Custom-made wedding gowns!

Lily Allen's ceremony gown by Delphine Manivet

Disagree or agree with me, but I love Lily Allen’s style and her music.

Who’s Lily Allen?

If you’ve never heard of her, she’s a British singer with 2 successful music albums under her belt. She was just as famously known for being the face of Chanel, when Karl Lagerfeld hand-picked her and photographed her to promote the Coco Cocoon luxury handbags in the fall of 2009.

She is also largely known as a style icon in the UK and why she’s relevant to my blog (other than I love her!), is that she got married last month.

Naturally, it was rumoured that Chanel would be doing her wedding dress. In fact, she had two gowns, Chanel did a vintage-inspired one for her reception (see photo at left) and Parisian Designer, Delphine Manivet, designed the gown for her ceremony.

The lace bodice is reminiscent of the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding gown but Lily’s veil clearly harkens back to the 1920’s. Unlike Kate's 1950's- inspired gown, Manivet remarked that the Lily’s dress was inspired by 1970’s and 1990’s fashion.

If, like Lily, you decide to go the route of having your attire custom-made; it is important to distinguish between a seamstress and a designer.

Designers, of course, design and fabricate a gown especially for you. Seamstresses will usually sew exactly what you ask them to do, although some do designing as well.  Be aware that seamstresses that work exclusively by store-bought patterns may not know how to alter gowns to give you the style elements that you may want – e.g. a bustle skirt or unusual back. 

Generally, these are the steps to getting your gown designed:

1.    Meet with your designer but do have in mind the direction you want for the style of your gown for example, do you want your gown to be  dramatic? Full? fitted and body conscious? Feature a skirt with lot of movement? Or should it be feminine or on the other end of the spectrum - more structured?

2.    After having discussions with you about your preferences and examining your body type; the designer will usually present attire concepts in the form of sketches and inspirational photos. He/She should also have fabric samples for you to choose from.

3.   After this, you can choose the silhouette, embellishments and decide on the type(s) of fabric that you like incorporated. Then, via collaboration, you and the designer will determine a final choice.

4.  Measurements of the bride-to-be are then taken by the designer, over the actual undergarments that will be worn on the day.

5.   Most designers will do a “muslin fitting,” to ensure proper fit. Muslin is a cotton woven fabric from which the designer makes a shell that moulds to the body of the bride. This shell enables the designer to easily drape onto it or create  desired elements from the final garment.

6.    The designer then takes the muslin pattern and crafts it into the bride's chosen fabric usually, adjustments are done at this point since the muslin does not have the same characteristics as the final fabric (for example, silk, organza, satin etc.).  

7.   Additional fittings to ensure a perfect fit may also be required, depending on the complexity of the gown.

Review of Kate's Gown

Over the past week, I’ve been asked numerous times about what I thought of the new Duchess of Cambridge’s overall look for her wedding. To begin with, even prior to the wedding, I was surprised by Kate’s rumoured choice of Sarah Burton from Alexander McQueen, to design her dress.

Alexander McQueen, whilst he was alive (before his tragic suicide last year) was renowned for his use of theatre and drama, his use of contrasts and heavy fashion influence from controversial issues such as sex, religion and politics. No wonder…since the house of McQueen has designed for the likes of fashion rebels such as Lady Gaga and Naomi Campbell!

In fact, in Sarah Burton’s debut collection from Paris Fashion Week just last October, she showed an interesting blend of bondage-like apparel, lacing, dresses and skirts with exaggerated hips, feather work, fur trim, Japanese printed silk, corn stalks and copious amounts of pleated organza; all meshed together with impeccable tailoring.

Items fit for a Princess on her wedding day? Probably not!

So now…you can understand fully, my surprise that conservative Kate, chose Sarah Burton in the first place!

Kate actually got her first inkling about Sarah Burton through her friend and fashion editor, Sarah Buys, who wed Prince William's stepbrother, Tom Parker Bowles in 2005. Sarah’s dress was a £10,000 silk, strapless gown, created by Sarah Burton. I have to be honest and say I didn’t love Sarah’s dress and so, I didn’t know quite what to expect for Kate’s.

However, the moment I saw the dress, I loved it for its romanticism and modernism – a hard combination to come by. It was evident that the shape of the dress harkened back to 1950’s styling. The satin gazar fabric on the ivory and white dress, was accented with hand-cut English lace and French Chantilly lace. The lace appliqués on the dress represented flowers such as: roses, thistles, daffodils and shamrocks, which were all hand-placed onto the dress.

The lace itself was hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework using a technique called Carrickmacross (a type of needle lace which was first made in Carrickmacross, Ireland). I feel perhaps that this was Kate’s homage to the late Diana since Diana herself used a piece of Carrickmacross lace, which had once belonged to Queen Mary, in the centre panel of her own wedding gown, as her “something old.”

Although I thought Kate’s deep V-neckline, sweetheart bodice and long, lace sleeves were stunning; I thought the lace on the full skirt, made the gown look out-dated and overly traditional.

I would have loved to see Kate be a little more fashion-forward there, especially since McQueen is known for dramatic skirts. It was evident to me that Sarah Burton showed fashion restraint, obviously knowing that a skirt that pushed the envelope too far would not fit in with the personality and style of her client or with such a historical event watched by 2 billion people!

However, the silhouette of Kate’s gown did feature a large skirt and padding at the hips, which is quite typical of Alexander McQueen’s style. At the back of the dress, there were 58 gazar and organza covered buttons.

Kate wore a Cartier tiara which was loaned to her by the Queen and a veil made of ivory silk tulle. I thought the veil went perfectly with the dress since it was not decorated, gathered or too voluminous and so, I thought it echoed the streamlined nature of the dress’ shape.

On her ears, she wore Victorian-styled, tear drop earrings, which were a gift from her parents. The earrings were custom-made to match the tiara. Her shoes were also hand-made by the team at Alexander McQueen and were made of ivory duchesse satin, with lace embroidery.

In terms of comparisons, Elizabeth Taylor had a somewhat similar lace placement as Kate’s with the gown she wore to wed her first husband Conrad Hilton. Moreover, though, Kate’s dress closely resembled Grace Kelly’s gown, worn to her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco.

Grace Kelly’s gown had similar long lace sleeves and a V-neck line, although her neckline was more demure than Kate’s. Although some people have noted that Kate’s dress resembled Queen Elizabeth’s dress in 1947, I don’t share this opinion; since the Queen’s dress was ivory, embroidered with images of spring flowers, encrusted with pearls and crystals and featured a scalloped neckline. It was an ornate statement, completely unlike the understated elegance of Kate’s dress.

Overall, what I most admired was that Kate wore the dress and the dress didn’t wear her. She was completely self-assured in it and radiant. That inner beauty, really...is what fashion is supposed to promote!

Please share your thoughts....

What Dress Hue suits you?

At the beginning of the 20th century, members of the royal families wore silver wedding gowns, well...that was until Queen Victoria became the ultimate trend-setter by wearing white! To this day, the white tradition has remained in Western countries. However, now, there are hundreds of “whites” to wear – from the starkest of whites to the warmest and creamiest.


Some whites look better on brides than other whites; but why is that?

The answer lies in the bride’s skin tone. Selecting the correct gown colour can really make the difference between being a glowing bride or a “washed-out” bride who has no contrast between her skin colour and the dress colour!


To determine your skin tone:


1. Examine the veins in your arm. Veins that look blue mostly likely indicate that you have a lighter or cooler skin tone and if they look green you are more likely to be warmer, with a medium to dark skin tone.


2. Look for your undertone, or the colour you can see underneath your skin. Warm skin tones are usually defined by yellow or orange undertones, whereas cool skin tones have red, blue or pink undertones


3. Hold a piece of silver and a piece of gold fabric to your face. The right colour swatch will bring out the warmth in your face and the wrong colour will make your skin look tired and sallow. If the silver fabric works best for you, you may have a cooler skin tone. If it’s the gold, you will most likely have a warmer skin tone.


Your skin tone can be either: light, medium or dark. Some skin experts also use the terms: warm, cool or neutral to describe skin tone; whilst other classifications have been made on the seasons, such as: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter


Here are some tips for the different types of tones:


Light Skin Tone - If you are very pink or your skin has rosy undertones, ivory is a good choice. It may be best to avoid pastels and gold. Bridesmaids with pink undertones can opt for black, navy, royal blue, purple, teal, emerald green, hot pink, grey and red. Silver accessories tend to look best with cool skin tones.


Medium Skin Tone - If you have an olive or medium skin tone; a champagne, ecru or off-white gown will work best. Bridesmaids who have a medium skin tone will sparkle in aqua, green, warmer pinks and reds and oranges.


Dark skin tone - If your skin tone is dark, crisp white would look stunning. Brides with dark skin tones can also wear an ecru-coloured wedding dress. Bridesmaids with dark skin tones might look best in plum, lavender, soft neutrals and pastels. Both gold and silver can complement dark skin tones


If you’re undecided about which white suits you best, ask the consultant at the bridal shop for fabric swatches that you can take home so that you can look at yourself in various types of lighting. If the bridal shop you visit doesn’t offer this service, visit a fabric store and select your own fabric swatches!

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My visit to Clothes Show London 2010

Aaah…”vacation” - isn’t it wonderful?
So now you know why I’ve been missing for a bit (I’m sure you’ve noticed no blog entries since June! er…oops). Anyway, I’ve just returned from an exciting time visiting friends and relatives in London. On previous trips to the UK, I had done the usual “touristy” Tower of London, Madame Tussaud’s, Piccadilly Circus, Harrods, Wimbledon, London Eye etc. jaunts; however, this trip represented an “off-the-beaten-path” approach of sorts.


One of the more interesting things I did was to spend an entire day on June 26 at Clothes Show London, which was held at Earls Court. A virtual “mother ship” for any fashionista indeed. Hundreds of booths crammed with all manner of trendy and vintage clothing, eco fashion, jewellery, undergarments, makeup, mehendi, toiletries, hair accessories, corsets, swimwear, a spa bus and even mini style seminars and fab take-home goody bags chockfull of stuff, some of which were from the main sponsors: Martini, Corona, Kit Kat Senses, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Benefit Cosmetics and OK! Magazine to name a few.


Overall, I’d say that the expo’s exhibitors were quite trendy and targeted their products to the female, young adult market; so naturally, the show was not mainstream bridal. However, there were some booths that I thought could have been interesting finds for brides-to-be. Two in particular were:


• Secret Hair Boostias – crescent shaped plastic accessories that give your hair a lift for updo’s and sexy pony-tails á la Brigitte Bardot. Check them out at this link: http://www.hairboostias.com/uk/index.html

• Brazelle – decorative bra clips that come with straps or sashes that attach to multi-way or strapless bras. Check their bridal page here: http://www.brazelle.com/bridal.php?osCsid=20ddrmum0ie8i1204pgs0hqdo4



By far, two of my favourite booths were vintage-inspired dresses from Limb Clothing (http://www.limb-clothing.com/) and exquisite accessories and clothing from Reem. There was even a company called “Celebrity Dress Hire” so I know where I’d go if I wanted (but couldn’t afford) a timeless Hérve Léger cocktail dress!


There was even recycled clothing to be had for the fashionably-un-shy among us!. I snapped a pale-pink dress made from recycled mens’ shirt collars and another from mens’ ties. They were done by a young female entrepreneur whose company is called The Dress Doctor.


What was amazing for me was the opportunity to speak first hand to the jewellery and dress designers and to get a chance to buy one-of-a-kind pieces that I could tell, were lovingly made.


At the end of the day, the expo culminated in a fashion extravaganza of epic proportions; the likes of which I’d never seen before in a fashion show. The theme of it was “Fashion Capitals Of The World” and it was replete with 300 outfits, seven scene changes, amazing dance choreography for each scene (e.g. Tokyo, Paris, Milan, New York, London etc.) and of course, a UK boy band thrown in for good measure!


To view my mini-preview of Clothes Show London, see slideshow to the top right of this page!

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The Caribbean Bridal Expo, Destination: Puerto Rico!

I’ve just returned from an awesome experience at the Caribbean Bridal Expo in Puerto Rico; a dizzying display of 300 exhibits, fashion shows packed with the latest in bridal and formal wear and oodles of product sampling. But the scale and magnitude of the show is not surprising, considering that weddings in Puerto Rico are a huge affair, and culturally, one of the most auspicious events there, along with Christmas time celebrations and the “sweet fifteen” parties called the “quinceaňeros.”

In Puerto Rico, it’s pretty normal for parents to spend as much as USD$10,000 or more, on their teenager’s “sweet fifteen” party! Gulp, can you imagine this kid’s wedding, ten or so years down the road?

Anyway, apart from browsing the booths and meeting scores of interesting people who are part of the Puerto Rican wedding industry, the highlight of my trip was undoubtedly having the opportunity to meet and interview, Leonardo Suria, owner of the Leonardo Men’s fashion emporium. Leonardo is somewhat of the “Godfather of the Puerto Rican bridal industry.” So it came as no surprise that his chain of high-end stores, “Leonardo’s” had the largest display at the Expo and was also one of the Expo’s major sponsors. You can see some of my amateur ( I stress this!) video footage on the TW Video bar to the top right of this page.

In fact, as my new acquaintance Carmen told me, (she looks like a petite version of Cher and she’s believe it or not, an attorney-turned-decorator!) Leonardo was the one who first brought the idea of bridal expos to Puerto Rico, twelve years ago. She went on to say that he's a multi-millionaire and despite that, he was such a humble and nice person. And true to form, just as Carmen had said, Leonardo was indeed not only affable but also debonair and impeccably dressed. He seemed as though he’d fit comfortably into a spread for Men’s Vogue magazine! We easily chatted about the wedding industry in Trinidad and Tobago and about groom’s fashion trends for 2009; such as the return of the “ascot tie” and colour-combination suits ( e.g. white/ivory jacket with black trouser and vice versa).

There were also fashion shows starring stunning gowns and evening wear by David’s Bridal, gorgeous gowns by Kation and my absolute favourite - Stella Nolasco, Puerto Rico’s most avante-garde fashion designer, whose line has been featured in the exclusive Neiman Marcus store. Her pieces have been worn by celebrities such as: Beyonce and Dayanara Torres. I visited her boutique when I was in Old San Juan, but sadly, it was closed on the day I was there. Oh well, there’s always next time!

See some of the show's high fashion here: http://s234.photobucket.com/albums/ee16/simoneweddings/

During the expo, I was plied with all sorts of beverages from the exhibitors ( not that I was complaining!): wine from Chile, sangria offered up by the Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel and “coquito” a milky drink, quite similar to our “ponche de crème.” Sangria and coquito are usually the cocktails of choice at Puerto Rican weddings.

For wedding favours, many Puerto Rican couples are going the route of edible favours – the traditional favourites are “merenguitos” or small meringues which can be plain or drizzled with chocolate. Other edible delights which are popular right now are chocolate truffles, decorated Jordan almonds, chocolate lollipops, brownie lollipops, marshmallow lollipops (e.g. 3 marshmallows on a skewer covered entirely in white or milk chocolate) and miniature wedding cakes

At the Expo, I also interviewed one of Puerto Rico’s finest musicians, the renowned Qique Talavera, whose 14-piece orchestra has backed up legends such as the Supremes and the Temptations ( it costs USD$5000 to hire them for a wedding!). Go figure that the last wedding his band played at, was at the Ritz Carlton in San Juan! After talking to Qique, I then met the leader of a band called “Batukealo.” This band plays the popular Plena music of Puerto Rico as well as Brazilian Batucada music.

I’d never heard Plena before and was intrigued; luckily the band leader told me I’d get an opportunity to hear them at the close of the show. And I wasn’t disappointed, Plena music is infectious and frenetic, similar to our tassa and rhythm sections! The musicians use scrape gourds and hand drums that resemble tambourines just without the cymbals. You can check out some footage on the TW Video Bar to the top right of this page ( scroll up to view!)

And at 7pm, as the expo crowd all sang, clapped and danced with the band Batukealo, the curtain came down on the Caribbean’s biggest bridal extravaganza…

But, when I wasn’t at the Expo, I spent my time sight-seeing, shopping and eating ( the stuff great vacations are made of, right?). I took a trolley bus tour of Old San Juan, where we stopped at two ancient forts, El Morro and the Castillo de San Cristobal, at Plaza de Armas (a square where people can feed huge flocks of pigeons and take photos against the backdrop of a lovely fountain) and a few other historical spots.

After the bus tour, I hopped out and enjoyed strolling along the cobble-stoned streets of Old San Juan, where posh boutiques like Burberry and Ralph Lauren are sandwiched amongst quaint little shops like “Boveda” (a groovy, treasure trove of ethically-inspired and mostly eco-chic clothing and jewellery) and “Mi Pequeno San Juan,” a shop owned by a local poet and her husband, who is a French painter. This shop produces painted terracotta replicas of prominent buildings in Old San Juan and the detail of the artists’ work there is just stunning.

I also made a pit stop at Galeria Botello, an art gallery housed in a 300 year old building. It was a cool sanctuary in the heated city, dotted inside with huge sculptures and fine art. Last but not least, I went into the Catedral de San Juan, a serene, white structure, which is actually the second oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere.

On other mornings, I took the bus and went adventuring (the Puerto Rican bus system gets crazier to figure out every time I go there! So beware, if you try it) and I took walks up the blocks that surrounded my hotel, all the while loving the salsa music that wafted from the windows of some of the condominiums.

And before, I knew it, it was time to come home. A two hour and ten minute plane ride later, I was back on Trini soil, relaying the happy moments I’d had in Puerto Rico to my husband, as he drove us home.

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