil and machinery in its gown preservation box, wondering just where its owner is.

Now isn’t that a sorry sight? I gave my wedding gown to the church, but if I’d wanted to keep it to perhaps pass on to a daughter or just gaze upon it lovingly at 80 years of age, I know I’d be devastated at its loss. Especially its loss in the middle of a county highway, where it could have been tire fodder for hungry 18-wheelers.

Stanley Gustafson saw the box Aug. 18 lying in traffic on Highway 51 in the town of Bradley as vehicles swerved to miss it. What Gustafson found inside the box was unlike anything he’s found in his 19 years working for the highway department

“Most of the times it’s garbage I find,” Gustafson said. “I can’t say I found anything good. This is probably the most valuable.” [He added] that the dress likely fell or blew out of a vehicle and was not intentionally thrown.

Of course, perhaps Gustafson is incorrect, and the gown got streeted.

As you probably already know, I’m a huge fan of Bluefly for bridesmaids’ dresses and even wedding gowns. Shopping there makes so much sense to me — for what you pay, you get a beautiful dress with a good name attached and oftentimes pay less than you would at the bridal salon. Yay!

At some point in the not-too-distant past, Bluefly opened the Wedding 2.0 section of its web site. While I hate the whole ’2.0′ thing, I like the way you navigate it. First, you indicate whether you’re attending the wedding or in the wedding party, then you either choose what sort of wedding it is or your role in the wedding party. Finally, Wedding 2.0 presents you with a number of options. It’s not perfect, natch. I pretended to be a size 12 bridesmaid looking for a yellow dress and got two results. Slimming down didn’t help, either. And if you’re larger than a size 14, you’re out of luck all over the map, apparently.

All the same, it makes it a teeny bit easier to shop on Bluefly for wedding-wear. Not enough to get excited about, but that’s not going to stop me from featuring some lovely wedding-ready dresses and gowns later this week. Of course, I’d also love to hear about your favorite online shops that carry wedding appropriate gear for guests and members of the wedding party. Have at it in the comments!

Not the main man, obviously — this A.B.S. gown was inspired by our fashion-forward FLOTUS, Michelle Obama. Cream chiffon meets floral detail in the ‘Michelle’ one-shoulder gown, which can be yours if you have $309 and are size 0-8. Note that only one of these things describes yours truly… ah, well.

This frock is, of course, a play on that designed by 26-year-old Jason Wu and worn by the First Lady on inaugural ball night. Personally I like the original much more than the copy and would rather give a fledgling designer my money than copycat Allen B. Schwartz. Still, it would make an attractive and original wedding dress, no?

PS — I’ve finally updated my blogroll, so go check out the new great wedding reads!

Upon first glance, this wedding gown from St. Pucchi Couture appears nothing short of gorgeous.

The huge flowers in the skirt are a little over the top, but isn’t a wedding gown supposed to be a little out there? And while the fullness of the skirt wouldn’t be for everyone, there are those of us who would gladly strut around town dragging a huge and possibly heavy cluster of fabric rosettes around our calves and thighs.

But look closer… that’s not ketchup or motor oil staining the bodice.

Nope, they’re cut-outs. Big circular cut-outs. All sizes. Placed randomly around the gut. Perhaps that is why the obviously depressed bridal model has chosen to isolate herself from the world in what appears to be an abandoned mental health facility?

Love… hate. Love? Hate?

Ha ha, just kidding. How loudly can a gal yell “Hate!” anyhow? I mean, what the hell was St. Pucchi thinking? Hmmm, we’ve succeeded in creating the dowdiest wedding dress ever, but just how can we really dull it down even more? I know! Let’s wrap a dead animal around the midsection and the arms, just to give it that extra bit of width every bride craves. This is one time I simply cannot blame the bridal model for looking less than thrilled.

What say you?

I thought I’d get a gander at the Spring 2010 wedding gowns here and there since I’m notorious at not remembering to ever post about that sort of thing. Perhaps it’s just that I need to get into the habit? I figure it should be easy to remember since looking at (and sometimes laughing at) wedding gowns is so much fun, even for those of already married. Am I right, ladies?

Anyway, the usual things dominate Carolina Herrera’s Spring 2010 gowns — all across the runway board, in fact. The Spring 2010 wedding dresses are overwhelmingly strapless, for one. Where there are straps, they tend toward the skinnier side of things. As does the bride the designers probably had in mind. But there are also some pretty neat details, like polka dots, vintage detailing, and boldly patterned fabrics. Overall, it’s a lot of fun, even if some of the gowns are a tad weird.

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