Wedding Gowns & Bridal Fashion

Angela Sgarbossa, owner of Bridal on Pulteney, more brides were going for non-traditional colours for their wedding dresses.
 
“It’’s a generation that has paid their own way, and are used to making decisions for themselves, so why shouldn”t it be the same when it comes to the most important dress they”ll wear?” The Courier Mail quoted her as saying.
 
She added: “The modern bride is veering from tradition and choosing dresses that make them feel attractive and reflect their personal style, from black and red to deep green and brown.”
 
And one can easily have a look at the changing face of wedding gowns at the Spring Bridal Ideas Expo at the Adelaide Showground on Oct 18-19
 
Expo director Elizabeth Falloon said there was a trend towards unique weddings such as sky diving and deep-sea diving.
 
In fact, a poll taken of more than 100 exhibitors last year, showed less than half of weddings fell into the traditional category.
 
“We have brides who get married deep-sea diving. Others walk down the aisle in a bright red dress. A truly “traditional” wedding is hard to come by,” said Falloon.
 
In fact, New York brides are a step ahead in their eccentricities— they are actually making their bridesmaids sign contracts which mention everything from prohibiting them gaining weight to having a tan.
 
Geoff Slater, of Elite Weddings and Functions, revealed that recently a bride had “dropped” a bridesmaid in the middle of wedding plans because she was deemed inappropriate in her appearance.
 
Brides can be “very, very, demanding,” he said.
 
In fact, in his opinion, “even in this economic climate brides would spend less” because it was their most important day.
 
Source: ANI

The corset dates back to inhabitants of a Greek island in 2000 BC. In the thousands of years since, corsets have changed based on cultures and trends, and are now worn for reasons from comfort to fashion.

“It just depends on what you want,” said Robin Richardson, who last month opened Ivy’s Custom Corsetry in Royal Oak.

“I custom-make corsets for whatever reason a person would want a corset for,” she said. “My corsets are Victorian and Edwardian styles, which is what gives you a real hourglass curve.”

Richardson does all the work on each corset she makes. First she takes measurements, creates a mock-up, has the client try on the mock-up and makes final adjustments.

Each corset contains three to four layers of fabric, and Richardson stocks a variety of materials, including raw silk from India, Chinese brocade, satins and PVC.

Just as the purpose for corsets has changed, so has some of the material used in them. Instead of whale bones and feathers, Richardson uses stainless steel for the boning.

Richardson has been making fashion professionally for over 20 years and began making corsets in 1997. “I thought they were cool. I thought they were fun,” she said.

Her cozy store contains photos of women wearing corsets, from vintage images of corsets used as undergarments to modern images of corsets as fashion pieces.

Richardson, who has female and male customers, said some people use corsets to improve their posture, pick one up to wear when going out or use under or as part of a bridal gown. Corsets are also used in tightlacing, a regimen of wearing a corset for up to 23 hours a day, seven days a week to reduce waist size. “And some people just wear them for fun,” she said, pointing out her red corset she was wearing.

Nancy Gage of Berkley was at Ivy’s with her friends Eleni Currie of Birmingham and Sylvia Scott of Detroit to try on mock-ups. Gage said they came to the store on a whim in July and all decided to pick up corsets.

“It’s being ultra-feminine,” she said. “It’s kind of sexy. There’s a risque feeling to it … we’re going to become sexy, mature women.” Currie liked the individual attention given to each of them as well as the choices available. “That’s the other thing that’s so wonderful, you personalize it if you like,” she said.

Name: Ivy’s Custom Corsetry
Owner: Robin Richardson
Address: 208 W. 11 Mile, Royal Oak
Phone: (248) 298-0954
Web site: www.ivyscustomcorsetry.com
Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
Opened: July 2007
Products: Custom corsets and skirts

Source: Hometown life

It’s the foundation of every woman’s wardrobe, but lingerie designers, like their product, aren’t as visible as their clothing designer counterparts.

That’s why Ben Yedder, who publishes intimate apparel industry magazine Contours, established the Contours International Lingerie Awards (CILA) last year in order to recognize the creative efforts and technological advances of the top lingerie companies and designers in the U.S. and abroad.

On Monday night in the Grand Ballroom of New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel, the 2nd annual CILA awards, sponsored by the U.S. Intimate Apparel Council, took place culminating in a fashion show featuring the finalists in 19 categories, who ranged from familiar brands like Wacoal and Le Mystere to smaller speciality lines like Marlies Dekker and maternity intimates label Larrivo.

This year more than 80 designers from over eight countries entered the competition, with the winners selected by an independent panel of industry members who included buyers, designers and consumers.

Some companies, like Le Mystere, who was last year’s “Best T-Shirt Bra,” were finalists in multiple categories.

“I thought we had the best shot at winning ‘Best Innovative,’ because what we have done there is come up with a bra specifically for augmented women, and we had a doctor who spent over 10 years getting it to fit perfectly, so I was sort of surprised we didn’t win that one.” said Michael Rabinowitz, founder and CEO of Le Mystere, whose company won “Best Bridal” this year. “I was pleasantly surprised to win for the bustier. I was in London earlier this year, and we had one of the biggest windows of Harrod’s where they were displaying this one item in the window! It was quite amazing.”

Other winners included John Galliano for “Best Fashion Couture,” Marlies Dekker for “Best Fashion,” Chantelle for “Best Technically Innovative,” and Wacoal for “Best Seamless.”

Source: FWD

“Yeah, yeah, we’ve done heavy lehengas as well, but not 10 kg ones that a bride can’t walk in,” designer Falguni Peacock laughs. The duo, known for their animal prints and feathers, now have a good reason to talk about lehengas.

They have gone back to the tried-and-tested formula that keeps most sewing machines running in the fashion business - bridal wear.

What is surprising though is the presence of their trademark feathers and bold prints in the line. Feathers, in a bridal trousseau? We’ve heard of brides getting experimental with the colour of their lehengas and the cut of their blouses, but aren’t feathers going a tad too OTT?

“Not really, the basic perception of the bride is changing, probably because of the onslaught of international brands. In fact, even people from Delhi who are more traditional than those in Mumbai are coming here to look for something different,” Falguni says.

Adds Shane, “It’s not a typically traditional line. It has a bit of a western twist for the sexy modern bride who wants people to look at her, and doesn’t mind showing a little skin.”

The duo have also gone with the general flow as corsets now replace spaghetti tops which replaced the last big thing - the ‘khidki blouses’ that aunties had been wearing since Madhuri Dixit introduced them in ‘Hum Apke Hai Kaun’.

“The line essentially plays with colours like beiges, blues, greens and traditional reds married to other unexpected colours. The forte however is still the 3-D embroidery on embroidery, feathers and lots of big bold flowers. But mind you, it’s not bling.”

That however isn’t the main point of the collection. The designer duo are still one of the very few in India who make the effort of shooting campaigns for their lines. The new line has been shot with Sameera Reddy, and they promise to have an ace up their sleeves for the couture line.

Oh, and just in case your eyes glazed over out of sheer boredom when you read ‘bridal trousseau’, fret not. The designers are going to launch a new menswear line in mid August that will sell luxury prêt, and are also in talks about opening a store in Dubai.

Source: DNA