Edwardian Bride

June is for brides.  This is Eleanor Clay Ford on her wedding day in 1916.  Just look at the details.  The pearls and beading on the bodice with a tiny sprig of flowers.  The simple pearl necklace.  And the most incredible headpiece I have ever seen.  Just beautiful!

Pauline Trigere Dress, 1966

What a perfect dress for those hot summer days!  Pauline Trigere designed this beauty in 1966.  Note the 3-dimensional flower petals at the hem.  Jeweled sandals by Bernardo.  Earrings by Sandor Goldberger.

Jen Wearing Bill Tice

 Meet the lovely Jen, who wore this amazing 1970s evening gown by Bill Tice to a recent event.

Jen purchased the gown from Couture Allure.  What are you wearing to your next event?  Why not choose vintage and stand out from the crowd?

June Bride, 1935

Molyneux designed this stunning silk crepe bridal gown in 1935.  The long veil is of the same fabric.  Sculpted wax flowers adorn the front of the neckline and cap.

Givenchy, 1974

Givenchy channels the 1930s in the red and white striped silk blouse from 1974.  Timeless.....

Gilbert Adrian Dresses, 1951

I thought you might like a peek at two of the Gilbert Adrian dresses I posted on my Facebook page yesterday.  These are both from 1951, and aren't they stunning?

Silk stripes with a fabulous attached drape that can be worn as a hood.

You can't easily tell, but this silk is printed with large white birds on a harlequin check.  The wide sleeves mimic bird's wings and there is a small white bird sitting above the bust on the left side as you look at the picture.

New at Couture Allure - Vintage Evening Dresses

New this week at Couture Allure are some fabulous vintage evening gowns and dresses.  Be sure to check our What's New pages to see all the latest listings!

1980s Vicky Tiel Couture silk strapless evening gown

1960s silk evening gown with beaded bodice

1960s silver lace dress with serious sleeves!

1950s layers of lace party dress

1940s draped and beaded dress in a larger size

Weekend Eye Candy, June Bride 1958

Carven designed this drop waisted tea length wedding gown in 1958.  The full length mantilla veil makes it more formal for the church.

Jeanne Lanvin, 1966

You know me.  I adore fabulous prints like this one and am always on the lookout for them.  This dress is by Jeanne Lanvin from the spring of 1966.  Look how the designer has not cut into the design of the textile at the underarms.  The dress has more of a caftan type shape.  With a print this large, one does have to be concerned with how it will look on the finished garment.  Lanvin's designers did a fine job with that, don't you think?

Yves St. Laurent Evening Gown

Yves St. Laurent designs a gown that could have come straight out of his years at Dior in the 1950s.  What's old is always new again......this gown was part of his Spring/Summer Haute Couture collection in 1987.

Meet Kimberly and Rebecca

I love it when my customers send photos of themselves wearing vintage.  I received these this week.

Kimberly is wearing a 1970s dress by Don Luis de Espana that she purchased at Couture Allure. 

She added a couple of snake bracelets for that extra pizzazz!

Rebecca wore this 1950s bridal dress on her wedding day.

Isn't she beautiful?  Thank you Rebecca and Kimberly for sharing your photos with us!

Yves St. Laurent Jumpsuit, 1969

Summer, 1969.  Crepe jumpsuit by Yves St. Laurent has bell shaped sleeves with a triple ruffle flaring out below the elbow.  Photo shot at the Ancient Greek Theater of Taormina in Sicily by Roland Bianchini.

Carolyn Schnurer Swimsuit, 1952

I love the composition of this photo.  Louise Dahl-Wolfe was a genius.  Carolyn Schnurer designed this swimsuit for her 1952 collection.  The textile mimics the texture in the antique Japanese woven bamboo box. 

New at Couture Allure - Vintage Designer Dresses

There's lots of new sparkle, color and shine at Couture Allure this week, including gorgeous vintage evening gowns and vintage designer dresses.  Be sure to check our What's New pages to see all the latest listings!

1960s silk chiffon draped goddess evening gown.

1960s silk satin beaded strapless evening gown

1970s Leonard of Paris silk jersey dress

1960s silk cocktail dress with huge rhinestones trim

1990s Bill Blass beaded silk dress

1960s metallic psychedelic evening dress

Weekend Eye Candy, June Bride 1961

June is for brides!  Wedding gown by couturier Michel Goma from 1961. 

Chanel Dress, 1957

Chanel Haute Couture, Spring/Summer 1957.

Gilbert Orcel Hat, 1957

A perfect little hat for a summer evening, don't you think?  Gilbert Orcel, 1957.

Bare Midriff Three Ways, 1948

In 1948, the California Authentics textile company worked with local artists to produce a line of prints called "California, Crossroads of the Pacific."  The patterns included artist interpretations of Californian native cultures, flora and fauna.  Three of those prints were used to produce the midriff baring tops and skirts shown here, all by California based fashion designers. 

Left:  Joseph Zukin
Center: Louella Ballerino
Right:  F.B Horgan

Leonard Fashion for Hermes - 1961

Spring 1961

 In 1960, Daniel Tribouillard, Chief Executive Director of Leonard Fashion, invented a new printing process which allowed for knit fabric to be continuously printed.  In the early years of the fashion division of Leonard, the company made exclusive designs for other design houses.  Shown here today are two of their early sweaters for Hermes.

Fall 1960

Both sweaters were a blend of lightweight wool and Crylor acrylic.  How can you go wrong with ballerinas and butterflies?

Wallis Simpson's Wedding Dress

Today marks the anniversary of the marriage of Wallis Simpson to the Duke of Windsor on June 3, 1937.

Mrs. Simpson wore a dress designed by Mainbocher with a hat to match by Carolyn Reboux.  The dress became one of the most copied in history.

The Duchess gave her wedding dress to the Metropolitan Museum in 1960, where it still resides today.  It was originally a shade of blue to match her eyes, but has since faded due to unstable dyes.

Yay! New at Couture Allure!

Finally, finally I am getting back to work. These beauties were added to the Couture Allure site this week, and I'll be back in full swing on Monday!

Claire McCardell cotton dress, appeared in Harper's Bazaar in 1952.

1940s evening gown with brass studs

Weekend Eye Candy - Jacques Fath, 1954

Each year in June, I devote my Weekend Eye Candy posts to brides.  Today's wedding gown was designed by Jacques Fath in 1954.  Flat in the front and very full in the back, I really like the technique where the couturier has used a curving seam in the center of the skirt in back, where even more fullness is gathered into the train.