Monday 10 December 2012

Winter Wedding How To

Why is it that we all manage to dress ourselves everyday but as soon as someone mentions the word 'wedding' girls start to panic?  How formal should you go?  What shall I cover myself with in the Church?  Will it be traditional or achingly cool?  The key is, think of the couple.  They will indicate the theme for the day, the tone, the fellow guests, the level of formality.  Secondly, winter clothing gives you the joy of layering and TEXTURE.  All of the following outfits have a mixture of texture to keep things interesting, to give onlookers lots of different, tactile aspects to discover and admire.  


For the ultimate glamour couple, a show stopping dress is in order.  This dress from Miss Selfridge is incredible - elegant with its high neckline, whilst overtly feminine with its full prom skirt, and also adventurous with its use of fluttering feathers and beading.  It will look sensational on the dance floor.  I've paired it with a classic bouclé jacket for a dose of colour and luxurious yarn and then all this outfit needs is a killer pair of heels (patent to give it a lift), a great clutch bag and a splash of vivid nail varnish.

Bouclé Jacket - Mango
Dress - Miss Selfridge
Shoes - Zara
Clutch - Oasis
Tights - Wolford
'Hurlingham' Nail Varnish - Nails Inc


This is for the cool couple.  They probably live in a great city.  They may work in music or fashion or publishing.  For this slick kind of city wedding, guests can afford to keep things less traditional.  This breton midi dress is amped up with these divine scarlet heels, perfectly matched with ruby nails and bold red lips.  The cocoon cut of this coat gives a real edge to the look - a far cry from the traditional princess coat that is often seen at weddings.  If you're close to the couple, ask what their first dance will be and beautifully frame the sheet music for them, or do the same to some amazing vintage prints or maps if they're well travelled.



Coat - Monki
Dress - Topshop
Shoes - Ted Baker at Amazon
Clutch - Kardashian Kollection at Dorothy Perkins
'Danke' Nail Varnish - OPI
Lipstick - Shiseido at Harrods
Liquid Eyeliner - Maybelline



For the Christmas wedding, one which is overtly festive and twinkle light heavy, one can afford to go to town.  I love this sequin dress, how the colour makes the sparkle non-gaudy, almost angelic.  The wool of the coat has slight flecks of gold and of course a fur collar always screams Christmas.  Statement heels and molton accessories give a final flourish as well as door knoker esque statement earrings.  Think of them as baubles.


Coat - Dorothy Perkins
Dress - Michael by Michael Kors at flannelfashions.com
Shoes - House of Harlow
Clutch - Maison Scotch at ASOS
Earrings - ASOS


This one's for the bohemian couple, the type who have eclectic pieces in their home from their travels, or love music festivals.  You can have loads of fun with this kind of theme - light, airy fabrics kept wintery with something thick and heavy on top.  Hoss Intropia's maxi looks fantastic when toughened up with heavy boots and this feather jacket from Topshop would be the perfect boho cover up.  Layer necklaces and pile bracelets and cuffs up the arms - jewellery is key to this look.



Feather Jacket - Topshop
Maxi Dress - Hoss Intropia
Velvet Boots - ASOS
Tassled Bag - Mischa at bankfashion.co.uk
Gold Necklace with Black Stones - Mawi
Gold Spike Necklace - H&M
 Silver Claw Cuff - boohoo.com
Skull bracelet - River Island
Gold Cuff - Made at ASOS


Picture Scotland in all its majestic, freezing splendour.  You want to look grand and elegant, luxurious  and snuggly.  Avoid huge splashes of tartan - there's going to be enough of it already.  Instead I've worked this outfit around this sweet little tartan pouch by McQ by Alexander McQueen.  Just as a gentle, whimsical nod towards the theme.  Think of the colour of your outfit.  Hues that are warm and autumnal will look right at home amongst all the green, red and blue.  This amazing dress in rust is so seasonal and begging to be admired.  I've paired it with a full skirted coat from Ted Baker - the wool body mixed with the satin skirt makes this coat look far more expensive than it is and I've popped a very masculine belt on top to keep it from looking 'princess-y'.  More texture and warmth is added with velvet heels, thick black opaques and quilted leather gloves.  Finally, nails are deep and sultry in colour.  
 


Dress Coat - Ted Baker
Belt over coat - Pieces at ASOS
Dress - Topshop Unique
Tights - Wolford
Shoes - H&M
Tartan Clutch - McQ Alexander McQueen at Matches
Gloves - Accessorize
'Dangerous Affair' Nail Varnish - ciate.co.uk



Finally, the funnest and most flamboyant of all the themes - the gay wedding.  If the grooms are anything like my GBF they will like sparkle and colour.  After we worked on an event together at The Haymarket Hotel we used to daydream about his wedding there - an over the top banquet in the long shooting gallery, followed by a camp-as-Christmas pool party of dancing, cocktails and colour around the venue's incredible indoor swimming pool.  And so, this is the only outfit of this post that features something a little fantastical.  Whilst everything else you can buy online right now, this Matthew Williamson carnival dress from the designer's SS12 collection had to be featured as it is exactly what I imagine wearing at a wedding surrounded by a load of queens.  I would brave bare legs for this look, despite the wintery temperatures, but keep snug in a decadent, thick coat and cashmere lined gloves.  The shoes and clutch are in pure gold glitter and this Topshop nail varnish would pop against the hot fuchsia of the dress.    


Coat - Reiss
Dress - Matthew Williamson, SS12 collection
Shoes - Carvela at Kurt Geiger
 Clutch - Kardashian Kollection at Dorothy Perkins
Earrings - Tatty Devine
Cashmere Lined Gloves - John Lewis
'Cameo' Lipstick - Elizabeth Arden
'Green Room' Nail Varnish - Topshop
'080' False Lashes - Eyelure

No comments:

Post a Comment