ACCESSORY SAVOIR-FAIRE

Photo: Ron Greystar/All Rights Reserved

As far as accessorizing your gown with a hat, veil or headpiece, just add gloves, earrings and pearls for a real vogue look. The length of glove you choose really depends on your preference and the style of your gown. Typically, long gloves and wide brims suggest more of a high-fashion look — and short gloves and little hats and veils, a more ladylike appearance. Experiment. Getting the right look is all about your preference and trying out proportions until you find the ones you like.
As far as shoes go, it used to be a bride rarely wore sandals or open-toed pumps under her wedding gown. The closed toes were considered de rigueur as were stockings and few brides went without either. Fortunately, today you can go barefoot on the beach if you want. Sandals and thongs are not only an option, they too are considered chic.

Gown and hat by Amy-Jo Tatum

LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION: Track Back Half a Century

Your bridal gown search doesn't have to begin by looking at what's new now and what's white. You can start by shopping for ideas going for tried and true shapes that have survived time. Looking at these mid-century gowns by American designer Charles James leaves me with the question: Where oh where did he lget his inspiration? Now, half a century later, these gowns look very 1950s Vogue. Back then though they echoed past times. His muse probably led him back a century to a time when wide skirts like the one above were norm.

If you want to see more of Charles James work, go to http://dept.kent.edu/museum/exhibit/james/main.htm

HOW TO TELL IF YOU'RE AN OUTSIDE THE BOX BRIDE

*You wear a shocking pink faille suit and get married at noon mid-week.

*You wear a gown that’s different—you look more like a Spanish dancer than bride in three tiers of ruffles that’s short in front and falls to a train in back. You carry a fan instead of flowers. You marry on a hillside overlooking miles of vineyards.

*You wear a long bouffant lace gown with fresh flowers in your hair instead of a veil. You’ve driven up the coast to a B&B just to get married in the garden there.

*You wear an ivory crocheted lace mini dress and very long antique lace veil. Your wedding is in a country chapel and you carry your grandmother’s Bible instead of flowers.

*You wear a vintage gown from the 1930s with white gloves and a cocktail hat. The ceremony and reception are in an art gallery doing a David Hockney retrospective.

*You wear an ankle-length ballet dress with a wreath of flowers around your head. You marry in the forest while a flutist plays, Afternoon of a Fawn.

*Your gown is blue satin. You elope.

*You wear a double-breasted white suit with a wide brimmed felt hat and carry a single red rose. After you and your groom leave city hall you celebrate with four friends at a local restaurant.

*You wear an antique lace tea gown with a mantilla and carry three roses you picked out of your friend’s garden. And your friend’s hosting your wedding with high tea and sandwiches served on sterling silver and Haviland china.

*You wear a street-length A-line dress in all over Chantilly lace with a bird-cage veil. You and your groom board the ferry and after it takes off you have your nuptials on board. Your reception is on the other side of the bay once you dock.

*You wear an ivory suede sheath under a black leather jacket. Your veil is a long scarf. After tying the knot in a city park, you and your groom take off on his Harley. You don’t know where you’re going for your honeymoon yet.

SHADES OF WHITE: The World of Bridal Fabrics

Bet you had no idea there were so many shades of white till you started looking for a wedding gown. How a cloth reflects or absorbs light has a lot to do with the particular weave of a fabric. So what’s a weave you ask? And how is a weave different than the fiber of which it is a part? Every fabric has a certain weave whether it’s a natural fiber, blend or synthetic. Think of the weave as a threading process—warp threads going vertically, weft horizontally. Woven together they can be loose, tight or somewhere in between to produce a certain finish. For example, you hear the word twill all the time. Twill is a type of weave. It’s diagonal actually and can be either silk, cotton or wool. While silk twill generally produces a garment with an entirely different function than that of cotton twill, the weave is similar . . . Read More . . . . http://amyjotatum.googlepages.com/shadesofwhite

ADVENTURES IN HAIRDRESSING

Photos: Bill Smoot Photography /All Right Reserved

Since we've been talking so much about head chic these past couple weeks, I just had to share photographer Bill Smoot's photos with you. Not only does this lovely bride have exquisite hairdressing, gold extensions were added to amp the glamour. Notice how her drop veil echoes the detail on her dress, dappled in small crystals.

If you happen to be a San Francisco Bay Area bride, check in with Stas at Metamorphosis Salon in San Francisco http://www.metamorphosissalon.com/ You'll get a more in depth look at some of the exquisite, custom designed hairdressing.

For another treat you can see more of Bill Smoot's photos at: http://www.smootphoto.com/. One of his strengths as a photographer is his incredible use of light. Check out his montage sequence in the wedding section . . . for me each photo is like a short story, catching that one moment in time.

WHAT'S NEW IN THE GOWN GALLERY?

Its no secret, lately I’m in love with cotton. Most of us associate it with everyday wear. From durable work clothes to delicate casuals, PC Cotton Council ads hype how hip it is to step into good old versatile cotton. Since cotton is the ultimate in laid-back casual these days, we rarely think of it in terms of bridal wear. Think again. Especially about organdy and swiss cotton. “Melissa” here is a fine example of what you can do with 4 yards of imported eyelet batiste. The formal bouffant silhouette in an easy fabric makes the perfect summer wedding dress. And did you know first-rate cottons like these have always been a stylish option for summer brides and garden weddings? They lend themselves well to the once popular daytime formal garden reception —the kind Audrey Hepburn would have attended. I’ve added 5 cotton pieces to the collection recently and more ideas for next year keep dancing around in my head.

Click photos to enlarge

Inspiration for this dress came from a variety of sources. Mostly all those Vogue and Butterick patterns lying around the house when I was growing up that had images of bouffant dresses. Yes, in the early sixties this style was really hot and women even wore it grocery shopping. If you don't believe me just check out any episode of Perry Mason . . .

Want to see more? Visit the gown gallery http://amyjotatum.googlepages.com

TRENDS 2008: The Natural Waistline

Photo by rongreystar.com
Seems like decades since we’ve seen so many gowns sporting a natural waist. Until recently bridal designers typically offered two kinds of waist: dropped and empire. True, a dropped waist makes a woman look longer and leaner while empires camouflage short, thick waists and ample hips. The natural waistline however is one of fashion’s best-kept secrets. Christian Dior knew this when he revived it in 1947 with his celebrated hourglass. While not for everyone, the natural waist works for most body types and creates a great symmetry and overall picture of you.

Gowns by Amy-Jo Tatum