Ever heard of Sea Silk? The world's rarest and most beautiful fabric...

Dear Reader,
For my own collection of vintage-style wedding dresses, I spent aeons of time sourcing the finest original laces, silks and satins from around the world. But this is something I have never seen...

Sea silk: light as air, and golden as sunlight.

Only one woman in the entire world is able to make Sea Silk– weaving it from the most delicate golden thread, not from the silk worm but from the Pinna Nobilis clam that lives in the aquamarine waters of Sardinia.

The Pinna Nobilis clam, in the aquamarine waters of the Mediterranean.

The fabric it makes is so light you can barely feel it kiss your skin. It gleams like gold in the sunlight. Mentioned in ancient Roman and Greek records and even in the Bible, sea silk – or byssus – was originally reserved for Kings and Pharaohs. 

The remarkable golden threads of sea silk, ancient fabric of kings.

Now, on the island of Sant'Antioco, Chiara Vigo harvests the byssus fibres early each morning. She is accompanied by the Italian coast guard as the clam is a protected species. 

Chiara carefully harvests the threads in the early mornings, without harming the clams.

She spins and weaves it herself – but not for emperors. This silk is not for sale: Chiara gives her precious work away to people who come to ask her for help. 

Chiara gifts the thread to anyone who asks her help, bringing good fortune and fertility.

The byssus is believed to bring good fortune and fertility. Young women and couples come every day. If they bring a christening dress, Chiara will embroider it with the precious thread. 

The gift of good fortune: a baby's gown is embroidered with the precious threads.

Chiara passes on her skills, teaching others each evening to create the sea silk fabric.

Only a few elderly women in Apulia (the heel of Italy) have the skill to weave the byssus. Chiara learned at her grandmother's knee, and now spends her evenings teaching others to do it. 

Light and golden, the sea silk naturally glows in sunlight.

Gleaming in the Sardinian sun, the sea silk is woven to a traditional pattern.

But she is the only person in Italy who still harvests it. She hopes that one day her own daughter will take over...

"Weaving the sea silk is what my family has been doing for centuries," Chiara says. "The most important thread, for my family, was the thread of their history, their tradition."

Chiara Vigo on her home island of Sant'Antioco, Sardinia.

If you'd like to see more of Chiara Vigo and her remarkable life's work, click here. Her sea silk is not for sale anywhere in the world. But if you'd like to see some beautiful fabrics that are, then do come to my studio or visit one of my new stockists for my Heavenly Collection of vintage wedding dresses, Luella's Boudoir in London and Vintage Bride in Dublin.
Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides

If you like this, please try...
A guide to vintage lace wedding dresses.


Photos with thanks to Andrea Pasquali, Kosta Ladas and Luigi Garavaglia

Vintage Treats – A Glimpse Inside Luella's Boudoir...

Dear Reader, 
There's something I haven't told you. It's not that I've been keeping secrets, just waiting for the right moment…

And here it is. I'm delighted to announce that my Heavenly Collection of vintage inspired wedding dresses is now available at Luella's Boudoir.

Luella's Boudoir is a wonderfully chi-chi bridal boutique in London's Wimbledon Village. There you can view (and try on) my range of dresses in gorgeous girly surroundings – with luxurious decor, chandeliers and pretty antiques to get you in the vintage wedding mood!

1930s style wedding dress Violette, in silk satin and French lace

The boutique is filled with a sumptuous collection of vintage and vintage-style bridal accessories from shoes to veils too… 

1930s style lace wedding dress – Butterfly

So you can plan the perfect wedding outfit – from the top of your head to the tip of your white satin-clad toes...

1930s style lace wedding dress – Butterfly

1930s inspired lace wedding dress, Angel

1940s inspired satin and lace wedding dress, Florence

1930s style lace wedding dress, Butterfly

1930s style wedding dress Violette

(And they have red kid suede too, if that's more your style…!)

1940s style wedding dress – Bette

1940s inspired wedding dress, Florence

All Luella's range are carefully picked by their team of stylists, and are chosen for their originality and beauty. Many designs are exclusive to Luella's, and they also source a range of original vintage pieces. They work with UK and international designers, and I'm thrilled that you can now see my Heavenly Collection in this gorgeous vintage wedding treasure trove!

1940s style wedding dress, Bette

All the pretty accessories featured here are available at Luella's. You can see more of them and read about our exciting collaboration on Luella's vintage wedding blog here. And if you're feeling inspired to go and try on some fabulous vintage wedding dresses, then just click here to book an appointment. 

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

All dresses above from my Heavenly Collection, available now at Luella's Boudoir. 

With thanks to Robert Lawler Photography

So Long Our Cilla, We'll Miss You Chuck x

Dear Reader,
It's time to bid a fond farewell to Our Cilla today… 

Remember Blind Date? Back in 1988 – way before X Factor or BGT – Cilla Black's saucy TV dating game was an essential part of my Saturday night. Well, every girl's Saturday night really. It was the perfect backdrop to pouffing up your 80s hairdo ready for a night's dancing...!

But it's easy to forget that Cilla was a pop star twenty years before this, with a sweet and expressive voice that earned her a string of great hits. Take a look at her in 1968 – adorable at age 25, and already a mahoosive star. This song was written for her by Paul McCartney!


With her cute 60s style and natural warmth, Cilla became an enduring icon of the Swinging Sixties…

Cilla with Cathy McGowan

Cilla's own 1969 wedding to Bobby Willis was a media event in itself. Check out this gorgeous clip from Pathe News, which was broadcast into cinemas…




Sadly, Bobby died in 1999. But they did enjoy a long and loving marriage that lasted 30 years.

With Cathy McGowan in Kensington's Biba store

So long Cilla – we send you off with a lorra lorra love!

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Friday Inspiration – 1950s Wedding Dresses and Original Vintage Kisses!

Dear Reader,
Romance is in the air today at Heavenly Vintage Brides, as we take our Friday Inspiration from a charming new book, Hackney Kisses…

Original 1950s wedding dresses and original 1950s kisses!

Created by Sweden–based photographer Stephen Gill, the book has a lovely back-story too. While browsing on ebay, Stephen came across a single 1950s photograph that interested him. He bought it, and then saw another listed. And another. And so on. 

1950s wedding dresses and original 1950s kisses!

Eventually, he contacted the owner and offered to buy the entire archive – a treasure trove of over 9,000 vintage wedding photographs from the mid to late 1950s. The photographs were all in packets addressed to the bride's parents, but with no other details.

1950s wedding dresses and original 1950s kisses!

Some packets had many photographs, some just three or four...

1950s wedding dresses and original 1950s kisses!

But in every packet, the image that really leapt out was the kiss.

Original 1950s wedding dresses and original 1950s kisses!

Of the brides, Stephen says "I've never gone looking for relatives, but wouldn't it be great if someone recognised their aunt, or their mum."

Original 1950s wedding dresses and original 1950s kisses!

1950s wedding dresses and original 1950s kisses!

1950s wedding dresses and original 1950s kisses!

If you'd like to see more of these delightful rediscovered pictures, click here...

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides