Monday, February 13, 2012

Vintage Wedding Gowns: Sew One For Your Own






These are a few of the most popular wedding gown styles to walk through a church or movie setting. Dating from the 1950's, they have style and grace. Designing and sewing a wedding gown is fun, yet daunting! Starting with a classic like these can help to focus on a look that has drama with a classic twist.

From Top to Bottom:

Audrey Hepburn: "Funny Face", 1957, gown by Givenchy

Grace Kelly: marriage to Prince Rainier III, of Monaco, April 1956, gown by Helen Rose

Liz Taylor: marriage to Conrad Hilton, 1950 and "Father of the Bride", 1950, gown by Helen Rose

Jacqueline Kennedy: marriage to John F. Kennedy, 1953, gown by Ann Lowe, New York

Make it Yours:

The 1950's home sewing patterns shown here are collectable and often difficult to locate. But take a close look. You may recognize the style lines in other more available gown patterns from the 1980's forward. More recently, the popular gown worn by Princess Grace has inspired variations, and several are now available from the pattern companies as listed in the lower slides.



1950's sewing patterns seen in the top slide, from left to right: McCall's 6605, Simplicity 4511, McCall's 9677.