Inspiration for 2008

As we are about to usher in 2008, it seems to Style Diva that perhaps some inspiration is required. A friend forwarded me some photos from Cheap Chic Weddings.com, who have been running a toilet paper dress contest for at least 2 years. And to all you Haute Couture design houses, I say, you've been put on notice! These ladies have made out of toilet paper, what many of you can't seem to make out of the most expensive fabric and best Eastern European seamstresses known to man! Ladies of the Cheap Chic Weddings Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest (2007 and 2006) , I salute you! (all the photos are from Cheap Chic Weddings.com)

2006 Winner: Stephanie Stutzenberger of Cumming, Ga

Keep in mind people, this is made out of TOILET PAPER!


2007 Winner: Hanah Kim
(Monique, Vera, Reem-you guys taking notes?)


Hanah was also runner-up in 2006-this woman's got talent! Hanah, ever thought of applying for Project Runway?


Others amazing feats of toilet paper: (to view a full list for 2006 and 2007, check out the Cheap Chic Weddings.com website)









These ladies even made veils!

Happy New Year-let's hope!

Happy New Year kids from:
(this continue our previous post)

Jenny Packham:



Elizabeth Filmore (you'd have to have guts to pull this off, but by golly, if you could....):



Who knows what the New Year will bring from:

Vineyard collection:
I just don't know about this dress. It's like a tutu, mixed with some kind of gift wrap, mixed with ruffles, mixed with a nice bodice. But it's also kind of cute....I just don't know..



Design by Cristos: Ok, so, well, if you were Jane Austin, or one of the characters in Pride and Prejudice, then sure, this is the one for you. If you've always loved her books, also the one for you. But I don't know about those sleeves for anyone. But hey, if you are trying to hide a bun in the oven, a great option!


Not such a happy new year from (even tho The Knot and MSN claim it should be...)

Badgley Mischka: tisk tisk, just couldn't help themselves with the bow and the ribbon.


Monique Lhuillier: What the %*#*? Who is going to look good in this? A Hollywood actress who does not eat, and can pay some new age guru $500 an hour to shape her body into this dress? Good luck to her!


And here's a special New Year's gift: For those of us who dream of going classic vintage, Claire Pettibone has got the style. (A Style Diva confession-Claire Pettibone has been my fave for years-copies of her dresses have been stored away long before this blog).

Tieing the Knot

A friend of mine sent me a link to an MSN/The Knot online feature discussing the recent wedding gowns featured at fashion shows. There were several topics, and the first one I clicked on was: "Slideshow: 15 Best New Wedding Gowns." Now I assume, some very experience fashion editorial team at The Knot put their heads together and all came up with these "WOW" gowns of the season. And I must admit, some really were WOW, but most were, "Eh" and a couple were even, "Wow, I pity the bride who marches down the aisle in that one." And so, never one to let someone else be the judge, below is Style Diva's own review of MSN/The Knot 's top 15:

(all photos from the slide show)

Gown 1: Designer- Melissa Sweet
Style Diva Rating: "Eh"-It's not ugly, and actually, much better than a lot of the stuff out there, but is this one the THE BEST out there? If so, I'm kind of worried about what's out there.


Gown 2: Designer-Kenneth Pool
Style Diva Rating: "Eh++"-Kind of like gown 1, same style, but this one's got more "oomph" and looks a lot less rigid than gown 1. But of course, they had to go an stick a sash on it....Gown was was sweet, but this one's got some spice to it!



Gown 3: Designer-Amsale
Style Diva Rating: "Wow --"-Is there a category for "I'm pregnant and I don't want my wedding guests to see my baby bump?" If so, this definitely goes into the "Best Dresses" Category. And ladies, we all know what happens to bosoms when we are pregnant, so for those who are always pulling up those strapless gown due to lack of substance at the tops, this one might actually stay up by itself if there is a bun in the oven.



Gown 4: Designer-Reem Acra
Style Diva Rating: "Eh"-I just can't see a lot of people looking good in this. Maybe a 5'10 100 pound model, but most people, just seems like this dress would accentuate everything us non-model types are trying to hide, especially in the wide-hip area.


Gown 5: Designer-Vera Wang
Style Diva Rating: "Wow-". Ok, so, leave it up to Vera Wang to WOW us, and then ruin it by putting a BLACK SASH of all things on the dress. Why Vera, why?? Alright, let's recompose ourselves-take away the sash, and a true stunner-different, pretty, not-a-strapless, what else could Style Diva ask for? LOVE the flow and the bottom. Definitely not for the bride that wants to look like a Cindarella on her wedding day, but let's say Snow White were to marry her prince in the woods, with the Dwards as bridesmaids-perfect.


Gown 6: Designer-Prina Tornai exclusively for Kleinfeld's
Style Diva Rating: Now I have to go on a side track here-Prina Tornai designs have been heavily featured on my new favorite show-all these brides come into Kleinfeld's and want to wear her gowns. Prina, darling, it's nothing personal, but someone explain to me what is the attraction to these dresses? Let's say I was Satine, working in the Mulan Rouge, and instead of dying from TB, getting married. Then the whole see-thru lace corsette, layer and layers of puffy gathered skirt look would be exactly what I need, but for the rest of us, I just don't get it. But hey, if this is what floats your boat, I can't really argue with this being "the best" of this type of style. Nice lean skirt, STRAPS, a not-so-huge bow...



Gown 7: Designer-Angel Sanchez
Style Diva Rating: "Wow!" Love it! Would wear it! (Don't love the model's hair tho and the malnourished look on her face.)



Gown 8: Designer-Romona Keveza
Style Diva Rating: "Wow, I pity the bride who marches down the aisle in that one." Ok, so nice top, nice material, but what the **** is with that bottom? And there is another one like this later on! I don't care if someone thinks its creative-put it on the "daring" category, but "the best"? Come on now! Who exactly is going to look good in this?


More than half way thru! Rest to come in next posting...

High Fashion in the Down Under

I am still so excited about the Ristarose dress from my previous post that I just had to show it to a friend a very good friend of mine, who happens to live in Perth, Australia. If you've never heard of Perth, don't worry, most of the earth's inhabitants haven't either, but from what I hear from the one person I know who 1) lives there and 2) actually seems to enjoy it, Perth is the lost garden of Eden of Western Australia.

So now that we've gone off on a tangent, let's get back on the road. My friend's mother, is a seamstress/designer, and my friend sent me a link for the Perth Fashion Festival, where her mother's design took top prize for bridal. Some picks from the pics below. Any guesses on which dress won top prize?

I know, I know....

Where the hell have I been? I have no excuses. I have let the blog lapse. BUT, my wedding dress obsession has NOT lapsed, in fact it has only gotten worse. And in the meanwhile, while I've been lax on my blogging duties, there have been many wedding activities going on, two friends getting married, a new show on TLC called "Say Yes To That Dress" which is a MUST every Friday night for ANY woman who considers herself even slightly interested in wedding dresses.

So let's catch up on the news:

Friends getting married:

I am still looking for a pic from one friend's wedding, but in September yours truly flew over to Europe, Vienna to be precise, for a proper Austrian wedding. The bride, who I met for the first time (friends with the groom), is one of those beautiful, Ralph Lauren catalog women, who not only happens to be pretty and nice, but also has taste.

She wore a gorgeous Pronovias gown, which had a little jacket that she wore during the traditional (with a twist) Catholic ceremony.




After the ceremony, the happy couple hosted all of us at the most beautiful restaurant-great view of Vienna:


I usually do not comment on wedding decor, etc, but this wedding had a theme I absolutely LOVED-berries! Every table was a different kind of berry (we were strawberries) and everyone got a little jar of jam and even a live strawberry bush with little green unripened berries on them to take home. I did not bring one home, cause well, you never know if our government has decided live bushes pose an unidentified security threat and I might not be able to board the plane home, but regardless, I thought it was genius....


Back to the dress. At the wedding, the bride took off the little jacket to reveal a very classy two-strap gown. Interesting fact-according to Austrian tradition, the bride is not to take the veil off during the entire evening, including the ceremony, and has her veil removed by her mother when only the last guests of the evening remain (I may have gotten some of the details of this wrong as I happened to be one of the last, and drunkest, guests remaining...). Once the mother removes the veil, the bride is now officially not just a daughter, but a wife.





Now ladies, I know there are some eagle-eyed readers out there who must have noticed there was some bowage on this gown-a little bow on the front, and a bow right across the back, and you all know how this blog generally feels about bows, but let me just say, that if the girl in you just has to have a bow on her gown, this is the way to go. Small, not overwhelming to the gown, does not detract from the bride herself.


Oh, and I guess being inspired by a bride who wore a dress Style Diva could not knock, I have been seeing pretty dresses everywhere. While browsing DC Craigslist for FUGLIES to show you people, I instead got distracted by a not-so-fugly, which led me to the site for Ristarose Couture
and found some amazing pieces, including one I am now in love with and which is currently the front runner for a dress I would actually wear to my own wedding one day (photos below from Ristarose website).

This is the new love of my life:




And the rest aren't so bad either:







(the one above is called "Carmen")
And of course, for the girl that just HAS to be different on her wedding day:

Am I wrong?

The thing is, I am seriously contemplating buying this dress for my future (hopefully) wedding. I am thinking of making the cape into some kind of veil. Or I might just stroll down the aisle with it. Something about it just calls out to me, but I suspect I'd have to stick myself on this website as one of the people I regularly degrade for their wedding attire. What do you think?

Of course, its from CherishedBride-my fave as promised.

From the front:


And from the back....check out that trainage...


And a few close ups...


And since my dear friends at CherishedBride provide helpful matching headpiece suggestions for each gown, I am thinking of this one for my magical, 60's inspired psychedelic stroll down the aisle....(P.S.) that is not my head ;)


I like these too....



Ideas?