SASHES, BOWS, FLORALS, BELTS AND RIBBONS

Gown by Amy-Jo Tatum Bridal

Photo By S1 Studio

There's a wide range of novelty belts, bows, sashes, trims and ribbons introduced into bridalwear lately. Until the 1980s, bridal was a field of little experimentation and typically a bridal gown was pretty but looked somwhat the same as the next gown. If you were a modernist and wanted to express yourself in a suit instead of an A-line, forget finding what you wanted on the racks. Besides, your mom might have freaked out at the prospect. All that's been relaxed thanks to a generation of designers and brides daring to go their own way. By way of ribbons, trims and sashes, designers have introduced color and different textures into the mix . The above gown is sashed in back with silk gauze, a fabric so light, it could be mistaken for angel wings.

Amy-Jo Tatum Bridal

Touches of the spectrum here. Blues and peaches merge to make up a tie-belt cincing the waist of a full skirt . . .

Amy-Jo Tatum Bridal

The best example of a self belt (means made out of the same fabric as the dress). Georgette linen and striped ribbon combine to make up this belt punctuated with a fabric rose.

Gown by Amy-Jo Tatum

Dress by Amy-Jo Tatum Bridal

Photo Stephanie Williams Photography

Above and below images of The APRIL dress from the Dioresque Collection. Gray satin tie belt is embellished in front by a fabric rose. Ties in the back falling the length of the dress . . .

Amy-Jo Tatum Bridal
Gown by Amy-Jo Tatum
A photo of my own wedding gown above shows that I put all the bells and whistles on one dress (and actually got away with it, I think). It had a 5 inch sash doubling around the waist and tying into a side-front bow. Pinned to the sash was a giant silk floral and tassel tie. The shoulder was embellished with handrolled silk dupion florals.

NEW ON ETSY

Meet Fiona! This is an adaption of my evening gown silhouette clients love so much. Incredibly light and airy, it's made out of silk chiffon and lined in china silk (feels sumptuous on). The train is a diaphanous cloud of silk gauze dappled with tiny hand rolled organza florals.

Ordering this gown is a cinch. It can be found on my site, Amy-Jo Tatum Bridal Couture or Etsy. Best to call me 415.258.8204. I'm in The San Francisco Bay Area. I'll send out a good sized swatch of this fabric and linings. . . .

UP AND DOWN: ALL ABOUT TRAINS AND BUSTLES

Back in the Middle Ages when fabric was in short supply, the length of one’s train conveyed a person’s wealth and standing. For Victorians, bustling the train was considered an art form with all kind of intricate floral and lace treatments. Today a gown with a train still suggests formality; typically the longer the train, the more formal the wedding. So what is a train exactly? A train is that extension in the back of the skirt that follows when you move. Read more

BRIDE MAIL: THE PETITE BRIDE

BrideMail@Bridechic.com
I'm 5' and very small boned. Most gowns I've tried on are for women that are 5'6. This means whenever I get in front of the mirror I'm swimming in the dress. Almost any sleeve, belt, print or lace looks magnified on me. What are my options?

One of the most important things for the vertically challenged to remember is scale. If you're petite and in shape, you can wear just about any gown as long as you scale down to the right proportion. Also thinking vertically (up, up, up) it will be easier to figure out which treatments suit you best. For instance, choose a bodice and neckline that draw the eye up to your decolletage. Here's more to consider.

GO FOR

*A gown with a panel or seam(s) running up the front. The unbroken lines give you height.

*Empire waists like the one at left are one of your best options considering you go floor length. You want to keep that vertical line going.

*A V or U neckline will give the impression of a longer neck.

*A mermaid. If you're slim and petite consider this style. It's fitted like an evening gown up top and has all the bounce and swirl of a ball gown below.
*An A-line like the one pictured below. Think of it as your very own scaled down version of a ballgown.

*Sheath and evening gown silhouettes like the one below. Long and columnar, they will flatter you.

*Choose length over volume in your skirt.

*Sleeves that are long and straight like the ones opposite.

*Best proportion is a floor length gown with a veil or train of the same length.

*If you are wearing a gown with a train and/or veil, keep the length just brushing the ground.

PASS UP:
*Any ball gown. The volume in the skirts will consume you.
*Heavy, elaborate fabrics like brocade or any print or design that is large.
*Wide belts, sashes and cummerbunds interrupt the vertical lines you want to create. If you do wear a sash or belt go thin (1-1 ½ inches) and as close to the shade of your gown as you can get.
*Any design with big puffy sleeves or shoulder pads.
*Any train or veil longer than a sweep.


Gowns by Amy-Jo Tatum

411 ON BODICES

Photo by Ron Greystar/All Rights Reserved
The bodice is the focal point, the epicenter of your gown and reflects the heart of its overall style. Which bodice you choose will determine whether or not your gown has sleeves, a collar, high or low neckline, lace overlays, etc. Proper fit of the bodice is especially crucial and the place the most exact measurements need to be taken. Because a bodice is either darted or seamed, it typically has the most shaped and sculpted seams of any other piece on your gown. Also it is the center from which most other components are attached and take form—the place your gown finally goes from a flat to a three dimensional piece of fabric sculpture. While a bodice may look pretty straight-forward from the outside, like the skirt, it may have a complex inner life of linings, facings, and shaping materials we never see but sense by the way the bodice holds it’s shape. For instance, the bodice on a typical wedding gown needs an underling to give it that sculpted form in addition to becoming a strong foundation with which to attach lace, trim or embroidery. Also, an underlining can hide casements within the bodice for boning, a material used to hold that strapless bodice up. We’ll discuss the understructure of your bodice as well as skirt in more detail later. Until then realize most bodices whether draped or closely fitted to your body, frequently have some kind of foundation of reinforcement beneath. Here are a few bodice treatments to consider.

Ruched-Left:Treatment of horizontal gathers stretched across the bodice front and back.

Photo by ejones photography/All Rights Reserved

Strapless-Typically looks like the one pictured at left. Has no sleeves and is held up with boning inside the bodice.



Overlay-A spread of lightweight fabric or lace laid over top the bodice like the one pictured left.





photo by Ron Greystar

Draped-Pictured above, like the surplice, this treatment can be attached from the shoulders or neckline. Also supported by an under bodice.

Surplice-Pictured bottom left, two wraps of fabric criss-crossing over the bust line, usually attached and/or supported by an under bodice. Big 1930s glam look with Jean Harlow struttin’ across the screen in her white crepe satin..

Corset-Bodice or vest usually with visible boning running vertically up the front and back. Laces up through eyelets either in front or back. While I’ve seen a few that hint at modesty complete with miniature rosebuds and bows, typically the corset belongs to the venturesome bride. Yes, a bodice all done up like a corset does have that Moulin Rougesque look; makes busty and heavier brides look voluptuous, everyone else a Can-Can dancer.

All gowns by Amy-Jo Tatum

WHAT'S NEW IN THE GOWN GALLERY?

Every so often I'll be adding new photos as samples are finished. Meet Cosette, the newest member of the Spring/Summer 2008 collection; a silk chiffon and crepe empire with peau d'ange lace at the bodice. There's a sweep train and the gray satin ribbon is a sash all the way down the back. This gown was inspired by a dress I saw in Follow the Fleet, a 1935 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers flick. When the 'Cosette' design first started going round in my head, I envisioned it on a bride at an outdoor garden wedding. But I think 'Cosette' would also look awesome at a cocktail or evening wedding. As far as the head chic goes, you have so many options with this gown: flowers in the hair, a snood, a veil of almost any legnth . . . .