Bridal Boutique

The wedding - a magical, fairytale occasion that begins in the dreams of little girls, and the wedding dress - a magical symbol of love and romance, fantasy and splendour, representing expectations of happiness and bliss.

My favourite modelling assignments (!) are for the Bridal magazines, since they give me opportunities to wear the most wonderful wedding dresses.
You see, I admit to a weakness for bridal gowns, and love to imagine myself as a bride - so occasionally I will pretend, and enjoy the incomparable sensations of wearing a long white wedding gown. It just makes me feel so special.

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Gown No. 1:  A Vintage gown


This is a wonderful dress of embroidered tulle, with a train of a dozen tiers of ribbon edged tulle flounces.
Seventy tiny buttons behind, and ten more at each wrist, ensure that much patient assistance is required to be dressed in it - or to disrobe!
(Guess who is the little bridesmaid!)


Gown No. 2:  Clouds of Tulle

This gown I designed to exceed the most extravagant creations that I've ever seen displayed. I thought that if I succeeded in creating a gown as beautiful as any of those for myself, then I would never need to envy the girls who were fortunate enough to be able to afford to buy them. I did succeed. With its eight layers of finest pale blue and ivory tulle over a wide satin underskirt, extending to a short train behind, beautifully embroidered brocade beaded bodice with its ruched chiffon panel, and full length chiffon sleeves with buttoned cuffs, it is a really superb gown. The bodice is separate from the skirts, which are attached to a deep yoke fastened about the waist . Crinoline hoops are then fastened over the yoke to support the enormous skirts. The bodice is then secured with twenty buttons at the back, and attached at the waist with hooks and eyes. Naturally, assistance is required to achieve this; on one's own, it is almost impossible to reach all the buttons. A floral headdress of ivory silk roses, and three tiers of ivory tulle ribbon-hemmed veil complete the ensemble.

Gown No. 3:  A "swishy" gown

This is a beautiful organza gown with a ruched bodice which I was lucky enough to find second-hand, unmarked and absurdly inexpensive. It's a lovely, swishy dress to wear.

Gown No. 4:  A gown that's truly "over the top"

           

This one I just could not resist. I found it in an 'opportunity' shop, and wouldn't have given it more than a cursory glance if it had been priced at a hundred dollars or more, as many such gowns are. But it was marked right down, owing to some very slight damage. And also, no doubt, on account of this truly over-the-top kind of gown being no longer fashionable. (Girls whose tastes incline to such an expensive gown would never consider a second-hand one, in any case).

So there it hung, resplendent in all it's elaborate splendour, dripping with seed pearls, sequins and lace, waiting for someone like me to find it, and buy it, just for the sheer pleasure of dressing-up in it. How could I resist? Especially as it was a perfect fit!

Actually, I had to add the sheer infill at the neck. The sleeves are so heavy that they tended to slide off my shoulders. The whole gown is heavy, in fact - the satin is a luxurious weave, and all the beaded trim adds up. Then, there is the added weight of the crinoline hoops and petticoats that support the skirts. I made some minor repairs also.

But oh! The incredible feeling of being enveloped in this magnificent finery is simply indescribable! And on account of the tiny buttons up the back, I need assistance to get out of it - how I do love to be made to remain dressed, waiting patiently to be released!

Gown No. 5:  A sweet satin gown

A beautiful satin gown, the boidice prettily embroidered with pink and blue flowers

Gown No. 6:  A Fairytale wedding dress

This style of gown is usually called "Fairytale" - it's so pretty! Full skirts of ivory dupion silk, gorgeous short, full puffed sleeves , and trimmed with dainty little ribbons, it's simply lovely!

Gown No. 7:  Another Fairytale wedding dress

In gardenIn garden

Another "Fairytale" dress in lace trimmed ivory taffeta - this one clearly modelled on Princess Diana's fabulous wedding gown!
The fashion police disparage to this style as looking like a meringue. Nevertheless, I love the way it moulds and accentuates my waist!

Gown No. 8:  A classic satin gown - my favourite



A classic gown - simply sublime - beaded bodice, very full skirted, fitted sleeves, fastened with scores of tiny pearl buttons at wrists and behind.

Gown No. 9:  A simple summer wedding dress


Here is yet another really sweet gown, with appliqued motifs on the tulle overlays of both skirt and bodice. It has cap sleeves of several layers of stiffened tulle. Dear me, I really cannot decide which one to be married in!

Gown No. 11:  A Chiffon Meringue


Yet another beautiful gown, this one of four layers of embroidered chiffon, which ripple and flow into a billowy train

Front and back details of this gown. Those buttons in the middle are impossible to reach!

Satin bridal boots complete the picture!

Gown No. 12:  Another beautiful chiffon gown





A superb gown in embroidered chiffon with a wonderful flouncy train of multiple frills

Gown No. 13:  A magnificently full gown in dupion silk

   dupion  dupion

 


Another lovely dress, in ivory dupion silk, that I was unable to resist, attracted as I am to those gowns with fitted bodices and luxuriously full skirts. I loved the garland of silk flowers draped across the bodice, and amazingly it was a comfortable fit! The hooped underskirts are attached, and the gorgeous tiara and headdress were included in the deal. 

Edited extract from I Do ... One Hundred years of Wedding Fashion, by Caroline Cox:
      "The institution of marriage might have taken a battering but, for women, the wedding gown remains The Dress of a lifetime.
      "The white wedding dress embodies all our dreams of perfect love, a sartorial symbol of romance and happiness. In global culture, the wedding dress has become the ultimate spectacle. It is the most expensive piece of clothing most women will ever buy, ensuring an enraptured gaze from an invited audience in a sacred setting.
      "The white dress has attained an iconic status and, even though the number of weddings taking place is at an all-time low, the wedding industry is booming. It is one of the most powerfully marketed forces in the world. Every town has a bridal store, celebrity and royal weddings are a staple of the popular press, fashion shows finish with a bride, and movies and soapies are obsessed (Muriels Wedding, Four Weddings and a Funeral, My Best Friend's Wedding, The Wedding Singer, The Wedding Planner).
      "On the wedding day, men are relegated to second-class citizens as women play out a social performance of female identity. Women have the opportunity to assume fantasy versions of themselves. In narcissistic splendour, women actively seek and hold the rapt gaze of an admiring audience, wanting only their own reflection back. Perhaps for one special day only, women are marrying themselves. "

Not only women!
I do love to hear of others' bridal fantasies!
Would you like to read a Bridal Fantasy story of mine?

About spending a day dressed as a Bride?

On show, as a mannequin?
Click here!

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