All about a dress

Hello twinkly icicles, hope everyone is well this Tuesday : ) Today was a very long day for me, full teaching day and then parents evening until half 6, home at half 7, pyjamas on, takeaway and Eastenders! Good times ; ) Today's post is about a mini-obsession of mine, an item which I think epitomises glamour and femininity, but can be easy and carefree too... I am talking about the not-so-humble wardrobe staple, the dress!

As a historian and fashion fanatic, the history of fashion and clothing style has been of interest to me for many years. One of my favourite past-times is visiting art galleries and gazing at the beautiful detail and sheer opulence of the full dresses, as well as the change in necklines, fabric, bodice style and colour as time has passed by. I particularly enjoy studying fashions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the transition from the full skirted, puff-sleeved dress to the lean and lithe silhouette of the early 20th century. Add into the mix the beautiful beaded, above the-knee gowns of the Flapper girls, the Conservative and thrifty looks of the 50s, swinging into the 60s with the birth of the mini-skirt, fashion has advanced and evolved in clear and definitive ways.

1900s evening dress, velvet, chiffon, satin, lace and chenille embroidered and decorated with applique.

Flapper girls of the 1920s, shorter hem-lines and shorter hair!

Mini-skirts of the 1960s, out in force.

One distinctive feature of women's fashion throughout the ages though is the perpetuation of the dress. It is certainly true that strong-willed women fought for many years to quite literally,  'wear the trousers', however, within this, the right to choose remained stead-fast and constant. So the dress has continued to dominate, both the catwalks and the everyday lives of women the world over. As a 21st century woman I am grateful to my ancestors for this battle, for their gutsiness and determination to allow women to decide how they wish to appear, whilst retaining control over their everyday lives.

Going back to my former most point, I absolutely adore dresses. I love the ease at which a dress can be literally 'thrown on', styled with some chic accessories and heels, and off you go. I wear dresses to work on almost a daily basis, I find it quicker and easier in the morning, and love the simplicity of the look. In the spirit of celebrating this fabulous fashion item, I am going to post some of my favourite dresses from recent occasions for your perusal : )

Cream silk dress with cut out side panels from asos.com.  I wore this dress on honeymoon in Thailand. I loved the look of the dress, particularly against tanned skin, and styled the dress with an oversized gold necklace and bangles. 

The picture quality is terrible as it was dark and hubby took this on my iPhone, but I had to post this because I LOVE this dress! I bought this in Primark and wasn't massively impressed when it was on the hanger... I completely fell in love with it when I tried it on though, and was complimented so many times on holiday in this! The bodice is covered in tiny chintzy style floral patterns, and I love the black straps which match the full black skirt. The tan belt is a gorgeous finishing touch.

Another not-so-brilliant quality picture (blame the iPhone again!)  I loved this dress, it was a bit of a honeymoon splurge from French Connection and was a black, pure silk dress with a low neckline and ruffle detail... alas I did not wash this correctly when I got home and it went an odd grey colour with little bobbles over the front... RIP dress, dearly departed...

Classic Charlotte night-out dress... I still have this grecian style dress from Rare, love the classic one shoulder style and how it looks with my (natural!) tan (had just returned from Turkey!)

I bought this Zara dress this Summer, I love the clean lines and tiered style, I paired it with gold earrings and  emerald green Zara wedges.

And last but by no means least, how could I leave out my princess, uber-glamorous, crystal and swarovksi studded Wedding gown by Maggie Sottero? My ULTIMATE dress, worn on the happiest day of my life
: )

Well dolls, that's just a little selection of some of my favourite dresses, hope you enjoyed my picks XOXO

The wedding of my dreams

Like most little girls, I dreamed of my perfect wedding day as I was growing up. I flitted between ideas of castles, stately homes, summer and winter weddings, big cinderella dresses and sleek gowns. I always knew that I wanted my wedding to be a grand affair, requiring meticulous planning with no stone left unturned. Luckily, I am a very organised person, so planning my dream day came easy to me, and I enjoyed many happy hours planning the tiny details that would make my wedding stand out!

Firstly, fashion and beauty. I have always had a very clear picture in my head of my dream wedding gown: strapless, covered in crystals and sparkle, with a massive full cinderella style skirt. When it came to it, I ended up preferring slightly less dramatic skirts - in terms of fullness that is. I must have tried on a good 30 gowns, however, like the old saying goes, when its the one you just know! My chosen gown was the 'Rowena' by the award winning designer Maggie Sottero. It was indeed strapless, covered in crystals with pleating and a caught up skirt that artfully draped and swished - it really was my perfect princess dress, and fit my venue perfectly. I wanted my shoes to be equally as dramatic and princess-like, and went for the super-sparkly 'Spyra' sandal from Moda in Pelle.

Like with my dress, I had a very fixed idea about my makeup. I love makeup and creating new looks but I also wanted the luxury and stress free option of a make up artist on my wedding day. I was very lucky as I found a fantastic make up artist called Emily Rose who understood my vision perfectly. I don't really do the 'natural' look even on a day to day basis, so I definitely did not want to go down this road on the biggest day of my life! I wanted flawless skin, defined cheekbones, dramatic smoky eyes, big eyelashes and glossy lips! In terms of hair, again, I have always had a very fixed idea about how I wanted to look - none of this soft curls and waves, I wanted a proper bridal up-do, high up on the head and dramatic! I have always been told I have good cheek bones and can carry off this look so I felt quite confident about picking this style. To get the dramatic style I craved, my hair stylist used some hair extensions which I loved. Finally, I completed my look with a dramatic cathedral length tiara and beautiful sparkly tiara.

This shot shows off a bit of my make up and hairstyle. My veil is still on but I removed the tiara after the pictures were taken. How cute is our magician?? (A pupil from my school and very talented : )

Lastly, our wedding venue, style and a confession. I bought EVERY single wedding magazine on the market during our one year engagement. I dread to think how much I spent on magazines alone (The majority retail at £4.99 or thereabouts). I just loved looking at all the different decorations, themes, styling ideas and DIY ideas. I was determined to emulate the beautiful weddings I saw in these magazines, and to make every little detail count (I even wanted bride and groom loo roll but hubby said no!)

Boys Hall, our beautiful wedding venue

We chose the beautiful 17th century stately home Boys Hall as our venue: the most expensive place we looked at but one we simply fell in love with. Both of us adore antiques and historic houses, and we really wanted a building that had original details and a story to tell. Our venue was everything we had ever dreamed of: breath taking, luxurious and original. We were very lucky to have a gorgeous sunny day, so our guests were able to enjoy drinks and canapes on the lawn, and mingle outside in the sunshine. In keeping with this look, I styled the venue in a shabby chic style, spending hours designing table plans, purchasing bunting, antique jars for our candy bar, bird cages for the centrepieces, antique tea cups, saucers and cake plates... so much fun! I loved the overall look and would not change one single thing!

My wedding day really was the best day of my life and made all the hard work and expense worth it! Hope you enjoy the pics and thank you for all your lovely comments, I really love reading them xoxo