Dress Up Your Sexy Shoes!...and Hair...and Belts...and...

ManoBello

Back in the 1950's and 60's shoe clips were a popular accessory for spiffing up a regular ol' pair of shoes. Today shoe clips are enjoying a revival of sorts and being enjoyed from weddings to daily wear.

As hemlines become shorter or as the bride daintily, or daringly, lifts up her dress to have her shoes poke coquettishly from beneath, her shoes are on display for all to see.

Sofisticata

Accessories can make or break an outfit and oftentimes are the focal point for what the outfit is built around.

Thrifty brides will love that after the wedding their shoe clips can also be worn as lapel brooches or hair accessories. The creative bride will discover that the clips can pretty much be worn anywhere from boot toppers, to belts, pant tops, etc.

CocoRoseCouture

Check out these wonderful selections from fellow Etsy sellers and remember...just because an item is being sold as one thing, it doesn't mean it can't be worn as something else!

Parisxox

Krissy167

EllieWren

Stephanie Farley
La Coco Rouge, LLC
www.lacocorouge.com
www.facebook.com/lacocorouge

Hen Night fun!

You spent so much time on your actual wedding day so why not have a break and indulge yourself on your Hen/Bachelorette Party. I mean you are about to get married and leaving your single life days behind you.

Now you could just go out and dance the night away but we at offbeat like to think differently so why not have a vintage slumber party?

Bring out the cupcakes and your china tea service and celebrate your life in style!

And no slumber party would be complete unless the girls are playing with their hair and makeup so why not hire a vintage stylist to give all you girls a vintage look.

If you are a UK readers then one such stylists are Lipstick & Curls.

Based in London, these lovely ladies specialises in vintage hair and make up and regularly hold workshops around London to show you that the vintage look is for everyone. They are also available for Hen parties where you can try out some vintage hairstyles for your wedding day.

Has the Tradition Always Been White?

Vera Wang

The wedding dress has inspired women for generations…most assuredly what it will look like but most definitely white.

The thing is…white is a recent phenomenon! With the advent of Queen Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 one of the greatest love stories of all time took the imaginations of women by storm, and the Queen wore white thus setting the fashion for years to come.

It used to be that women would wear their best dress to wed in – no matter the colour. In the 1400’s blue was considered to be the colour of purity.

Today we see a happy mix of styles, colours and textures to choose from for our wedding day. Many women are choosing dresses that are versatile enough to be worn again for other occasions.

Here is a small sample of what you can find out there for yourself from vintage to rock star to simple beauty…

Romantic Threads



Isadora Clothing


RoselaniJasmin



Vicious Threads


Vintage Frocks of Fancy

by Stephanie Farley
La Coco Rouge, LLC
www.lacocorouge.com

DIY wedding favour boxes

Wedding favours are a nice way to say thank you to your guests but what sort of wedding favours do you give them?

A lot of attention is normally paid to what to put into the boxes but we must not forget that the box itself could be personalised as well. One easy way is make them!

The advantage of making them is that you can make them to the size you want and using the paper you have chosen. Yes it will take time and effort but your guest will appreciate your effort as you shall see.

Step one, this is the template you will need to understand to make these boxes.

A = length of box

B = height of box

C = 2 cm length which is needed in construction.

The dashed lines will be your fold lines.

From a standard A4 sheet of paper the largest box you can make is a 5cm(side) x 5cm(side) x 7cm(height) which is more then enough to fit a good size chocolate (or what small treat you may give them).

Step two, rather then folding the paper straight away, I would recommend scoring the dotted lines because these will become the folds. Why are you scoring the paper rather then folding it straight away? Well, this will give a more accurate fold and give a cleaner finish.

Step three, crease each of the scored lines you made so it looks like this.

Step four, fold as following and then insert the two ends into each other.

Step five, this is the tricky bit, pushing the base down. You will need to follow the folds you have made and gently manoeuvre each side on top of each other. This manipulation will open up the side where you have inserted the ends together. To prevent the ends from coming apart you can use a clip to hold them together.

This will require a bit of patient and practice but it will fold down if you gently push it down gradually.

Finished, you have the base for your box.

To make the lid for the box is very simply! All you need to do is

1. Add 1-2mm on A - side of the box
2. Decrease B - height of the box to 2-3cm

then you follows the same folding method as above. Here is my lid to the above box.

As mentioned above, you can use almost any paper you like to make these boxes but I would recommend you use paper that is around 80-100 gsm because it will make step 5 a little bit easier.

Now grab a load of your friends and family and fold to your hearts content!

NOTES :

If you require larger pictures then just click on the picture and it will take you to a larger version.

There is another way of folding the lid to make it more decorative. If you want to learn more then let me know in the comments and I'll sort out a tutorial for those.

Eco Love - Think Vintage

So, you’re engaged. Congrats. You and your partner have decided to have an eco friendly wedding without sacrificing your offbeat style. Think vintage, the ultimate recycling. I know you’re thinking that you don’t want to look old fashioned but modern hip and dripping with stylish originality. And why not!

If you are lucky enough to find a garment that fits and is not damaged then you have scored. Most likely it will need something. Maybe something needs to be removed or added or maybe it is damaged. Perhaps it just doesn’t fit. My advice is to re fashion.

In the hands of a skilled artisan magic can happen. When looking for a seamstress be sure and leave yourself some time to interview prospects. You will be working closely with this person and the chemistry needs to be right. On your first meeting bring all the pictures and pieces of things that you have collected. My favorite clients are the ones who show up with truckloads of stuff. They know what they want and my job is to help them get there. Don’t worry that there seems to be no unifying concept, bring it all.

AllThingsPretty

You are probably wondering how to find this person. Word of mouth is usually your best bet. Ask at local vintage shops since they often have access to people who do repair work for them.

There are many wonderful designer/makers online that may have a style that meshes with your own.Often they are available for custom work or just tweaking a design they are already offering.

SWANclothing

Make sure you ask or read about their policies. You will probably be required to make a non-refundable down payment to start work. I know this can feel a little scary. Do your research. There are many sites with good resource info. Here is a good starting place

Eco Vintage Weddings

What Inspires You?

You’ve already said yes and hopefully set a date. Now – what does your wedding look like? Dress, décor, invites, location, etc.

Phew! Seems like a daunting task but all you need is that first step. Pick one aspect to focus on and the rest will follow!

Having a goal is the first step to successful completion. I find that vision boards can be extraordinarily helpful in the layout of an idea. Magazines have layout books, Designers have colour boards and now you will have your vision board.

What is a vision board? It’s the place where we will put all the pictures of what inspires you.

First step is to gather images, fabrics, etc. of what is pleasing or exciting.

Second step is go through your collected pile and arrange them onto a surface – poster board, cork board, wall, etc.

Third step is to stand back and take a look at what you created.

(Personally, I like cork boards as it allows me the versatility to change out images.)

So now you have an idea of what to do...look around, see what makes you excited!

Can you really talk all day about that grey chiffon? Add it to the board. Ancient ruins make your heart sing? Tack an image to the board. Chocolate rum mousse makes your mouth water? ...add it to the board!

These boards can be all encompassing or simply about one aspect of your wedding. About your dress, your destination, your look - whatever it is you need help with!

So I'll leave you with some items of beauty that inspire me...Now go create something new!

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Forest Candle Studio

Mano Bello

Bayou Salvage

Mata Hari's Daughter

So what inspires you? We want to know!

Send us your stories and any images that thrill you. Whether it's sipping champagne in Doc Martens at the museum wedding reception or wing suiting while reciting your vows - we want to hear it.

Your inspiration could be the domino for someone else...