- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
love your dress, love your choice, and --- oh my lawrd, wow, that fabulous neckline! that is a parisian karl lagerfeld-loves-antique-lace neckline! it's what makes this dress more than just your garden-variety same-old dress. it's very chic! (the keyhole back is also very now: monique lhuillier, of course, brought those back a couple of years ago, and it still looks very fresh.)
so my first vote is: keep the collar.
but, what's more important is: are you comfortable with the neckline? if yes, keep it keep it keep it! but if it makes you feel a bit too-too much, you could remove the collar but retain the graceful swoop shape of the back and front bodice beneath. i would NOT toy with the shape of the underlying bodice. it's too chic. and it's, again, what makes this not-your-generic-blah "today" dress.
if you are still feeling the whole thing is a bit too strong a statement for you, or you're uncomfortable with the cap-style veil, i'd consider transforming the veil/cap into a more current style. you could re-purpose that lace and use it on a mantilla style veil gathered to a comb, for instance...? or just go for a simple illusion veil, without any lace at all (might be the most modern solution). or a simple illusion veil with just the pearls off the old headpiece/cap? (i don't think this is a fascinator-birdcage opportunity, because i don't think that would be right w/your cool gown).
i wouldn't make this into a mermaid-y shape. the shape is very graceful, and flattering, on you!
(yeah, can you tell -- i work in fashion.)
thank you for the advice, you are spot on I was not going to go near the sheath lining, I love the shape and the neckline on it, and it seems pretty modern for (what I think is) a 60's dress. I love the lace neckline, but it's too high up the chest, so I was thinking of keeping the neck area the same but taking the chest down to the under sheath and following it's line. I like your idea about re-purposing the head piece...hmmm now I'm getting more ideas...
Well I definitely don't work in fashion...but just wanted to tell you how wonderful your gown is AND FOR $20!!!!!!! I can't believe it! My future sister in laws were just trying on my future mother in law's wedding gown and it reminds me a lot of your gown. She wore hers in the late 70s I think.
I really like the look of the collar and love the back of the dress! I wouldn't add buttons down the back, I'm not sure it would suit the style of the dress and go with the lace.
I think an overbustle would look great because you could get the lace at the bottom to line up and it would really complete the dress :) As for the head piece...not so sure....my first thought is that it is pretty dated, but then again, I'm not fashion forward :)
Wow! The dress is beautiful. Can't believe you got it for $20! You could take the extra lace and make a sort of loose shrug. i saw this on a Pettibone dress the other day. I think an over bustle would show off the lace best.
Looks like over-bustle is winning. I like the idea to make a shrug, we'll see how much lace I have left.
LEAVE THE NECKLINE AND COLLAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And make it a trumpet. I think that you have a nice shape and emphasizing it will make the dress more flattering. Cover the ragged sleeve edges with lace and that's it! That is an amazing find.
I love the back, so the collar MUST stay (well, in my opinion, which doesn't matter, cuase it is what YOU like that matters) but I agree that maybe taking the front down to the lining would make it more feminine (and maybe a little sexier, while still being demure and classic). Seriously, other than that (and obviously finishing up the sleeves) I say leave it as is. It is GORGEOUS!
and for the veil, I think we need a pic of it on to make an informed determination (that is really just my way to ask for a pic of it on, cause it looks fabulous!)
Keep the collar! Please keep the collar - I love it so much and am having serious dress envy right now. As for the headpiece, I don't know. What does it look like on you? Buttons would be nice and maybe add to the elegant vintage vibe? I don't think they're strictly necessary though. I'd keep the silhouette instead of making it a trumpet. The proportions of the dress are just so gorgeous as they stand now. Over or under bustle? I'd go either way. I think the dress is really versatile and you've got lots of options.
Gorgeous dress! I did something similar, removing the sleeves from a vintage dress.
I guess I'm in the minority here, but I think the collar is just a little too high. I love the neckline detail and the back keyhole, but I personally would trim the collar just a little bit so it didn't hit quite so high on the neck. (I get a weird Fonzy thing from it. But, of course that's just me.) Since it is all lace, I think you could easily trim it however you liked following the lace pattern and then hand stitch the edge. On the other hand, I don't know how easy it would be to give the dress a mermaid shape, but then I'm not a real seamstress.
Love the headdress, too! I would definitely use it somehow! If you don't like it as is, I think a headband could be a very modern chic way to go!
Good luck and have fun with it!
WOW - That dress is amazing! I do think it would look nice if you brought the lace in the front and the back down to the sheath. Either way, it's fabulous! I can't wait to see what it when you're done!
That is so gorgeous, you look so glamorous! What a great find, the only vintage weddding dresses I ever stumble across are bad 80s!
Thank you all so much for the compliments!! I will try to take a pic of myself with the headpiece on for your viewing and critiquing pleasure!
Wow! What an awesome find!
1. Neckline should be as is, or like the white dress in the other photo? Or even like my sister wants-an open scoop neck front and back which would eliminate the collar completely? I love the neckline like that! Its so elegant!
2. Gather in the hip area to create more of a trumpet shape? I can't tell from the pictures. You need to pin it into a trumpet shape and work out how the lace will hang. It looks beautiful as it is though.
3. Over or under bustle? I am too early in my dress shopping to know the difference@
4. Is that head piece fab or too dated? I can't tell. I think it might look cool as it is like a mantilla. If you don't like mantillas, then don't wear it.
5. Buttons down the back? Heck yeah! I love buttons. But only if you can do buttons that would hide the zip.
OMG that dress is BEAUTIFUL! And it fits you so nicely it looks like it was made for you!
I agree, keep the collar and neckline. It's so pretty!
I would also like to see what the headpiece looks like on you with the dress, but I really think it might be overkill and may distract from the beauty of the dress. I would suggest something like this, or some other simple hair with a flower accent:
love the dress!!! i wouldn't change a change a thing on it actually!!
I agree w/the idea of making it a trumpet style dress but have the train in the back trail off a little . And I'd add some extra beadwork on the front and back esp around the unique neckline. Take it to a bridal seamstress.
It is already very very pretty (and for that price! wow!) but it can be fabulous with just a little work.
Very ladylike neckline. Grace Kelly-ish. I love Grace Kelly and vintage looks!
What an awesome dress! Ahhh! I wish I could have gotten a deal like that! lol.
Thank you ladies! Jyseka: that was my thought, that maybe it would be too much and hide the dress. Then again, I would take it off after the ceremony, maybe have a simple hair piece as my reception 'do. Bellenga: you can't see it that great in my pics but there is a ton of beading and pearls sewn on to the bodice and collar, I am very lucky there is not much to do!
I finished the sleeves, and took pics with the hair piece, will post soon!
I love the neckline and the back and think the dress looks like it fit you really well as is, so I would not change it.
Have you thought of a back necklace? It's a bit odd but could look cool if you had a pendant or something that would fall into the cutout.
Ok, here we go veil love:
How do the cap sleeves look??
The big lace on the veil is only around the face. The back of the dress gets covered up by the cathedral tier bunching at the cap. I couldn't get the cap to stand up as I'm assuming it was meant to, but I like how it looks when it's low on my head like that. I think I would cut the cathedral length tier off, or at least take off all the lace applique that is scattered down it. Also, all pearls and sequins would be removed. What do you think? 
back.jpg (75.7 KB, 66 downloads) 2 years old with_dress.jpg (83.5 KB, 52 downloads) 2 years old back2.jpg (91.1 KB, 49 downloads) 2 years old side.jpg (104.7 KB, 59 downloads) 2 years old front.jpg (108.1 KB, 50 downloads) 2 years old 
The cap sleeves are great. Did you decide to lower the neckline underneath the lace? I thought the dress definately needed that-- you could even do more of a v-neck under it.
And the only thing I was going to say about the veil was to remove the pearls and sequins, but you are already going to do that. If the cathedral length is what is causing all the volume on the veil, I would remove it too. It appears heavy with all the volume in the back.
Really great find!
Yes I am planning on lowering the front and back lace to the sheath, but leaving that plus the bustle for my more experienced aunt to tackle. The sleeves were the easy part that I could do myself.
I'll have to see how the material is attached to the cap to see how to reduce that poof.
Woot, finally got my sister over so I could try it on with the new sleeves and bigger heels! I'm officially leaning toward not altering the neckline or the back 'line'. Please ignore the fat arms for now, that's a project still in progress...
Love it! I was looking at a few lace dresses and ended up picking one with a Queen Anne collar. The cap veil is great too. They're hard to find.I think the collar/veil combo will really make you stand out!
wow, it's really been 7 months since I started this post?? here is my happy ending...
thanks to my wonderful photographer Chris Hayes for the pics!!
dress3.JPG (458.6 KB, 35 downloads) 2 years old dress2.JPG (405.9 KB, 36 downloads) 2 years old dress1.JPG (444.9 KB, 38 downloads) 2 years old You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| kate02121 | 12 |
| ndreighton | 11 |
| rivierabridal | 6 |
| ozpeony | 4 |
| bonkeyball3 | 4 |
| cbeyelia | 4 |
| mcdonald_515 | 4 |
 turtles73 |
4 |
| jaguar | 3 |
| BMORE SEXI | 3 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| ozpeony | 4 |
| louiseW | 3 |
| Petite_Fraise | 2 |
| dressamore | 2 |
| Weebee1234 | 2 |
| pixielili | 2 |
| rivierabridal | 2 |
| BMORE SEXI | 1 |
| kate02121 | 1 |
| mannarose630 | 1 |
Hello ladies. Finally got my pics on the computer and to you, the awesome readers of weddingbee. I picked this ivory, alencon beauty up at my local vintage store for...$20. There are no zeroes missing from that number. There are a few discolorations but nothing that could be seen in natural light without staring really hard. I snipped off the long sleeves (I have...large arms) and saved the lace on them for any cover-ups or repairs I'm sure I'll make. I will snip off the remaining netting on the sleeves and leave the lace you see over my shoulders for a cap sleeve effect. The last pic is the neckline I am thinking of doing instead of the current one.
Now stylish bees, I need some advice:
1. Neckline should be as is, or like the white dress in the other photo? Or even like my sister wants-an open scoop neck front and back which would eliminate the collar completely?
2. Gather in the hip area to create more of a trumpet shape?
3. Over or under bustle?
4. Is that head piece fab or too dated?
5. Buttons down the back?
Too many ideas and not many people I can bounce them off of. Thanks for your opinions!!
Attachments