Designers Done Dirt Cheap - Stella MacCartney for Target

Now ladies how keen are you???? Tomorrow at 9am the lovely new line by Stella McCartney for Target comes out in select locations. The last time this happened in 2007 it was like those sale events you see in sitcoms where people get trampled and women fight over the last dress.

If you do have the guts for it you could find some beautiful and different bridesmaids dresses.

The whole lines prices range form around $40 to $300 and includes not just clothing but bags and accessories.

 Lace Dress in French Blue $199

Bow Gathered Detail dress in Felicia $149

Black Silk Dress $299

 Lase Tee $129, Tulip Skirt $119 and Fabric Belt $39

Happy clawing ladies.

Do us a favour?

Do us a favour will be a repeated post all about cute, funny and generally awesome ideas for wedding favours, or bonboneries, if you'd prefer it that way.
This week, we're going down the Eco line. I've been doing a lot of research into different ways to make a wedding Eco friendly and carbon neutral. Once I've finished all my research I'll let you know my findings in the form of a blog post. But in the mean time, while doing the previously mentioned research, I came up with a brilliant idea... and then found out I was most definitely not the first person to come up with it... nether the less, this brilliant idea was:

Flower bulbs as a bonbonerie!
It's a brilliant alternative to lollies or overly expensive trinket. It's lasting... well for a season anyway, it's memorable, and it grows into something beautiful. It's a wonderful me

The how to's:

• Have a look online for a good bulb supplier. For those in Australia, try bulbs direct. They seem to have a great range and at reasonable prices. For example, you can get 20 gladioli bulbs for $19, or if you want to splurge, you could go for 25 Dehlia bulbs for $75. Have a look:  http://www.bulbsdirect.com.au/level2.asp?viewitem=GLACOL2&planttype=_Special%20Offers 

• For the bags, there are many options out there. Couple of ideas would be to go down the eco line and get 100% recycled bags that are gusseted, so they stand up themselves and use them as a place card, by stamping them or printing on them. One place I've found is ecocern where you can get 1000 bags for $50. http://www.ecocern.com/products/gusseted-bags/ 

Turning this bag into a place card could be as simple as writing on the bag, but if you want something a bit more formal, glue a place card on the bag.

Image Source: Elizabeth Anne Designs

If you're not as into the eco thing as I am, but would still like that earthy, natural feel, you could try calico bags from Pink Frosting:

http://www.pinkfrosting.com.au/shop/item/eco-mini-drawstring-favour-bag-made-of-100-organic-cotton-12

They're $25 for 12, but they are super cute and could be used for lots of other items. They're organic cotton, which means somewhat environmentally friendly production practices, so you can still feel good about buying them. They're also reusable, so you guests can have something lasting to take away with them. 

There are many other plant ideas that are becoming increasingly popular, which I'll go into in later articles, but I think bulbs are a lovely idea. Something that starts from nothing and grows into something beautiful... Just like love... awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

 

What's in season

Spring is an amazing time for flowers (obviously...because of all the bees with their stingers and such), and as such, the more exotic of the flowers drop in price and become more readily available.
Which brings me to David Austin Roses:

 Known for their layer after layer of elegantly coloured petals, they're a hybrid rose, developed by, believe it or not, Mr David Austin. They're in season between October and December and are available in many colours, ranging from whites and creams, to dusty and rich pinks, to some very sweet peach tones. They make beautiful additions to a bouquet or are stunning as textual element within a center piece.

I think that David Austin Roses are just dreamy. They remind me of layers of tulle that make dresses puff out... like an upside down petty coats. They'll definitely be making it into my wedding... if it ever happens!

Emily and Tito

When my wonderful friend Emily told her two sisters that they could pick their own bridesmaids dress as long as it had purple in it, she wasn't sure what she was going to be in for. The two beautiful girls have very different shapes so when they both felt great in the same Charlie Brown long silk floral dress, on what I'm pretty sure was the first day of shopping, is nothing short of a miracle. This issue for Emily then became how to work the dress into her already fixed ideas she had for her wedding. Yes the dresses had some soft lilac purple in it, but it was contrasted with a very vivid green that Emily was not sure what to do with.

After talking to her and because I already knew some of the themes (birds) and ideas (long tables and mix and match vases) she had for her wedding, I created a inspiration board for her to help her visualise how the vivid green could be working in quite elegantly. And here it is.... 

Now here is some beautiful images from Emily and Tito's wedding day and how Emily turned inspiration into a gorgeous reality.

In a few days we will post a couple more picks from this lovely couples wedding.

I want that one!

For this weeks "I want that one" (dress of the week), I've picked a beauty! Mr Oscar de la Renta is known for unique, decidedly feminine gowns that generally are both modern and reference the past. There is a distinct "European" feel to Oscar de la Renta designs, with layers and layers of fabrics and richly embroidered sheer skirts, that have a master craftsmanship to them. It's like you could imagine generations of women working on metres and metres of fabric together, hand stitching lace to create something truly sentimental for a daughter/granddaughter/niece. There's an art to his dresses that is timeless and jaw droppingly, sigh evokingly beautiful.

Image Source: Oscar de la Renta, Spring 2009 Collection

Now realistically, there are some very lucky people out there in the world which would be able to procure such a dress for their very special day, but for the rest of us, I think this dress is about inspiring a mix between modern fashion trends and ye olde techniques... Or it's just something lovely to look at.  

My Little Henry

I have a little boy named Henry and in two weeks time my husband Triet and I are having him christened. I know it is not a wedding, but I loved planning my wedding so much that every opportunity I have to legitimately create an inspiration board and plan events down to every tiny cute pom pom detail, I do just that.

Susie (Aunty Jem) is of course going to be Henry's Godmother, mainly so I can put her to work and I have. For a theme I didn't want anything  religious and I couldn't pick a colour, so I picked them all and we are having a rainbow party. I just love rainbows and with Henry being my first child, having everything in many different bright colours makes them unisex for the next and next and next or just the next if you are talking to Triet.

So this is my inspiration board for Henry's christening. I'm having trouble finding the big lollipops and there will be balloons, my biggest dilemma is making sure it doesn't look like a gay pride parade so I'll need to find something other than my leathers to wear.