LILY & LOUIE - UNIQUE VINTAGE STYLE

We're so glad to be welcoming back the wonderfully talented Lily & Louie to this year's fair.  We loved their beautiful dresses and accessories last year and this year they'll be bringing even more with them from their studio in Exeter.

A real bride wearing the 'Lily' dress  with a tulle overlay
and a bespoke veil to match her dress (similar to far away thought veil) 

Jayne Miller, the creative talent behind Lily and Louie, designs and creates individual dresses and accessories inspired by a past age of elegance.  Inspired by the style and fun of the 1950's, their current collection includes full, tea-length dresses in silk, satin taffeta and tulle.  

They can also make bespoke dresses individually designed for you where Jayne will chat to you about design ideas and produce drawings to bring your vision to life. She will then produce a bespoke pattern and the dress will be made and fitted to perfection.

Real bride wearing  a bespoke dress with an ivory and gold lace overlay on  the bodice & long flowing skirt.
The bridesmaids are all in made-to-measure blush silk dresses.

As Jayne says " There are many choices of fabric colours and lace styles to choose from to create your own one-off creation".

A selection of different styles, colours and fabrics for your perfect dress.

But her talents don't end there, as Jayne also designs and makes beautiful birdcage veils, Tiaras and headbands. Their beautiful accessories include capes, boleros and wraps as well as elegant necklaces and pretty garters and all are made from quality lace and silks, freshwater pearls, Russian veiling and Swarovski crystals.  They can even provide personalised wedding cufflinks!

Oh - and if that isn't enough, they can supply personalised wedding stationery!

Featured on Love my Dress and many other wedding sites, we're very proud to have this sought after supplier exhibiting at our fair.

Heavenly Vintage

Helena of Heavenly Vintage has around 60 to 70 beautiful vintage dresses, ranging from the 1930's to 1970's at her home in West London.  We’re delighted that she’s going to take us through just some of her gorgeous collection. Of course, if you want to see Heavenly Vintage’s collection up close, you’ll want to visit our Fair this Sunday, March 10^th at the Clifton Pavilion.

This first dress is from the early 1960's. It’s silk with French lace appliques, would be priced at around £1000, and showcases a beautiful headpiece by Abby at Cherished.

  

  

This second dress is from Helena’s new Heavenly Collection; a vintage reproduction range of dresses available in modern sizes from the website. Helena had the pattern specially made - it was copied from a 1930's lace dress and the intricate cutting has been preserved in the new dress to get the soft sexy feel of the best 1930's dresses. The lace is an old-fashioned style of lace called 'English Net', made for Helena by a family who’ve been lace makers for three generations! The slightly deeper slip underneath shows off the pattern of embroidery on the fabric and the slip can be made in ivory, champagne, the pale dusky pink as seen here, or any other colour that works with the style. This dress would cost around £1250, and is made to order. All the headpieces are by Abby at Cherished.  

  

Below is another vintage dress from Heavenly Vintage, with a very fitted 'Mad Men' feel to it, in a shade of soft pale gold. It’s original vintage, and would be priced at around £1000. The wonderful headband is again by Abby at Cherished – she and Heavenly Vintage did a joint shoot as their styles suit each other brilliantly (Abby is also one of Helena’s favourite people in the Vintage Bridal business!)

  

This lovely silk satin dress below is another example of the range of styles Heavenly Vintage has to offer in their own Heavenly Collection. It’s copied from a 1930's wedding dress and has a slinky fitted look typical of the bias cut dresses of that era. Helena loves the complex bias cutting of the dresses of the Art Deco period, and has tried to keep it as faithful to the original as possible, so that it hugs the body but in a gentle figure-flattering way. The headpiece uses an original 1930's dress embellishment and vintage beads - the perfect foil for the subtle glamour of the dress. Again, the headpiece is designed by Abby at Cherished.

  

This last dress is a sweet wispy lace 1970's dress, an original vintage rather than a copy. Helena always looks for these romantic soft dresses on her travels. The 70's offer a soft Boho feel, which is very pretty and floaty; the fashion influences at play in that decade ranged from Edwardian to 1930's. An original vintage dress like this one would be around £800. Helena is also working on a copy of this lovely little dress for her own Collection and will be adding styles as she continues to develop the range - this one is planned for the Summer. The pretty beaded headpiece is made by Abby at Cherished again, and is called 'Cow Parsley', from her new range, launching soon.

  

Helena loves vintage wedding dresses so much, but there is of course only one of each, and only in one size, so copying the most beautiful ones seems a great solution to being able to offer the most lovely styles to more brides. Come and see them in person at our next Fair!

(Many thanks to Helena’s lovely models Georgia and Lucy for bringing Heavenly Vintage’s dresses to life so well, and to Robert Lawler for the fantastic photographs.)

Flo-Jo Boutique

At Flo-Jo Boutique you’ll find a collection of hand made undies, knicker making kits and frilly pinnies.  They search high and low for their retro-inspired prints and find inspiration in vintage silks which they ‘upcycle’ into unique one-off garments. 

Designing, sewing and making all things vintage inspired since 2004, they now concentrate on making one-off pieces and hosting knicker making and sewing parties so you can buy, but you can also create.  Why not book the perfect Hen Party that includes learning how to make a pair of French knickers with vintage lace and a garter for the bride?  There are many different packages on offer with Cox & Baloney and the Hotel du Vin where you can round off the creativity with cocktails or a high tea and very soon, Flo-Jo will be moving into their very own boutique venue on Gloucester Road.  Here they’ll have a retro style 50s kitchen inspired workshop space, filled with sewing machines. 

At the fair, Delia will be bringing a gorgeous selection of knickers and garters to show you just what you can make using vintage silks and lace.  She’ll have some of the Fancy Pants knicker making kits too.  They’re a great introductory sewing project for lovers of vintage and make perfect bridesmaids and hen party gifts.  Each kit includes a fully graded reusable pattern and you can choose from their range of cute cottons, frilly elastic and satin ribbons.

If you’re after something to buy, all their lingerie is handmade in their studio in Bristol and each piece is unique.  From cottons to satins to the sheer luxury of their limited edition vintage silk collection, each item can be gift wrapped to make that purchase extra special.  Their website has plenty of gift ideas from aprons to eyemasks, all in gorgeous retro designs.  There’s even a haberdashery section so you can buy the materials direct and do check out the double sided bunting.  Delia will be bringing some on the day to show you just how fantastic it can make a room look.  There’s plenty available to hire for your wedding or to make yourself with her kits.  Flo-Jo is a fun place to create and they have expert advice to guide even the total beginner in the art of knicker making.  

Come along and meet Delia at this year’s fair and happy knicker making!