Absolutely nothing in my beloved Breeziway venture beats hearing from one of our brides. It is what this is all about. Elizabeth wrote from the Windy City today. . .
Well five months later, and I still think your headpiece is what made my wedding outfit so fun to be in! Just thinking about my wedding the other day and realized I had meant to send you a photo of the finished product, but never did.
Thank you again for sharing your time and talents with me. You were wonderful to work with--especially given my indecision!--and you truly added to the magic of the big day. I so appreciated your patience, flexibility, and of course, your incredible creative insight.
I hope business is booming for you; you really do deserve it.
Thank you, Elizabeth, for sharing your fun photos and kind thoughts. It means so much to know that you enjoyed your wedding day . . .. and to have played a small role in helping to create positive memories. Congratulations and wishes for many happy memories together in the years ahead!
I am off to Chicago next weekend when Spring Break starts to visit my daughters & granddaughter. . . Can't wait!
Here's to a fast approaching Spring Break for all of us. . .
The Detroit campus of the International Academy of Design & Technology has announced the timing of its annual fashion show. This is a special evening of fun and plenty of style. I hope local fashion fans are able to attend and support this fine institute and its students! There is much talent in the Detroit area to be appreciated.
Imagine Fashion Show
The International Academy of Design & Technology (IADT) will be hosting its student fashion show, Imagine, on March 16, 2011 at the Royal Oak Music Theatre. Imagine is an annual fashion show, now in its seventh year, featuring original designs by students in the Fashion Design and Fashion Design and Merchandising programs at IADT’s Detroit (Troy) campus.
“We’re thrilled to showcase Metro Detroit’s talented student fashion designers,” said Julie Patterson, fashion design program chair at IADT-Detroit. “Our students work extremely hard to prepare for this special event.”
Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $22 and $32 and can be purchased at the Royal Oak Music Theatre Box Office, www.ROMTLive.com*, www.Tickets.com*, or by phone 1-800-919-6272* A portion of the proceeds will go to the Ronald McDonald House of Southeast Michigan.
“We’re pleased to be able to help support families with seriously ill children,” said Cynthia Bechill, president of IADT-Detroit. “We hope that this event not only inspires future fashion designers but also encourages Metro Detroiters to contribute to organizations like the Ronald McDonald House of Southeast Michigan.”
“On behalf of the Ronald McDonald House of Southeast Michigan, thank you to IADT-Detroit for their volunteering and financial support,” said Jennifer Litomisky, executive director of Ronald McDonald House of Southeast Michigan. “We couldn’t do the things we do without the support of organizations like IADT-Detroit.”
The International Academy of Design & Technology (IADT-Detroit), was originally founded in Chicago in 1977. The Troy campus was established in 2003 to help Michigan students develop their skills and abilities needed for success in the fields of design and technology. The career-oriented degree programs provide hands-on training and real-world insights, taught by industry professionals who work in the fields in which they teach. IADT-Detroit does not guarantee employment or salary. IADT-Detroit is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) to award associate and bachelor’s degrees. The school currently offers degree programs in Fashion Design, Fashion Design and Merchandising, Interior Design, Graphic Design, Game Production and Digital Media Production. IADT- Detroit is part of the Career Education Corporation network of schools (NASDAQ: CECO).
For more information about IADT-Detroit, please visit www.iadtdetroit.com or call 888-838-2111.
*Additional fees apply. To avoid additional fees, buy in person at the Royal Oak Music Theatre Box Office, open noon – 6 PM, Monday – Friday.
Hope you are able to enjoy this evening out with fashion!
The 24 year old Zulu Princess Bukhosibemvelo married her love, Sipho Nyawo, during the summer of 2009. The princess is director of the Amathonga Institute, which supports the efforts of entrepreneurs in South Africa. Her new husband is a business executive. The photos of their lovely wedding day at the Botanical Gardens in Durban reflect the bright smiles of the happy couple and their guests. The bride wore a gown that was designed by Johannesburg designer Julian and carried a bouquet of pastel pink spring roses. The groom sported a gray suit from the Giorgio Armani collection.
The pleated neckline of her gown features an element found in the collections of numerous bridal designers. I love the textured styling of this contemporary look.
The bride’s father King Zwelithini has 37 children – 22 sons and 15 daughters while her mother Queen Mantfombi is Swazi King Mswati III’s sister. Guests at the event included South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, the country’s first ladies; Sizakele Khumalo, Nompumelelo Ntuli and Thobeka Mabhija, IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Swaziland’s royal family and Nigerian chiefs Adolf Omobude and Osawe Joseph. ~ BellaNagia.com
The princess chose Western styling for her special day. The South African wedding featured in the delightful video below embraces both Western and traditional Zulu customs. . . enjoy the color & celebration of love. . . love, love, love it! This couple and their guests are perfect examples of Soaring Hearts!
Traditional African wedding attire consists of the multiple-piece Buba (blouse), Iro (wrapper), Gele (head wear) and Ipele (shawl) The gele and ipele are often made of hand-loomed Yoruba Aso oke fabric. I know where to look for inspiration when I get around to creating those turban designs still swirling in my head.
May all your days be equally colorful and expressive!
Queen Victoria (1819-1901) is often credited for initiating the use of white for bridal gowns. Although history indicates that Anne of Brittany (1477-1514) wore a white bridal gown when she married King Louis XII of France 3 centuries earlier (1499) among others (Marie Louise of Austria when she married Napoleon in 1810 and Princess Charlotte of Wales when she married Prince Leopold of Cobourg in 1816), Victoria's choice of white (1840) occurred in the spotlight of photography and in the midst of a long-standing tradition of wearing color. . . a trend that is returning to the bridal fashion scene. It seems that changes are called for periodically.
Marie Louise of Austria
Princess Charlotte of Wales
Ever inspired by Victoria and Albert's love story, I want to share some detail about her bridal attire. Much of Victoria's gown was made of fine white Honiton lace made exclusively for her, costing approximately 1,000 pounds and the efforts of more than 200 people over an eight month period. It is said that the designs for this lace were destroyed to keep others from duplicating them. The gown itself was made of white satin accented with clusters of orange flower blossoms and crafted by artisans in Spitelfields Market of London.
Orange blossoms were very popular accessories during the Victorian era, often worn as a wreath or circlet, which is exactly what Queen Victoria wore on her wedding day. Her orange blossom crown was accented with two large ostrich feather plumes that helped fill out the space over her lace veiling. The plumes appear in the royal photographs, but were omitted in her bridal portrait.
Orange blossoms are very fragrant and during the Victorian era, symbolized fertility, purity, and chasity, making their addition to the bridal ensemble quite appropriate for the times. When the blossoms were in season, brides would often use wax facsimiles or crowns made of other blossoms such as roses, lavender or wild flowers for their headpiece coronets.
Royal brides often wore a crown of jewels, rather than the floral crown. Victoria, however, wore jewels that represented her social status. She wore an armlet with the Order of the Garter (which reads, “Honi soit qui mal y pense”, or translated in English “Shame be to him who thinks evil of it”) and the Star of the Order. Both are pictured below. Does the tradition of wearing a bridal brooch date back to this choice?
Order of the Garter
Star of the Order
Below are examples of English Honiton lace, similar to that used for Queen Victoria's gown. . .
and a photo of her bridal slippers. . .
We still see strong influences from the Victorian era in our bridal designs. Some contemporary designs below with their accentuated butt bustles and trains are classic Victorian. Lace, embroidery, and other intricate, delicate and feminine details are all aspects of Victorian design that still reign in many contemporary designs such as those below.
And I just had to share these Victorian-style shoes from Peterfox shoes. You can check out more of their gorgeous vintage designs by clicking on the photos below. . .
One has to admire Victoria, the woman who ascended to her throne at the age of 18, and held that position for the longest reign in British history; a life of intensity in love, public service and influence - an influence that has lasted many lifetimes. Victoria and Albert parented 9 off-spring; each leaving their own marks on society.
An event at the Royal Albert Hall is a must for any London honeymooners! Several years ago my husband took me there to see Puccini's Madame Butterfly. It is an evening I will never forget.
The Royal Albert Hall was built to fulfil the vision of Prince Albert (Queen Victoria's consort) of a 'Central Hall' that would be used to promote understanding and appreciation of the Arts and Sciences and would stand at the heart of the South Kensington estate, surrounded by museums and places of learning.
Wishing you all many memorable moments of your own.
Zara Phillips (1981) is the 29 year old second child and daughter of Princess Anne and her first husband Mark Phillips. Zara is Prince Williams' cousin and the oldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II. Zara and her fiance, Gloucester Rugby player - Mike Tindall, announced their engagement last December. Tindall proposed to Zara at their home in Cheltenham.
I absolutely adore this town and the Cotswolds area at its perimeter. The Montpellier area of Cheltenham is quite Parisian, and the Cotswolds absolutely breathtaking and magical. I am compelled to digress a bit to share some visuals of this gorgeous area of England. I am so missing England right now. . .
As best as I can tell, there has not yet been a formal announcement of Zara and Mike's wedding date. Speculations in the media cite May, others July. I will be looking for more developments on this front, and we will eavesdrop when the time arrives! In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to sample some of Zara's millinery style. Lovely looks ahead. . .
Best wishes in the months ahead, Zara & other 2011 brides,
Visuals of Grace Kelly's mid-1950's wedding sent me to an archive of millinery styles to share (courtesy of my lovely daughter, Kirstin) . . .
Cloches of earlier decades evolved into the popular head hugging, brimless hats of the 1950's. This first style is representative of the turban sported by many women as more casual head apparel.
Hats-Off-To-The-50s-752791
The red hat in the center of the collage below looks identical to the off-white designs seen on the runway last year. . . was it Stephen Jones collaboration with John Galliano? I think so. . .
Hats-Off-To-The-50s-752791
Cocktails hats like that below were more simplified versions of the form covered in laces and other embellishments for Grace Kelly's bridal headpiece. . .
Feb_1955_Paris Christian Dior
Colorful, artificial fruit and silk flowers were pervasively-popular trims on mid-20th century hats. . .
April_1957_-_Ladies_Home_Journal
Angel_Face_1954
Feathers in their natural state or dyed in earth colors were also often used to trim hats during the 1950's. The natural iridescent cock feathers used in the design below may have foreshadowed the bouffant hairstyles that contributed to the reduction of millinery arts in fashion during the 1960's.
1950s_Magazine unknown
Berets were also popular during the 1950's. You have to love the bling on this one. Can you imagine what a contemporary beret made of Swarovski crystals would look like on the dance floor? We need to make one!
1950s_Conde Nast Archive
A shallow crown and wide brim has persisted as the popular style of our contemporary beach hats. These contemporary versions, however, generally lack elegant details such as the dual brim color (deep undertone) and the curvaceously-sculpted brim.
1950s Photo by Regina_Relang
We will soon be introducing our Eve design; inspired by these vintage qualities with a modern twist . . . I am eager to shoot photos of the various ideas we have for wearing this versatile new design with or without veiling, and will share them when time allows. Let us know if you are interested!
Ahhhh, the glamour of the 50's. . . I just love it.
Bracing myself here in Michigan for the blizzard headed this way. . . hoping those of you in the path of this storm are warm and safe indoors.
Feathers from the Americas and abroad, Swavorski crystals, pearls, and rich fabrics are used to create gorgeous lightweight headpieces and birdcage veils for your special occasions.
Breeziway has several lines of designs that include pieces for brides, wedding parties, mothers of the bride or groom, and other occasions such as homecomings and proms. Choose from over 75 designs or use them to help us design your own special hair complement.
