I can't believe August has been and gone already, my apologies for not doing a blog for so long and to all the lovely who brides who have sent in photos I promise I will post them all up soon!
August is not only a busy time for brides actually getting married but it's also buying season for all the new spring/summer mother of the bride outfits and occasion wear. We've been busy at Pure in London and Moda in Birmingham choosing all the new styles for next year. There are some really beautiful outfits to come and lovely soft lace dresses, as well as the formal suits. Long coat jackets are a real big feature; I think we have Kate Middleton to thank for that! We have tried to be very select with these styles as long jackets can be very hard to wear and you can instantly look like you've gained a stone (not a look we were aiming for!).
Two collections that we really loved were the Ian Stuart collection with its amazing fit and fantastic use of colour (we have also ordered some matching hats this time), they really are amazing. For the mum or guest who wants something less formal, which they'll want to wear again, we also have the Vera Mont collection. This is much softer, with slight stretch in the lace and soft fabrics and with prices around £300 they are fantastic value.
Me with Ian Stuart at Pure
At Vera Mont with Rachel who I've grown to know and love over the years!This time of year is also when you have a lot of last minute brides for all sorts of reasons. One bride bought her dress at a shop that doesn't offer alterations and found that when she took it to the dress maker three weeks before the wedding it was all ripped! Another bride had been told that she could definitely take the dress to a dress maker and have it altered from an 'A line' style to a fishtail, only for the dress maker to tell her it was impossible. So, with only a few weeks left to the wedding she had to find a new dress and start again. Many brides buy dresses online only to find it's a cheap imitation of what they thought they were paying for, with no way of getting a refund. But the one that sticks in mind is the girl who'd bought her dress in a charity shop for £100 and then her mum surprised her and bought a dress for her, she was over the moon.
Off to Harrogate today for three days to see all the new styles for 2012, how exciting! I will let you all know the trends for next season.
