Hello ladies! I wrote this post for the lovely casey while she has some time off. Welcome to the blog Casey's readers and a welcome back to everyone else!
So I have a confession. I have started collecting Antique wedding dresses and accessories and started wafting round my apartment in them like Miss Havisham. I dont have a fiance, although I was until a few months ago dangerously close. However this hasn't dampened my enthusiasm and obsession with the romance of weddings. I thought it would be fun to share with you my little collection today, maybe any of you out there who are planning their special days will leave with a little inspiration, and those of us who aren't... well we can
just keep playing dress up!
This Thursday when taking our weekly stroll around Spitafields Antique Market in east London, I stumbled upon this beautiful 30's veil and gloves set in their original box. I simply couldn't resist! The Lace is so fine and in amazing condition, I am wearing it in the first picture with a 20's deco beaded belt as a head dress. The gloves are pure silk with 3 peal buttons each, although the fingers are a little to long for my child like hands.
Inside this box, lives the most special vintage garment in my wardrobe. An original
20's ivory silk wedding dress. Purchased from Oxford street this would have been a
very expensive item in its day!
Unfortunately it is far to delicate to display on a hanger. It is in need of some
urgent repairs to the shoulder seams, however the beading is so beautiful I
just had to share!
This is the dresses original belt, but i prefer to wear it as a head band.
This beautiful head dress came with the wedding gown, but I don't think they were
originally created to be worn together. The leaves are made of a silver foil, attached
with wire to the band of which drapes the most delicate pink netting.
This is my 30's silk wedding dress, that I picked up for a snip due to the staining on the back.
I just fell in love with the sailor collar, net inlay and row of covered buttons.
And heres me prancing around in it, like most of us used to in our mothers at around 8
years old. I sadly never grew out of it! Next on my list is a 20's wax flower head dress,
and a pair of silk wedding shoes!
Thanks so much for reading, I hope you all enjoyed a peek into my little wedding
obsessed world!
Harriett xx
Stunning pieces. I actually came across a wedding dress from the 1920s or earlier made in a dark pinstripe fabric. The only reason I was able to tell it was worn at a wedding is the note carefully folded into the skirt that requested that the dress, worn by the owner on her special day, be kept in the family and passed down through the generations. Sadly, her wish was not honored, but I have given it a loving home.
ReplyDeleteThere is something hauntingly beautiful about holding an antique wedding dress in your hands, knowing that the owner spent what was probably one of the most joyful days of her life in it.
Beautiful!! Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteI think they are a fab thing to collect. What a stunning collection - long may it continue!
ReplyDeleteOh! What a nice collection! I love vintage weddings. I looked at a vintage wedding dress for my special day but never managed to find one in my large size. So I wore a vintage 50′s light pink prom dress for my wedding. It was a vintage 50′s style wedding: clothes, cars, restaurant… You can see some pictures there: http://lostin1950.blogspot.com/2011/09/our-vintage-wedding.html
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful collection and thanks for sharing. Absolutely stunning!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous collection! Miss Havisham is my favourite Dickens character and I think it's awesome you collect vintage wedding stuff - why leave it to brides?!
ReplyDeleteOh I'm in love with your wedding-obsessed world - I want more!! You're lucky to have tiny hands as most of the vintage gloves around these days are for little hands - all the bigger ones have been snapped up and worn to bits! Oh what joy you must have felt at opening the cardboard box to reveal the glorious veil and SILK gloves!! Your delicate complexion and hair colour are just perfect for wedding obsessions:))) I adore your blog - gotcha on me blogroll so I don't miss a thing:) xo
ReplyDeleteWOW soooo pretty! A while back they had a gorgeous lace Edwardian dress in a charity shop near me which I saw from a Bus window and had to go back and look at! My mum also saw it and sent me a text message to go and look at it as she thought I'd like it! Sadly I wasn't in a posistion to be getting married and it was quite expensive for me at the time but I remember it well!
ReplyDeleteI love vintage wedding dresses. Especially the mid 30s ones... so sensual and pretty!
ReplyDeleteSo, so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI almost – almost! – got a similar 1930s wedding dress (years ago, pre engagement and to the amusement of then boyfriend, now fiance) for a steal, and how I kick myself for not, now! I will enjoy yours vicariously! x
What a brilliant collection, I hope you'll find lots more to add!x
ReplyDeleteThe bead work on that one is splendid!
ReplyDeleteOh you look enchanting I too have a wedding dress addiction and no fiancée glad I am not the only one! x
ReplyDeleteLovely! The dresses are gorgeous. I happened to have gotten married vintage. :) By the way, I have a hair related question, if you don't mind... how do you keep your hair looking so smooth and shiny? Care to share the secret? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI don't really use any particular products on my hair, a cheap shampoo and conditioner! I do however use a purple toner which is how I get my hair so white. I try not to use any heat and only wash it around twice a week. I think perhaps the natural oils help keep it soft and shiny. I also eat tons of avocados and olive oil which is supposed to be good for hair condition.
ReplyDeleteHarriett xx
Beautiful details in these gorgeous dresses, great finds! Glad I stubbled acroos your blog :)
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I've never seen this blog before! I love vintage but I still find it quite challenging to wear. Every once in a while i get a great piece, but I feel like you are really LIVING the vintage life. I love that dress, but mostly I love the veil in the first picture! You look beautiful, so dreamy!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely gonna follow your blog now,
Nora
Nora Finds
oh my lord, - so dreamy!
ReplyDeleteI have a collection of wedding dresses too! It really creeps out my boyfriend......
ReplyDelete-Heather Jean