Dear Reader
Most of the brides I meet love vintage lace wedding dresses. And there are so many fabulous types to choose from. Today, I’d like to talk about the pastel-coloured lace often used in 1950s wedding dresses.
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| A glimpse of a beautiful vintage lace wedding dress, for more details see below |
COLOUR
One of the most common reasons brides come to see me is that they don’t feel modern wedding dresses offer enough choice of colour.
Contemporary lace wedding dresses are mostly available in bright white or still-fairly-bright ivory. With modern dresses you are always limited by what is currently fashionable. With vintage, you have access to up to 100 years of style!
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| Hand-making lace, on the Italian island of Burano, 1950s |
Vintage lace wedding dresses come in a much wider range of colour options, which are often softer and deeper. Most of my dresses are gorgeous shades of white, cream, pale gold, and deeper ivory.
One colour palette I particularly love for lace is the pastel champagne / blush / apricot shades. Many brides don’t initially think of these colours for vintage lace – but they are so soft and flattering to wear.
BEAUTIFUL LACE WEDDING DRESSES FROM MY COLLECTION
I’d like to show you some examples: the three dresses below are currently available at my studio, all priced at £595.
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| 1950s lace wedding dress with vintage flower trim, £595 |
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| 1950s lace wedding dress, pretty ‘boat neck’, £595 |
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| 1950s lace wedding dress, elegant ‘V’ neck at back |
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| Lace wedding dress, classic 1950s silhouette |
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| 1950s lace wedding dress, with lovely vintage-style flower detail £595 |
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| 1950s lace wedding dress, 3/4 sleeves, £595 |
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| Beautiful dress from late 1950s/early 1960s, £595 |
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| Late 1950s/early 1960s dress, ruffle neckline, £595 |
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| Flattering softly fitted bodice, £595 |
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| Pretty satin ribbon and vintage crystal belt |
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| Classic 1950s wedding dress, £595 |
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| Lovely 1950s silhouette – so feminine, £595 |
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| 1950s wedding dress: 3/4 sleeves and blush satin ribbon tie, £595 |
FABRICS
The three dresses above are all shorter length and date from the same time, late 1950s or early 60s. Like most 1950s lace wedding dresses, they are made with high quality synthetic fibres blended with cotton.
After the war, these new fabrics were highly admired for the strength and flexibility they offer, making them feel soft and lovely to wear. And because of the strength of the modern fabric fibres, these dresses – like many 1950s wedding dresses – are still in wonderful condition.
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| Queen Elizabeth looking rather fabulous in pastel lace, 1959 |
Before the war, lace would always have been made in cotton or silk. Sadly, most antique silk lace has become very fragile and can no longer be worn.
However vintage/antique cotton lace is often still in very good wearable condition, as it is such a strong fibre. And although it gave way to the fashion for synthetics in the 1950s, cotton lace swung back into fashion in the 1960s and 1970s. I have many lovely cotton lace dresses in my collection.
VINTAGE LACE, FOR TIMELESS STYLE
Lace wedding dresses have been popular for over 400 years. In the 1600s, weight-for-weight, handmade lace cost more than gold. Lace was desired not just for its beauty, but as a sophisticated way to show your family’s wealth.
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| ‘The Lacemaker’ by Johannes Vermeer, painted c 1670 |
Lace would be worn by wealthy families at every formal opportunity, and was often passed down through generations as a valuable inheritance.
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| Princess Grace’s exquisite vintage lace wedding dress, 1956 |
So it is no surprise that lace became the first choice for opulent and exquisite wedding dresses. It is right back at the height of wedding fashion today, and vintage offers such a beautiful selection.
I will feature other types of lace in later posts, so please check back in! And thanks for dropping by today.
Love
Helena
Heavenly Vintage Brides
