Dior... now, then and forever

When you're looking for a wedding dress, you want to pick something that you know will be beautiful and fashionable in 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years time. You don't want to look at the pictures and think "why the puffy sleeves". But the answer to the the puffy sleeve question is, it was really fashionable at the time. It was something that everyone would have told you was amazing. And it would have been at the time.

But with the puffy sleeve phenomenon of the 80's in mind I think there is a tendency not to be as daring these days. Where for some, a classic A-Line satin strapless is so them they look like they were born in it. But for others, in their everyday life the clothes they were are bold and rich, and putting them is something simple would be taking away some of their personality.

So I wanted to show these two Dior dresses. Designed 58 years apart but remarkably similar, both are bold and rich and full and are will remain breath takingly beautiful for now until forever. Classic design will always remain fashionable.  

So don't be scared to be your bold self, just avoid puffy sleeves.   

Christian Dior - Paris Fashion Week Fall 2011

Christian Dior Bridal - 1953

I want that one!

Mariana "Light my Wick" Hardwick:

You know there's those dresses that you look and and immediately think "who would wear that?"...
Meet Daphne Du Maurier!

I was like that with this dress, but when I really looked at it I realised how the mix of soft and firm and matte and glossy fabrics creates beautiful textures and shape. Classic and modern, soft but structured this dress is full of contradictions that make you really consider the design of it.  It's beauty grows on you, until the mortar in your bricks is eaten away and you say "who would wear that.... I WOULD!"

Little Red

So I’m not married. I have a long term partner, and sometimes I feel really bad for him. While I know that some men are just as involved with making wedding plans as their fiancé, there are also some men for who, the time between proposal and wedding will be painful. And it’s not because they don’t want to get married or aren’t interested in how the day will turn out, it’s just that flowers and centrepieces aren’t their thing. You know the type of guy that says “A barbie and a couple of tinnies would be fine with me as long as everyone’s around and most of all as long as I’m marrying you”. And what sweeties those men are, they put up with months of “which one do you like better?”, because they love their fiancé. My partner is definitely one of those men. And here’s the part where I start to feel sorry for him. I think about what our wedding will be like…. A LOT… and for a long time, I just kept my musing inside, or obviously would talk to my sister, but this has stopped. I now talk to him all the time about our wedding… and he hasn’t even proposed. I guess doing this blog seems to give me an excuse. Like it’s ok to plan an imaginary wedding because “it’s for work”. So where most men only have to put up with a couple of months, my poor David is going to get YEARS of “peonies or David Austin roses”?




ANYWAAAAAAAAAAY, one of the things I think about is the fact that I want to wear red lip stick. I wear red lipstick every excuse I get. Mostly when I know I won’t see David because my favourite lipstick, Diorific Rouge Bingo Roulette Red, goes EVERYWHERE when I kiss him. So the dilemma is as such, I imagine I’ll be doing a lot of kissing on my wedding day, but I don’t want David looking like Boy George in a suit. So I have done some research into the best dramatic lipsticks that stay on your face.

1. Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil $24 – My favourite colour, “Dragon Girl”. This does stay on like red wine on cream coloured carpet, but it lives up to its “matte” claim. If you’re after a vintage look, it was much more the style to have matte lips than glossy between the 1920’s to 1960’s.

2. Revlon Just Bitten $15 – I’d pick “Lust” as a colour. Has mixed reviews however is proven to last up to 12 hours. As a lip stain this will need a different style of application, but will give you a glossiness.

3. Mac Pro Longwear Lipcreme $40 – I’d go for “Prolong”. Rated highly everywhere and with many colours available, give it a go. It’s not one I’ve tried, but mac are pretty solid products, and they’re available on the net, and at most department stores.

Important Note: There are a myriad of different reds. They can go from brown to orange to purple tones. You really need to try some on to make sure you’re getting the colour to suit your skin tone. Go into David Jones and demand some help from the fancy make-up counters.

Bridesmaids Dream

As a follow on to Cass's post about Arie Barcelona, she is right, you can get lost it the satin and chiffon filled forrest that is this website, for a life time. I had decided that at least 10 of the dresses will some day be mine, with in about 10 minutes. That's one a minute. I call that a 100% success rate. Anywho, one of the great things about the website is that it has beee-utiful bridesmaid dresses, the kind that a bridesmaid will thank you for making her buy, as pictured below.  

First impressions are always in paper

The Invitation.

The Invitation for most is the first impression people will have of your wedding. It gives the all important details such as when and where, but it also gives a sense of your style as a couple. If it's handmade and kitschie or if it's designed and elegant, it's a presentation of what is to follow on the day. Below are a couple of different examples on some really cool invites.  

Hand made from cut up maps, this invite declairs a vintage style from the envelope and beyond. The font is also importand as it gives a sense of playfulness from the outset. I think it says "Hey we're Tom and Maggie and we don't take life seriously".  

This retro stunner has a designed elegance. The bold colours reminiscent of 70's curtins (in a good way, as if there's a bad way) make you think "Natalie and Jeff know they're groovey, so we think they are too". 

This invite is totally david met nicole and would be a great invite for that totally old school couple. This invite can be ordered online from Pretty Rustic 's etsy store for $4 a pop. With heaps of other designs and sellers on etsy, it might be worth getting lost in there to find something totally you.

And for something completely different, that I love with all my heart, for the funny people, why not have a couple with lampshades on their heads. From Invitation Consultants for $1.55 each when buying 100, I think it's a bargan for sending out a big chuckle.



Nathalie and Anibal

For the last four years I have been hearing about the wedding of a life time. A wedding to end all weddings. The wedding that lasted a whole weekend. A festival of a wedding even. Problem is I met the couple three months after their wedding.
Meet Nathalie and Anibal Altamiranda, my favourite multi-nationality couple. Nathalie is half French Canadian half Italian and Anibal is Panamanian, this meaning, best skin tones ever for ivory satin.
Nathalie and Anibal met over ten years before they got married. The story goes that when Anibal was 17 he's parents had decided to move, and in the process inspected the house across the road from where Nathalie was living. While they were inspecting the property Anibal spied Nat getting into her car, and decided that this is were the family needed to move. He was successful in convincing his parents to move there, and ended up being successful in convincing Nat to marry him years down the track.

They were married in Kangaroo Valley in NSW and the Green Gum Cabins. They were aiming for a wedding that would be a celebration, a party for themselves and all their guests. They had 160 guests altogether, 40 of them travelling internationally to enjoy the weekend long festivities.

The couple were after a simple and elegant look that really gave a sense of joy. Nat had a bouquet of sunflowers and this flower was carried through the wedding as a splash of brightness in the clean crispness of the white linen and natural green of their surrounds. 

Nat's magnificent dress was custom made by Analyse Marano from ivory satin and lace. Her magnificent booty is all her own.

The secluded surrounds gave everyone the chance to take full advantage of family being around and everyone was able to spend the weekend enjoying each others company... as well as a refrigerated truck full of wine.

I think Anibal and Nat had the right idea. A wedding should be a party, and a party I should have been invited to.

The Colourful Shoe

The colourful shoe is, in my books, the best trend in wedding now days. And it is a trend I wish I had followed.

For my wedding I had the most beautiful Christian Louboutin satin shoes that where by far the best shoes I have ever owned. It surprised me how great they where on my feet. My feet still killed, but that is going to happen in any shoe when you stand and pose for that long. There was not a blister or a pinch to be found on my foot.

The issue is, when the hell am I going to wear white satin shoes again? If I had my time over again I would have picked something bright or fancy or over the top, because then I could at least have worn them again with a little black dress.

These drop dead stunning Yves Saint Laurent Palais leather pumps from Net-A-Porter are my choice for my next wedding. That striking fuchsia is top to toe on the shoe and would look  awesome in photos.

Now I just need to figure out how I can have a second wedding to the same guy?