The Vintage Bridal Dress: How to Find a Vintage Wedding Dress by Decade 1900-1970.

1950s custom made dress, Sarara Vintage shop/Shary Connella image.

As wedding season approaches, dress options may be on your mind. Wearing a vintage wedding dress is nothing new, women have been altering or passing down their wedding attire for years.  However, what about when it's not a family piece? As the use of vintage dresses has become popular many are now for sale online. I wanted to try to make it a little easier to find one so complied a list of dress options by eras.  Vintage wedding dresses can be a classic, lasting aesthetic for the bride. One that, if carefully chosen, you can look back at without regret. Here is the run down by decade:

The Edwardian:

Circa 1901 Irish Crochet Dress,  Charles Whitaker Auction Company image.

You can make two choices here: 1. the authentic era dress or 2. the 1970s retelling of the story.
I am a fan of the Edwardian tea dress or Irish crochet dress, if it is well made and in good condition. It affords a sort of easy cotton beach or outdoor wedding look.  I just saw a wonderful crochet version at auction which I literally almost grabbed for the shop, but the price went a tad higher than I did! See the auction image above. With the quality crochet and hand made gowns expect to pay a little more.  A tea dress in good condition can be found for around 200-850.  If it is Battenburg lace the price goes up from there. Good sources include Vintage Textile. Vintage Textile has quality pieces at higher prices.

Edwardian tea dress, pristine condition. For sale at Sarara Vintage Bridal.

The 70s Edwardian/Hippie:
If you love the hippie look a Gunnie Sax dress by Jessica McClintock, from the 70s could work or a vintage white Mexican embroidered dress. Both of these are more casual. Take care and try to choose a design with little less to it, these can go really bad very quickly!

The Flapper, The 20s and the 30s:
The flapper wedding dress is short with a drop waist and can be beaded and really very much what we think of in terms of the things they would have worn out to dance.  The 20s dress can be a simple cream dress such as the one below-sort of a shorter version of the cotton tea dress. Another choice would be the late 20s gown, a long liquid satin dress which extends into the 1930s and changes design slightly.   I would recommend Emmeline Chic and  Dear Golden for vintage 20s-30s wedding dresses.

1920s dress, Emmeline Chic image. rights reserved. Available here.

1930s Dress, Dear Golden Bridal Shop. Image by Dear Golden

I am a huge fan of the liquid satin gowns of the late 20s and 30s. You will have more luck finding the ones from the 30s such as the example above.  

The 1940s Gal:

1940s Wedding dress, Sarara Vintage Bridal, Shary Connella image.

 The 40s dress has a little more structure and we see the shoulders and sleeves become more defined.  You can also look for a regular 1940s crepe dress in a lighter color for a more casual look or alternative to the white gown.

1940s liquid satin dress, Sarara Vintage/Shary Connella image.

A 40s dress can be found easily at Fab Gabs who also has a great selection of 30s and 50s-60s available.

The 50s Bombshell or Prom Queen:

1950s body conscious looks aka something Marilyn would have worn in cream or white can be found if you don't want a ball gown or traditional style. Look for a white or cream Ceil Chapman like the one below.  

Ceil Chapman vintage dress, via Antique Dress- click here.

The bits of tulle heaven! Tulle dresses were designed for proms, coming out parties, and weddings in the 1950s.  The first image on the post is an example of the most lush custom 50s ball gown I have owned. I used to say there can be too much tulle, I now know I was wrong. I say if that is the look you are going for --just do it. The one from the shop, seen in the image below, sold to a collector before I could even list it!  Alfred Angelo's 1950s wedding dresses are also a good example of the ball gown as a wedding dress. You can search under vintage 50s Edythe Vincent for Alfred Angelo. I have one listed on etsy  Grace Kelly's wedding dress she wore in 1956, really is the best of both worlds.

1950s Christian Dior Gown, Sold via Antique Clothing. Image by Antique Clothing.

The Sleek 60s or Mod Maven on Mad Men:

1960s Lace Wedding Dress, Handmade by Seamstress. sold. Sarara Vintage dress. Shary Connella image.

I find the 60s dresses a little refreshing. You can find a straight clean cut or shorter mod short versions. Strapless and tank styles. The one above is an alternative color and style. It can be used for an event or wedding. There are those with a bit of lace and others with embroidered details.  Audrey Hepburn did the mod maven best- in her 1960s wedding dress. It was very similar to the one offered below.

 Go Go Vintage Dress, image by gogovintage etsy. 

More online shops for vintage bridal gowns:

The Vintage Bride Boutique

Posh Girl Vintage

Mill Crest Vintage

Daughters of Simone

Etsy Weddings

Jana Starr

Xtabay Vintage

                                                     

The Great Gatsby and a 20s Kimono Jacket: Lois Wilson's screen worn rhinestones

1920s Rhinestone Kimono, Lois Wilson. Sarara Vintage. Shary Connella images, rights reserved.

With yet another Great Gatsby film releasing soon in the cinemas, I am reminded of the allure of the novel and films. The first one was produced in 1926 and I hold out hope that a copy of the film will be found, as it is reported to be a lost film. There is only a snippet of the preview and some poster images.

Lois Wilson was cast as the iconic Daisy in 1926. The cast included Warner Baxter as Gatsby. This film is iconic for various reasons, but most interestingly to me because I recently acquired a garment which was said to have come from Lois's collection and to have been worn in the first film. It was overseas where two other of her items were sold to a private collector. Said collector also has a letter by Lois mentioning my garment here- as screen worn in the first Great Gatsby in 1926.  The evidence is encouraging and I hope to find more information about the collector/letter. The garment is marked inside with an AU  - letters which I have seen on other paramount pictures film wardrobe items.  There are also numbers and her last name as seen below, the numbers are as follows 989 AU 10.

Wilson tag. Sarara Vintage image.

The provenance is stated by the former owner and curator, as having come over in the 70s from England to Australia for a Sydney museum exhibit, but it was not displayed.  Arriving in England after Lois Wilson attended the British Empire Exposition and formed enduring relationships with UK officials. In 1988 a private collector acquired the dress and shoes, as well as a letter written by Lois which mentions our Kimono jacket as being screen worn.

1920s Rhinestone Kimono, Lois Wilson. Styled/direction by Sarara Vintage. Shary Connella images, rights reserved. 

1920s Rhinestone Kimono, Lois Wilson. Styled/direction by Sarara Vintage. Shary Connella images, rights reserved.

That said I am holding my breath for them to find the film, so I can see her dance across the screen in this jacket! Until then we have the history and current evidence. I hope you enjoy the images, I just couldn't resist styling up my model in a tribute The Great Gatsby. The rhinestone pattern is stunning! The large 1920s feather fans are from my archive. The jewelry is from sararavintagecouture.com. 

And as the film debuts yet again, in another incarnation, we can imagine Carey Mulligan wearing this in some fab spread like the new Vogue 20s Gatsby homage in the May 2013 issue.  You can see the Carey Mulligan shoot preview at vogue here and at this  link. 
Get the Gatsby style at Sarara Vintage's 1920s Accessories collection for sale here and at Sarara Vintage Couture. We have an amazing stock of glass beads owned by a woman who brought European glass necklaces over with her in the 20s:

20s Feed Sack Fashion: A Quaker Oats Dress, The Great Depression, Marilyn, and Dolce!

1920s Sack Dress, Sarara Vintage. Shary Connella photograph.

I'll be honest I remembered in the corner of my mind the potato sack dress- from sayings such as "oh you'd look good in anything, even a potato sack". I really hadn't thought of the literal incarnation, until I ran across a 1920s feed sack dress that made me smile. Both potato sacks and feed sacks were repurposed, though most dresses were made of the cotton muslin animal feed sacks. This one was reportedly found in the attic of "grandma's" house.  The fact that the owner had thought enough to save it was intriguing, as it could have been viewed as something to be ashamed of.  Seeing this cotton muslin dress,  I could see why she had preserved it- while utilitarian and basic in form, the dress was fun and colorful with a flirty flapper cut, pocket, and ruffle. It had seen better days, but again still it was saved. This piece has the 20s straight cut that was so popular and that flapper style but with simple finishes like a slit neck. This Quaker Oats co. FULL-O-PEP EGG MASH has won my heart! I mean just look at the fighting roosters and stripes.

1920s Sack Dress, Sarara Vintage. Shary Connella photograph.

The potato sack or feed sack dress was born of necessity during a time when people just didn't have the extra money to buy clothing.  Many farm families used these sacks to make clothing as a form of reusing and economizing and they were most certainly born there.  I find it inspiring that women created whimsical dresses and held on to some of their personal style, using something that was intended to be functional. The sack companies themselves started making prints with florals and these women in mind in the mid 20s.

Percy Kent feed sack ad, 1949.

They knew that they could actually sell more of their products based on the pretty prints on their bags.
In the 40s during the War they made a comeback, due to necessity as well. Even Marilyn herself threw one on, as the story goes after someone told her she could make a potato sack look good. (The other version says a woman told her she looked like a hussy and that she'd look better in a potato sack). Whatever the real story is, it's now history, which repeated itself at Dolce and Gabbana's Spring/Summer 2013 fashion show!

Marilyn photographed by Earl Theisen in a potato sack, 1952.

Dolce & Gabanna 2013 runway show image, Dolce & Gabanna image, rights reserved.

I wanted to add my version to the image archive so that collector's and vintage lovers could enjoy seeing my not so shy feed sack dress.  So next time you are looking at a vintage dress in a pretty cotton pattern from the 20s-early 50s, just think maybe it was once a feed sack! Below you can see more examples of these versatile fabrics and dresses.

JWVintage Closet's 1940s feed sack dress, image jwvintagecloset.

FabGabs 1930s Sack dress, FabGabs image. See it here.

Sharon's Antiques Vintage Fabrics swatch. See the collection here.