How to Dress Like a Princess

More regal insights from my favorite guest blogger - Heidiluxe
Though the typical American opposes the idea of a monarchy, countless women are in love with the fairytale idea of marrying a prince and looking like a princess on their wedding day. Getting married in a perfect gown and in a perfect setting is the closest most of us will get to having royal experience.
Since pop culture is already inundated with princess references, everything from Disney licensed princess wedding dresses to license plate frames declaring “yield to the princess”, wanting to look like a princess may seem a tad overdone or generic. Or a princess style wedding may seem too youthful or childlike. Or even worse, a big frilly ballgown may make you feel like a Victorian lampshade or a cupcake dripping with icing. How does one accomplish the princess look and maintain elegance?
There are a few inspirations you can look to.

· Grace Kelly- I think most girls can relate just a little Princess Grace. An American by birth who later married the Prince of Monaco, her dress exemplifies class, she exudes grace and she looks like nobility. When you look at her on her wedding day, what you first notice how lovely she is, and then your notice her exquisite dress. A proper princess dress is worn, it doesn’t wear you.

· Kate Middleton- for the last 6 months, the female population of the world has been placing bets and waiting with baited breath to see what she would choose. Many immediately compared her gown to Princess Grace, but I think Princess Catherine chose a very modern version of a classic. Her delicate petal-shaped skirt was very fresh while the long English lace sleeves were a chic nod to her heritage. Another thing to be learned from this princess bride is that rules can be broken. The maid of honor, Pippa Middleton, wore a more simple version of the bride’s dress in the same striking white. Many would say it was bad luck or disrespectful to the bride to also wear white, but I think Kate Middleton did future bridesmaids everywhere a favor by proving that the bridesmaids can be lovely and not take away from the bride on her big day.

· Audrey Hepburn- While Audrey Heburn was not an official princess, she did play a flower girl impersonating royalty in My Fair Lady. If she can fake royalty, so can you. The embassy ball gown she wore in My Fair was not specifically a wedding dress, but because of it’s color and cut, it could easily be worn for nuptials. This dress is atypical from what most perceive as a princess gown, but some princesses don’t want a poufy,full ballgown. The A-line dress and the lace cap sleeves are just as regal looking as anything more traditionally styled.

When you are looking for your princess wedding gown, trends should be kept at a minimum and details and embellishments should emphasize your natural beauty.
Even if you aren’t the princess type, once you try on the right gown you should feel like you are majestic.

Accessorize!

Now that you have found your perfect dress, it is time to add the finishing touches. No look is complete without a few pieces of flare. Ladies, let's accessorize!
Jewelry is an item which is quite personal. It also encompasses many different items such as necklaces, tiaras, earrings, gloves, bracelets and more. Some girls prefer a simple yet breathtakingly elegant look; others want much larger pieces which add show stopping glamour and glitz. The most important thing is that you find accessories which compliment your dress. Prom jewelry comes in as many different colors as the prom dresses do, so experiment with different combinations.

Shoes are a very important item that is ofter overlooked. You need to take several aspects into account when purchasing shoes such as the length of your dress, the height of your date, and the style you want to portray. Shoes like jewelry, come in all sizes, shapes and colors. Shoes can be simple and elegant, glitzy and sequined or sassy stilettos.
So choose the jewelry and shoes that will flatter both you and the dress and you will look stunning and absolutely gorgeous because you took a little extra time to find the "perfect accessory"!

The Yellow Rose Awards another Scholarship Dress

Julia Kilgore, owner and operator of The Yellow Rose in Old Town, is passionate about helping young Hispanic girls reach their full potential through higher learning.
Last week, she hosted an after-hours award presentation of her annual “Gloria Dress” scholarship where Mayor Diana Preston and several other local business owners from the Lilburn Business Association (LBA) were in attendance.
Since opening her doors in 2008, Kilgore has given away one formal gown each year to a local female senior as a way to honor her sister Gloria’s memory.
After dropping out of high school, Gloria achieved her GED and then her college degree while raising a family and working full-time. She succumbed to cancer in her early 40’s but not before becoming a major source of inspiration to her sister, Julia.
The winner of the annual “Gloria Dress” scholarship must be a local female high school senior of Hispanic origin who has maintained a 3.5 grade point average and has confirmed plans to attend college.
Congratulations to this year’s winner, Indira Bertarioni!
ertarioni is currently a senior at Parkview High School who took the initiative, applied for and met all of the requirements to win this scholarship from The Yellow Rose.
She plans to attend Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., in the fall and has decided to major in Psychology. She was thrilled to discover that her hard work in school had resulted in a free prom dress of her choice.
The senior prom is coming up in just a few weeks and Bertarioni is looking forward to attending in her beautiful black evening gown with sequins tastefully sewn into the bodice. There is an additional smaller cluster of sequins sewn into the skirt creating gathers that flow gracefully down the side of the gown.
Not only will Indira receive the beautiful dress from Julia, yet another Lilburn Business Association member, Mary Marder, owner of Freesia Floral Design, will be providing the corsage and matching boutonnière to compliment the dress.

Let There Be Color

Some more colorful insights from my favorite fashionista-Heidiluxe.

Chances are, if you are a teenage girl, you’ve been thinking about prom for the last few months, possibly even years. If you are a teenage boy, your most recent thought was about cheese puffs. Even if the boys aren’t thinking about it, it’s never too early to start planning for a spectacular dress.
When I was sixteen and shopping for a prom dress with friends, I overheard a conversation between a daughter and her mother, who were also formal dress shopping. The daughter had been trying on several dresses, mostly of the same style. Then she tried on a dress that was vastly different from the others. It was bright blue dress that had so much personality. In the other dresses she had looked cute, or pretty, but nothing special. With the final dress she looked like a knockout. She stood out in a sea of sameness. But after we all oohed and aahhed, the girl told us how she felt. She wanted to pick one of the other dresses. Her quote was, “but I want to look like everyone else.” My friends and I left in shock. Why would she want to be just one of the crowd instead of standing out as her own person, especially since dressing like in a bold gown was stunning, and dressing in sameness was so ho hum?

By choosing to dress modestly, you are already choosing to stand out. Don’t be afraid to stand out in your style too! Wearing sleeves on your gown doesn’t mean you must forego being fashionable and modern. There are so many components of style for you to consider. From the color, to the embellishment (or lack thereof), the dress length, to your choice of accessories, you have a lot of ways to display your individuality.
Be inspired by a cotillion ball. A white ballgown can have a timeless debutante feel. Choose simple accessories and white gloves and white flowers.
A dress with a print is growing in popularity and can make quite an impact. Polka dots add whimsy while maintaining a classic feel. Florals are perfect for a springtime event. Beachy waves and gladiator sandals can make it fresh and current.
Play with different hemlines. A full length gown isn’t the only acceptable length. Show of your fantastic shoes with a tea length or ballerina style skirt.
Choose a bright hued gown for maximum impact. Who can feel anything but festive in cerulean blue, honeysuckle pink, chiffon yellow, or peacock green? If all over color is more than you would like to sport, many black, white or neutral dresses can be styled with a bright sash, handbag or shoes.
And if a bold dress simply isn’t your cup of tea, consider the selecting something simple and chic and think Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. There is nothing basic about a black gown with a healthy drenching of jewels and a bouffant hairstyle. A pair of Ray-ban wayfarers can be the piece de resistance.
Whatever you choose, prom is the perfect chance to just go for it!

Giving Women an Option

The task of finding a modest wedding dress can seem near impossible with today's fashion trends. Still, some might be surprised to find modest options where they least expect them".
That is a quote from the latest article to appear in which The Yellow Rose was mentioned once again. Here is the link so you can read the entire article.

http://www.mormontimes.com/article/19468/Bridal-shops-provide-modest-options-for-brides?s_cid=addthis

The hunt begins for some with optimism and ease, while others are in for a long day, sealed with sweat and tears from an unsuccessful chase.

For Mormon brides, the task of finding a modest wedding dress can seem near impossible with today's fashion trends. Still, some might be surprised to find modest options where they least expect them.

In the small town of Lilburn Ga., Julia Kilgore has operated The Yellow Rose modest dress shop for the last three years.

When Kilgore's first daughter was going to get married, it was hard for her to find a modest dress. She finally found one about an hour away, but it got Kilgore toying with the idea of starting up her own shop.

About four years ago, Kilgore's daughter asked her if she was actually going to open up the dress shop.

Kilgore said her response was, "Well, I'm not getting any younger, so I'd better do it now."

About 50 percent of the customers who come in to the shop are members of the LDS Church.

There are a lot of women who prefer modest dresses, but because that is not the "norm," they don't wear them, she said.

"There was a need, so I took the plunge and opened the shop," Kilgore said.

Most of the business The Yellow Rose gets is from out of town and from outside Georgia. One bride-to-be ordered a dress from the Netherlands.

In St. Louis, Debbie Welcher has also started and sustained her own modest dress shop.

"My husband's family is Apostolic, and I was very familiar with their modesty standards, so I wanted to open up something to help girls choose modesty," she said.

Welcher's store, Chatfield's Bridal Boutique, is part of a small niche in Missouri and only carries modest dresses. The shop also has LDS temple dresses in stock and carries dresses that fit the needs of various religious backgrounds.

Like Kilgore, a high percentage of Welcher's customers are from outside the state.

The LDS dresses at Chatfield's are the most revealing of all the dresses in the shop, as the standards for the dresses begin with the LDS modesty standards. For example, the Jewish brides that she deals with need to have their elbows and collarbones covered.

For customers not within driving distance of a modest dress shop, ordering dresses online is an option.

Welcher said she probably mails about four or five dresses to girls in the U.S. every week but that there are many things to consider when ordering a dress that are easier to see in person than online. Such things to consider are that a dress might fit differently than originally estimated, and it might even look different than it did online.

Nancy Barrus, the artistic director and co-owner of Avenia Bridal in Provo, Utah, said purchasing dresses online is cheaper than physically going in to purchase from a bridal store, generally speaking.

However she, too, expressed concerns about buying online.

"You may get a better price, and if you're going for price, then maybe that's the better option," Barrus said.

When buying online it is not possible to see how the dress fits, and ultimately you get what you pay for, she said.

"If you can spend the time shopping, that's highly recommended," Barrus said.

For the bride-to-be who is not geographically close to any modest options, and who doesn't want to buy something online, alterations are yet another option.

The price for basic altering can range from $150 to $300, and the prices for build-up alterations can range anywhere from $200 to $700. Barrus recommended that those looking to get a dress altered speak with a seamstress, not just a sales clerk, to check prices on alterations.

OMG

The Yellow Rose is having a fantastic inventory sale through Saturday 1/29/11. All formal gowns and select bridal gowns in my store will be on sale up to 50% off. So come by the shop at 79 Main Street in Lilburn or call me at 770-315-6823 and get a great deal on your prom dress and wedding gown.   For my out of town customers, please call me if you are looking for a certain dress and I will gladly let you know if I have that dress in my store. 

Want to save even more money?   Then use your Visa card from Sun Trust Bank to make your purchase at The Yellow Rose and you will be eligible to receive additional discounts.

The program works as follows:

$50 reward with minimum purchase of $300 (one use per calendar year)

$15 reward with minimum purchase of $135

$75 reward with minimum purchase of $600

$125 reward with minimum purchase of $1000

Saving money and looking good - you can't beat that combination!

 

Veiled Threats by Heidiluxe

After picking your dress, one of the most important aspects of wedding day finery is a veil. The right veil for you should compliment your wedding theme and retell your fashion story. Most bridal ensembles are not complete without a headpiece of some sort. If your wedding theme is a whimsical and fresh party, there is a wedding veil style for you. If you are planning the elegant wedding soiree, there is also veil to complete your look. Wearing a veil is an item that can set your apart from a lovely girl wearing a lovely dress to truly commanding the center of attention as a bride.

There are six general types of veils

   1. Fingertip veil. This is one of the most timeless and popular style of veil. This veil suits many dress styles and body types. It is normally very lightweight and can be worn with various hairstyles. This style often has a blusher attached. A blusher is a short front piece on a veil that goes over the face during a ceremony.

2. Cathedral veil. This veil type is the most dramatic of all veils. It is often paired with a more ornate tiara and worn with the most formal of dresses. Think of Princess Diana (but don’t think of the disastrous demise of her marriage), and her opulent gown; she wore a 25 foot veil.

 


3. Birdcage/net pouf veil. Brides who choose to wear this style of veil usually have 

very structured or sophisticated wedding dress. This style of veil is reminiscent of the

1940s and a more retro style of dressing. Birdcage veils have been making a comeback

in a very big way, so if you are looking for a very “of the moment” wedding style, try

experimenting with this style of veil.

                           

4.       Flyaway veil. A flyaway veil is a shorter, fuller veil that stops below the chin and above the shoulders. It is a very youthful and fun style of veil. It is especially complimentary to a tea length wedding gown or a more casual style of wedding dress or a dress with a bow or other details down the back. 

 5.  Mantilla veil. If you are a Latina, or secretly want to be a Latina, this is the veil for you. A mantilla is a very traditional Spanish style veil. It is a very elegant headpiece and it evokes a theatrical mood. It can look best with a lace style dress or a very simple gown.

6.      Waterfall veil/angel cut veil. This is style of veil that frames and highlights the face and has a cascade effect down your back. This works well with dresses that are highly embellished or have a long row of buttons. A dress that is highly structured can be softened with a waterfall veil.

Other important things to note about veils:

1.       Match your whites. It will be very obvious if you have a white veil and an ivory dress.

2.       Don’t be afraid to try on several styles of veils to find what is most complimentary to you. Just like shopping for your gown, it may take a lot of trial and error before you find “the one”. Don’t think that just because you’ve found your dress that any old veil will do.

3.       Keep tiara gemstones and other embellishments all in the same family. If your dress is adorned with pearls, it will often look best if your tiara or veil is trimmed in the same type of stone.

4.       Don’t let your veil become distracting to your wedding day ensemble. When people look at the bride, that’s what they need to see, not piles and piles of extra things making your look weighted down and costumey. 

Don’t be afraid to NOT commit. If you’ve tried all sorts of veils or tiaras and you would prefer to not wear one, go for it. You will always look your best if you wear what feels best.