Wedding Dress Trends 2016: The Gospel According to Vogue.

Dear Reader,

This week Vogue Magazine published their guide to bridal trends for 2016 – based on the latest couture collections. 

Wedding dresses by Monique Lhuillier, Oscar de la Renta, Marchesa

I'm not sure my clients would agree with all of them – and I'm not giving away my own predictions yet! As always, I'll make mine at the end of this year, based on what my brides are loving and asking for. But it's fun to see these from Vogue, and to give you my take on them…

Wedding Dress Trend 1 – Sweet Nothings
The first trend Vogue noted is for barely there dresses, almost lingerie. This is a very couture look – much easier to carry off on a catwalk than in an English church or a garden reception. Super pretty, though. And very reminiscent of all those slinky 1930s and sultry 1940s dresses…

1930s inspired Butterfly wedding dress from my Heavenly Collection

Original 1940s lace wedding dress from my West London vintage studio.

Wedding Dress Trend 2 – Sparkles
Always in fashion, and rightly so. A generous sprinkling of sparkle appeared on the catwalks for next year, particularly from Badgley Mischka, Carolina Herrera and Marchesa. A little sparkle has always been one of the delights of vintage wedding dresses, of course. With many of the dresses in my Heavenly Collection, you can choose to add just a little bling… or a lot!

My 1940s style wedding dress, Bette, with its sparkly trim.

Pretty bling: Florence, 1940s style dress from my Heavenly Collection.

Wedding Dress Trend 3 – Knee Length
Shorter dresses made a welcome appearance on the bridal catwalks. But to see this trend at its best, simply look to the 1950s for the most fabulous tea–length wedding dresses…

'Blanche', 1950s style wedding dress, from my Heavenly Collection

Original 1950s 'cupcake' wedding dress from my West London vintage studio.

Wedding Dress Trend 4 – Bare Shoulders
Always popular with so many brides. Yet vintage dresses often take a subtler approach. Think of pretty keyhole openings, lace shoulders or tiny petal sleeves. Every bit as sexy, but a lot more subtle.

Angel, 1930s inspired lace wedding dress: vintage is more subtly sexy.

Original 1950s wedding dress from my West London vintage studio.

1970s off–the–shoulder wedding dress, from my West London vintage studio.

Wedding Dress Trend 5 – Separate Overskirts
A full-length transparent overskirt, cut to reveal a shorter one underneath...? Oh so fashiony! Very modern, a little bit mad, and quite fun – but not exactly a classic look. What do you think?

Wedding Dress with Overskirt, by the usually classic designer Vera Wang!

Wedding Dress Trend 6 – Cream
Ahhhh, beautiful. Now here's one I really can enthuse about – drawing as it does from the softness and romance of vintage wedding fashion. White is lovely too, of course. But cream, blush and ivory are so much more flattering to all skin tones. Often my clients come to me expecting to choose a white wedding dress, but once tried they fall in love with these lovely muted tones. That's why I offer my Heavenly Collection dresses in a range of pretty and flattering shades.

Full length lace wedding dress in cream by Oscar de la Renta

Butterfly, from my Heavenly Collection in a soft ivory.

Florence: a lace wedding dress with toning underslip (Heavenly Collection)

Well done, Vogue – fun predictions and a good showing for vintage styles. What did you think of them? Later this year, you can see how my own predictions match up!
Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

1940s–style wedding dress, for elegant vintage bride Terry.

Dear Reader, 
Often, my brides have no clear idea what they're looking for. They love the romance of vintage wedding dresses, or the glamour. Sometimes its the timeless quality of vintage that appeals. Beyond that, they have no picture of which decade or style is right for them. 

That's absolutely fine – showing the many options that vintage offers is always enjoyable. But there's a special pleasure that comes when I meet a bride who has a clear sense of her own style, and knows exactly what she's looking for.

Lovely Terry was just such a bride – a very elegant lady with clear style ideas. Terry came to me knowing exactly how she wanted to look for her Brighton wedding: simple, elegant... and gorgeous.


So we adapted the 1940s–inspired Bette dress, from my Heavenly Collection. It's already a very elegant shape, and we made it just as Terry imagined by raising the skirt a little to show off her lovely jewelled Harriet Wilde shoes. We slimmed the A-line silhouette too, for a very slender line...

The silver beaded trim used for the belt and neckline was a one–off, a vintage find that perfectly suited the dress. 

The same attention to detail went into the choice of dresses for bridesmaids Carli, Sian and Rhian – a different Alfred Sung design to suit each bridesmaid but all in Terry's favourite Bluebell colour.

And of course, the same colour threads through the wedding – from the groom's tie, to the pretty delphinium in the bouquets.

Thanks go to Terry for showing us your lovely seaside wedding. We love your style!

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Photographs with thanks to Brian Handford Photography

Hair by Terry's dear friend Mavis

Wedding Flowers: Dazzling Decor

Bride's Bouquet and Bridesmaid Posies: Ginger Lily Floral Designs

Bride's Shoes: Harriet Wilde Wedding Shoes

Bridesmaids's Dresses: Alfred Sung by Dessy

My vintage inspired wedding dresses are now available in Ireland! Meet lovely Pam of Vintage Bride!

Dear Reader,
Today I'm thrilled to introduce my charming new stockist, Pam of Vintage Bride.

Pam has her own private showroom in Dublin, Ireland. Here she stocks beautiful original vintage dresses and a small range of carefully selected vintage-inspired wedding dresses and accessories... 

My Butterfly 1930s style wedding dress at Vintage Bride's 'Bridal Showcase'

From the moment we met, I knew Pam was the right person to bring my own Heavenly Collection of vintage-inspired wedding dresses to Ireland. I'm delighted to announce that Vintage Bride is already stocking my Butterfly and Angel 1930s-style wedding dresses and my Bette 1940s-style dress. 

Butterfly 1930s style wedding dress from my Heavenly Collection

Angel 1930s inspired wedding dress from the Heavenly Collection

Butterfly 1930s style wedding dress from my Heavenly Collection

Butterfly 1930s style wedding dress from my Heavenly Collection

Bette 1940s inspired wedding dress from my Heavenly Collection

Bette 1940s inspired wedding dress from my Heavenly Collection

In addition, Vintage Brides will soon be stocking my 1940s-inspired Florence and 1960s-style Stella wedding dress...

1940s inspired vintage wedding dress, Florence, with keyhole back

1940s style wedding dress Florence

1940s style Florence wedding dress, elegant lace shoulders

Florence, 1940s style wedding dress with lace flutter sleeves

1940s-style Florence from front, showing lace flutter sleeve version

Stella 1960s inspired wedding dress from my Heavenly Collection

Stella 1960s style lace wedding dress from my Heavenly Collection

Pam has just organised the first fashion show featuring my dresses. Her 'Bridal Showcase' looks like a wonderfully fun and elegant affair!

My Butterfly dress (right) at the Bridal Showcase

Butterfly (left) at Vintage Bride's Bridal Showcase

If you'd like to contact Pam, you can find her website and Facebook pages here. 
Good luck Pam and Hello Ireland!
Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

Dress photos with thanks to Robert Lawler Photography
Bridal Showcase photos with thanks to Paul Kelly Studio 3 Photography

My Top 7 Vintage Brides of Last Year

Dear Reader,
While I'm thinking about my trends forecast for 2015, it often helps to look back over past seasons. It shows what worked best, which classics will always be in style, and what new ideas evolved…

It's always a pleasure looking back at my brides. It's almost impossible to choose favourites - I can honestly say they ALL looked fabulous. But here goes (drum roll, please)… in no particular order, my very favourite 7 Real Vintage Brides of last year!

1. MOLLY in ORIGINAL 1960s 'PRISCILLA' WEDDING DRESS

Molly was a real angel, so unassuming and beautiful. We found the perfect dress for her - a high neck, long sleeve, willowy Priscilla of Boston dress.

I love a high neck dress with long sleeves and a slim-fitting skirt. It's such an elegant combination, so modest and charming. And vintage dresses do it best - just like Molly's.

High necklines don’t flatter every figure - I find they work best with a small bust. But when it does work - as here - it looks amazing. 

These gorgeous pics also showcase a big trend from 2014 - the natural flower circlet. How refreshing to see all those beautiful flower crowns and circlets, after a few years in the wilderness (sorry, just couldn't resist the hopeless pun!)

2. FELICITY in 'BUTTERFLY' 1930s STYLE LACE WEDDING DRESS

Lovely Felicity chose Butterfly from my own collection. I never tire of seeing girls bring my vintage style wedding dresses to life. I feel immensely proud of each bride, they all wear the dresses so differently and bring their own personality and style.

Felicity's dress really shows off her fantastic figure. And to me, her own style makes it looks the epitome of a perfect English summer wedding.  

3. JANE in 1950s LACE WEDDING DRESS

Jane married her charming partner George last summer, in a stunning original 1950s blush lace dress.

I admit to being a bit greedy here. When I met these two lovely and very impressive women, I wanted them both to be Heavenly Vintage Brides! I tried to tempt George as well as Jane, but it was not to be! 

Instead, they cleverly coordinated their styles, both wearing 1950s silhouettes in tea length. And I'm delighted with the results. Jane looks devastating in her 1950s tulle and lace vintage wedding dress - so stylish, and the perfect complement to her dramatic red hair.

4. CHLOE in 1950s STYLE 'BLANCHE' LACE WEDDING DRESS

Chloe looks fabulous in the Blanche 1950s inspired wedding dress from my Heavenly Collection. 

She chose the ballerina length, with a three-quarter sleeve and we finished it off perfectly with a beautiful silk ribbon and handmade silk rose. It's such a classic beauty - and so is Chloe! 

Chloe and her family were really fun to work with, I loved being a part of their brilliant day.

5. SELINA in SLINKY 1940s STYLE 'BETTE' WEDDING DRESS

Beautiful Selina is a teacher. With her lovely athletic figure and even lovelier sweet nature, she suited the Bette dress from my Heavenly Collection so well.

It was a complete pleasure to be involved in Selina's special day. I loved watching her transform from a charming, kind teacher to a fabulously slinky and glamorous bride!

6. BECKY in 1930s LACE WEDDING DRESS

Dainty Becky was married last summer in a delicate lace peach coloured original 1930s dress.

I'm a big fan of pastel coloured lace and vintage has plenty to offer in the way of pretty shades of palest pink, peach and champagne. Inspired by this, I offer a similar choice with my own Heavenly Collection of vintage-inspired wedding dresses. Becky’s dress was so simple and just perfectly lovely for her, she accessorised it very well with the long veil and pretty silk flowers, made by my lovely seamstress Grace.

7. LUCIE in BEAUTIFUL 1940s LACE WEDDING DRESS

Lucie chose a stunning 1940s original vintage dress. I've rarely found such a fabulous dress - with its long net train, beautiful corded lace, and those little cap sleeves.

Lucie really shone in her dress at her wedding last summer - a truly beautiful bride and a wonderfully colourful, sunny wedding.

I often feel the 1940s gets a little forgotten, between the slinky 30s bias cutting and the flirty fun 50s dresses. But it's a decade I'm really fond of - sophisticated and glamorous without being fussy.

So there they are, in no particular order. Forgive me if I missed out your own personal favourites - I'm proud to say every one of my brides looked beautiful in their vintage wedding dresses. Take a look at more stunning real vintage brides here… and make your own impossible choice!

Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides