A tribute to Katie, brave and beautiful bride

Dear Reader

This week I received some very sad news, that one of my lovely brides had succumbed to cancer. So I'd like to write a small tribute to Katie.

It is a great privilege to be involved in someone’s wedding at such a happy time in their life. And I meet many lovely girls. But one girl who really stood out for me was Katie.

Katie came for her appointments with her sister Emma and her Mother-in-Law to be, Tricia. Katie was surrounded by their love and care, but I could see that she was very ill. 

She was a beautiful girl and so happy to be marrying Peter. Often she came after a hospital appointment which must have been extremely tiring - but she was always brave and smiling. Katie was so sweet and lovely, it was a complete pleasure to have known her. 

Katie's sister Emma is having a baby in six weeks - I hope the new baby will be a comfort to all, and helps all the family come to terms with the huge loss of Katie. 

I am deeply sorry for Peter, Emma and Tricia and all the family. Our thoughts are with them. 

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Hairstyles for 1930s and 1940s vintage wedding dresses

Dear Reader,

My lovely clients often ask about hairstyles to suit their vintage wedding dress. And I do take a special interest as I was a hairdresser for twenty years - working on fashion shows and shoots around the world.

Rihanna in 1940s style waves

Zoe Saldana with 1930s-inspired curls and updo

So on my vintage wedding blog today, I'm going to talk about hairstyles to complement a 1930s or 1940s dress. It can be helpful to look at celebrities for inspiration. And there are many good examples of vintage hairstyles which have been subtly updated.

1930s 

1930s styles were created with finger waving, and 'Marcel' waving irons. The curls were worn quite flat and close to the head. 

This can still look pretty, but a looser interpretation is much easier to pull off and can be more flattering. I don't believe you have to stick closely to the original style - it's all about making the bride look her most beautiful.

Christina Aguilera gives 1930s a more modern take

Diane Kruger below looks fabulous with an updated softer version of 1930s waves and curls, compared to the original 30s inspiration.

Diane Kruger, in pretty 1930s curls

Kate Bosworth in 1930s finger waves

Taylor Swift above is another girl who knows how to work this look in a more flattering way.

Taylor Swift in softened 30s waves

Taylor Swift

And Tyra Banks - who always looks stunning - has the last word in finger waves here... 

Tyra, fabulous in finger waves!

1940s

1940s hairstyles were still waved, but also pinned into rolls. By the 40s, the curls were created with rollers and worn with more height than in the 1930s.  

Smouldering and sophisticated, Hollywood star Lauren Bacall

Betty Grable, the biggest box office star of the 1940s, wearing a 'Victory Roll'

'I Love Lucy' star Lucille Ball, wearing classic 1940s 'Poodle' curls

Again, these style can be worn quite close to the original, as with retro glamour-puss Dita von Teese. 

Dita von Teese, queen of retro glamour

Dita wears a 1940s 'Roll'

Or 1940s styles can be softened for an easier, more flattering look. Modern girls who work this 1940s-inspired style so well are the beautiful Zoe Saldana, glamorous Megan Fox, elegant Anne Hathaway, and bombshell Scarlett Johansson.

Lauren Bacall

Megan Fox in soft 1940s waves

Anne Hathaway

Lauren Bacall

Scarlett Johansson in soft 40s waves

These styles can work beautifully with black hair too. Rihanna has worn very elegant red carpet styles, very reminiscent of the 40s.

Rihanna, in 1940s mood

Tyra Banks again - this time with a beautiful 1940s 'Roll'

I hope these images have been fun and inspiring. Next week, we'll take a look at hair to suit 1950s and 1960s wedding dresses with images of style icons Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Brigitte Bardot and more.

Thanks for stopping by today, and have a wonderful weekend. Spring is definitely in the air!

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Meet 'Colette', the perfect cover-up for a vintage lace wedding dress.

Dear Reader,

Allow me to introduce 'Colette', my new vintage lace bolero. 

1. Vintage lace bolero 'Colette', worn over 'Butterfly' vintage lace wedding dress

Colette is the perfect cover-up for a vintage wedding dress. Many wedding dresses are backless, like the 'Butterfly' dress it is shown with here. This is gorgeous for the party, but brides often wish to be a little more 'modest' for the ceremony itself. 

This chic bolero is the perfect solution: it slips over your vintage dress to prettily cover any exposed skin for the more formal part of the day. It can then be slipped off later to show off your glamorous dress!

2. BUTTERFLY vintage lace wedding dress, with champagne slip

In pictures 1 and 5, it's worn over the Butterfly dress. Like the dress, Colette is constructed from the wonderful Nottingham lace I wrote about last week, made by a family firm to their original pattern - and now exclusive to my Heavenly Collection. And for even more luxury, it is then edged in delicate French lace.

3. BUTTERFLY vintage lace wedding dress, with cappuccino slip

4. BUTTERFLY vintage lace wedding dress, with ivory slip

Butterfly comes with a satin underslip, in four colour options. It's shown here with a pale gold satin slip (pics 1 & 5), champagne slip (pic 2), cappucino (3), and ivory (4, above). You can see how each one subtly alters the look of the dress. It also makes this dress incredibly flattering to a whole range of skin tones.

5. Vintage lace bolero 'Colette', price from £250

Colette is designed to work over many different styles, and looks equally wonderful over a satin dress. It can be made in a choice of different laces, to ensure it perfectly complements your own vintage wedding dress. Colette is available now priced from £250 (with dress), £295 (on its own). If you'd like to see more, please do contact me.

I do hope you will love it. Thanks for stopping by my vintage wedding blog to take a look!
Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

Photos c Robert Lawler Photography

Vintage Lace for my Butterfly and Angel Wedding Dresses

Dear Reader

I just found this lovely old photo. It's from the Nottingham company who make the lace for the Angel and Butterfly wedding dresses, from my Heavenly Collection.

 

The lace is made to an original pattern from their archive. This photo looks like it may be the exact same pattern that the rather elegant lady is buying! 

BUTTERFLY lace 1930s wedding dress, from the Heavenly Collection

BUTTERFLY lace 1930s wedding dress from the Heavenly Collection

ANGEL 1930s lace wedding dress, from the Heavenly Collection

Nottingham is one of the world's most famous lace producers. The Lace Market - where my lace-makers are still based - was at the cutting edge of design and manufacture. In the 18th Century there were more than 130 lace companies in this small area. And the cutting edge design connection lives on, as it now also houses Nottingham's trendy boutiques, design agencies, restaurants and apartments!

ANGEL 1930s lace wedding dress from the Heavenly Collection

It's so nice to see this delightful family firm still making wonderful quality lace after five generations! I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into their heritage, and into the history of these vintage-style lace wedding dresses. Thanks for stopping by!

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Photos of dresses c Robert Lawler Photography

www.robertlawler.co.uk

An Oscar-winning partnership: Grace Kelly and Edith Head

Dear Reader

I just watched the beautiful Grace Kelly in one of my all-time favourite movies, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. 

Grace Kelly in Rear Window

As always, Grace looks stunning in a range of wonderful 1950s dresses. I was inspired to find out more, so for my first post after the Oscars I'd like to take a look at Grace Kelly’s classic vintage style...

Grace Kelly in To Catch A Thief

The costume designer for many of Grace’s films was the renowned Edith Head, who worked at Paramount Pictures from 1924 to 1967. Here, Edith set the style for Hollywood's 'golden age' of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, when she designed for all the great leading actresses including Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Bette Davis.

Edith Head with her amazing eight Oscars!

Head was nominated for 35 Oscars, and won eight (more than any other costume designer before or since.) You might recognise some of her most famous creations, as seen on the great movie clips here. 

And she designed the dress Grace wore to collect her own Oscar in 1955 - an ice blue silk satin dress with a matching floor length coat. This is arguably one of the best-loved Oscar gowns of all time. It is also reputed to be the most expensive Oscar dress ever made, as the satin alone cost $4000!

Grace Kelly collects her Oscar, wearing Edith Head

Ice blue satin Edith Head gown

But now back to Rear Window...! Head clearly enjoyed dolling up Grace Kelly’s fashion-loving socialite in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 thriller. In Edith's words, 

“Hitchcock told me I’d have a field day. I knew that the girl had the model look, but I’d seen her only in ‘High Noon’ and I wasn’t prepared... 

What Grace has is an elegance all her own. The white gloves are her trademark, so is the smooth hair. She looks that way even after sleeping all night on a plane."

Edith also enjoyed her creative partnership with Hitchcock, translating his strong vision for each character into costumes. Together they achieved the most wonderful results. 

Grace Kelly and James Stewart in Rear Window

Grace Kelly wears Edith Head

To Catch A Thief

Publicity shots for Rear Window

Edith developed a close relationship with Grace (as she did with many of the stars she dressed). And she naturally assumed that she would be invited to design her wedding dress. Grace however chose another superbly talented designer: Helen Rose who worked at MGM studios. And we all know the spectacular results!

Grace Kelly in Helen Rose wedding dress

Grace Kelly in Helen Rose wedding dress

Many Hollywood stars came to depend on Edith, and would specifically ask for her when they worked on a film. She had a long career, and left a legacy of some of the most beautiful movie costumes ever made. Pixar even paid tribute to Head in their animated movie 'The Incredibles', with the character Edna Mode who designed all the superheroes' costumes!

c. The Incredibles, Buena Vista Pictures 2004

The real Edith Head working in her Paramount Pictures studio!

I'll take a look at Edith's costumes for other stars in later posts, there are so many to admire!
Thanks for visiting today.

Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides