A Year of Pretty - February 08, 2014

Today's Pretty Post is this very bohemian Great Gatsby inspired wedding dress. Simple silhouette with a frothy lace overlay. yards and yards of fine tulle netting held in place by a band of lace and some dusty rose flowers.

Sad to say, the original link leads me to a "page not found" and some obscure pictures of llamas and a doorway. Not very Gatsby-esque at all.

A Year of Pretty - February 05, 2014

Today's Pretty Post is a backstage look at Chanel's Spring 2014 collection. Really, I don't have a whole lot else to say . . . . the photo says it all.

(the original source for this photo is kinda obscure . . and kinda not. The link on Pinterest was broken, but a little digging around brought me to a holding tank for images for the look book for Chanel's SS2014 collection. In Italian. Where the credit is given to FotografÍa: Cortesía de Chanel / Olivier Saillant. Which is more than the Pinterest post gave credit for)

A Year of Pretty - January 30, 2014

It's a cold day in January.

So today's Pretty Post is this gorgeous gown by Svetla nad Sazavou born designer Blanka Matragi. An award winning designer, she hand dyes all her fabrics, so each garment is unique.

The colours on this dress are just fantastic. Rusts and coppers and steel blues and greys. The floral detailing provides a unique contrast to the silky flow of the gown. The fur trim really helps set the tone of this dress: old world Russian elegance.

The model's hair and make-up also compliment this gown. I could just imagine her name is Tatiana or Katarina or something equally as fabulously Russian Empire.

This dress would look great on a Hollywood red carpet . . .if ever there were exceedingly cold weather in Hollywood. So dramatic . . so mysterious . . ."Who is that regal-looking woman in her silks and furs?" Now that I think of it, this would have been perfect on Keira Knightley for the premier of Anna Karenina

Enjoy your day and stay warm out there.

A Year of Pretty - January 21, 2014

Okay, so yesterday I posted about a chair with castor wheels on its front legs and a couple cushions and some flowing fabric that may have been too light to be a throw to keep warm. So I daydreamed that it was a gauzy, dreamy evening gown tossed on the chair after a night of dinner, dancing and champagne.

Today's Pretty Post is said dreamy dress. Well, not really actually. But we can pretend. Or at least I can.

The original post is from Pinterest and the link leads to everlytrue on tumblr. But there it stops.

So I'll have to make some educated surmises about this dress. The fabric appears to be a silk charmeuse with pleated chiffon in different lengths underneath the shirt, and ruffled chiffon over the bust and forming the sleeves. No glitter but lots of understated glam.

I try to combine different textures when I am designing, and this style of elegance is what I'm trying to achieve in the Great Gatsby Design Challenge I'm currently working on. I know the roaring 1920's were about beads and sparkle and fringe and feathers. But team this up with a couple long strands of pearls and you're the belle of the ball.

A Year of Pretty - January 20, 2014

Today's Pretty Post is this chair with distressed finish and interestingly . . . castor wheels on the front legs. It looks like it might be quite heavy, so this would make sense. Simply lift up the back and push the chair along on its wheels until you have it moved to where you want it. the front legs would need to be chopped down a bit so that the chair still remained level and not tilted backwards.

Also liking the brooch pins added to the cushions. Clever little detail. I like clever little details.

Not sure whether the gauze is a throw or a evening gown draped on the chair from the night before. Let's go with evening gown . . .makes this photo seem more romantic and a bit mysterious.

Because really, as a throw the material wouldn't keep anyone warm. But as a stunning dress it's sure to light some fires within.

Enjoy your Monday and seek beauty all around you.