Friday 29 November 2013

On my vintage wedding blog today... MY OWN 1950s style wedding dress.


Dear Reader

My lovely clients sometimes ask what I wore for my own wedding. So - ahem - today my vintage wedding blog is about me! 
1950s vintage dresses for HVB vintage wedding blog
Not me! But one of my inspirations.
But don't worry, I'll stick to the point. It's really about my gorgeous 1950s inspired wedding dress. 
1950s vintage dresses for HVB vintage wedding blog
...And another! 
First, I should say I got married in the 1980s - widely regarded as the decade style forgot. Well, in wedding fashions anyway... 
Princess Di dress being tweaked, HVB vintage wedding blog
The world's favourite 1980s wedding dress. Yikes.
I was always a fan of vintage clothing, I loved to mix it up with new styles. But vintage wedding dresses were not yet popular, and were still hidden in the attic. So my darling sister Anna (talented gal!) offered to make me a dress - and a way to escape the massive 80s puffed sleeves which could have been my fate.
1980s vintage dresses for HVB vintage wedding blog
Maybe lovely on a Princess... but really not very me.
Off we went to wonderful London store Liberty to choose some silk. Luckily they had an exhibition of vintage reproduction fabrics, such an exciting find! All the fabric was by husband and wife team, Lida and Zika Ascher - so popular in the 50s that they had their own fabric room in Liberty. Their fabrics were used by all the top designers of the 40s and 50s.
Audrey Hepburn wearing Ascher, 1950s vintage dresses for HVB vintage wedding blog
Audrey Hepburn wearing Ascher. Photo by Cecil Beaton.
I immediately fell in love with an ivory silk covered in huge bronze and silver roses. It reminded me so much of 1950s Christian Dior 'new look' dresses I had seen in photos by Norman Parkinson and Cecil Beaton.

(These wonderful gowns in today's post date from 1954 to 1957 and are mainly by Pierre Balmain and Christian Dior.)
1950s vintage dresses for HVB vintage wedding blog
1950s vintage dresses for HVB vintage wedding blog
1950s vintage dresses for HVB vintage wedding blog

And this is what we made... my very own vintage inspired wedding dress. I hope you love it almost as much as I did! 
Helena's own 1950s vintage inspired dress for HVB vintage wedding blog
Helena's own 1950s vintage inspired dress for HVB vintage wedding blog
Helena's own 1950s vintage inspired dress for HVB vintage wedding blog
Helena's own 1950s vintage inspired dress for HVB vintage wedding blog
Helena's own 1950s vintage inspired dress for HVB vintage wedding blog
Helena's own 1950s vintage inspired dress for HVB vintage wedding blog
Helena's own 1950s vintage inspired dress for HVB vintage wedding blog
I must confess the gorgeous girl in the photos is not me ...wish it was! The photos are by my talented daughter Cordelia Lawler, and her beautiful friend Lucy is the model.

Thanks for dropping by today - I do hope you enjoyed seeing my very own vintage wedding dress.

Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides
Butterfly logo in red, HVB vintage wedding blog 2013