LIFE OF A LONDON STYLIST: BRIDAL PERSONAL STYLING SESSION

Stefania is ready to go to the second appointment with a bride to be for the research of her wedding dress, through her exclusive bridal personal styling service, and wishes her public a splendid Good Morning!

BRIDAL STYLING: MY BRIDAL STYLE

I've previously written about how to choose the best shade of white and the best wedding dress style to enhance our features and personality, but recently someone suggested me to write about my own bridal style; I got married just last year, actually.

Well, usually I don't like to talk about myself in my articles, I'm not that kind of blogger who publishes pictures of herself and posts about her lifestyle, but I have to admit that probably the best way to explain the meaning of "personal bridal styling" and its effectiveness is by doing practical examples and that probably the best example I can report is...me!

I am a typical "spring", which in the personal styling world means I have light and warm features. I have actually fair skin,blonde hair with golden shades and blue eyes with some yellow/green hues inside, that make them warm as well (differently from the icy blue eyes, typical of the "cool-summer" featured people).

This on the left is a quite recent photo. Last year, when I got married, I had very long hair, but this does not affect the colours' matter at all.

The first time I went to a boutique to try some wedding dresses I had a clear idea in mind : I wanted a mermaid/trumpet style dress, in ivory or blush colour; my ideal wedding dress style and designer was Pronovias.  

Here below some examples of mermaid wedding dress style from 2016 Pronovias collection..beautiful, aren't they?

I went to the first boutique asking exclusively for this kind of dresses and I tried on some stunning samples indeed; I had to admit I was quite happy.. but not totally convinced. 

First of all because of the colour. Those styles were in fact all in pure white. 

Now, if you didn't read my previous article "50 shades of...white?!" you probably don't know that the pure white belongs to the cool colour category and that it is not really recommended to warm featured women like me.

I was aware of that, but in the meantime, I wanted to try them on because, you know, the pure white is the most classic colour for a wedding dress!

Well, I tried, but I wasn't convinced at all; my face wasn't illuminated, despite the sparkling decorative elements, and every flaw of my face like the eye circles and skin imperfections seemed to be highlighted. That's actually what happens when we put the "wrong" colour close to our face.. yet, apart from the colour I was still convinced about the mermaid shape. So I went to another boutique with exactly the same requests: mermaid cut and ivory/blush shade. They brought me several samples to try on, amazing these too, yet something wasn't really convincing me.. This time the problem wasn't the colour but I understood that it was probably the dress shape itself.

You must know that I am a "triangle" or so-called pear-shaped woman; it means I have narrower shoulder and wider hips. The typical triangle has small and quite slope shoulders while mine are angular and quite wide, yet my hips are wider and curvy! 

Here a typical "triangle" or "pear" body shape

I was attracted by those mermaid shapes because they were the trend of the moment and, being me a fashion lover and professional, I was looking for the most trendy wedding dress, forgetting two very important details: my body shape and my personality.

Despite those dresses weren't that bad on me, actually, they simply weren't enhancing nor evening my body. Certain kinds of dress cuts call the eye attention on all the body areas or, depending on the style, they can even highlight the hips area; so if you don't have perfect proportions between your top and your bottom and, above all, if you don't feel comfortable with the idea of getting the attention on your side B (like some celebrities) those dresses are not for you. So, well, they weren't totally wrong for me but they simply were not my best! And I bet every bride wish to be at her best on her big day...am I wrong? 

In the end I started to think more thoroughly to my body shape and finally I realized that probably my original idea wasn't the best for me and that I had to try something different; and then I spotted a dress in the boutique: it had a strapless sparkling corset and a smooth satin skirt, a dress with the so called "A-line" shape; the colour was a light pinkish ivory, warm , soft and delicate...I loved it at first sight!

I was only afraid that the skirt, a bit voluminous, would have made me shorter (I'm not that tall actually) but then I tried it on and, instead, everything seemed to work well: the colour, the shape, the style!

A picture of my wedding dress (picture by Alessandro Mayer)

I was feeling confident and comfortable in it (and trust me, that day you need to feel as much comfortable as possible in your dress!). I was feeling myself! That's what, most of all, made me go for it.

The shape was also perfect because it was drawing the attention on my bust and shoulders, rather than on my curvy bottom part, balancing this way my body figure; the skirt wasn't too wide, so it didn't make me shorter, and the soft fabric gently slips on my curves.

As for the style..well it was very feminine and romantic and of all the "styles" romantic is the one that represents me most!

Discover Your Bridal Style Now

That wedding dress seemed to have all the elements to make me feel a "perfect bride", enhancing my body, my complexion and my personality; so I bought it, without hesitations.

After that all the other details and choices came along quite naturally: the hairstyle, the accessories, the flowers for the bouquet.. the dress is, in fact, the most difficult and important choice for a bride-to-be; in my opinion is the dress, actually, that determines all the other features of a bride's style!

Well, I bet now you are curious to see the final result of my bridal style, and here I am

- pictures are by Alessandro Mayer www.photomayer.it -

So...what do you think? did I make the right choice?

I hope this article will help you for your wedding dress choice. But if you'll need some professional advice I'll be honoured to be your personal stylist for the big day! Basically I will help you to find your best dress in terms of colour, shape and style, as well as I've done for myself.

Find out more here

BRIDAL STYLING: HAIRSTYLE TRENDS FOR 2016!

6 HAIRSTYLES FOR THE 2016 BRIDAL DRESSES

For me the second most important choice for a Bride, after the dress, is the hairstyle. So, if you are going to choose one of the 6 top styles from the 2016 trends, which is the best combination between your dress and your hair? Obviously you'll have to deal with your hair kind : long, short, thick, thin, and so on... but this is my guide-line to get the perfect combination without being excessive or, on the contrary, "dull" on your Wedding day.

1. Hairstyle for a fairy tale dress : what's better then a fairy tale hairstyle for your fairy tale dress? The sample shown on the picture here reminds me of Elsa (frozen) but it could work for Cinderella or Aurora as well ;-) it is romantic, feminine and if you want to make it sparkling you can add some bright stones, even replacing the flowers. Since your bust will be already embellished enough, I'd suggest to leave your hair on the back, avoiding overwhelming elements on front; on the contrary this way you will balance your image giving importance to the back as well.

2. Hairstyle for a Cropped-top dress : being this, in my opinion, the most youthful of the dress styles proposed, I would have a "young" hairstyle as well, leaving them quite natural or gathered in a side braid. Since this kind of dress is quite simple, and since you must be anyway the protagonist of that day, I would enrich your hair adding flower crowns, for example, that would add color and freshness, or even sparkling elements, to be more sophisticated.

3. Hairstyle for a High-low dress:  Well, it should be clear now,  if you choose a high-low dress you know that you will be watched all-over and your hairstyle must be as much fascinating and attractive as your dress (actually you have to draw the attention on your face as well!). So what I suggest is a rich and voluminous high-gathered hairstyle, with the addition of tiaras if you wish. I'd not add flowers, you would risk to send contrasting messages.

4. Hairstyle for a 3D Flowers dress : Well, your dress will be decorated enough, so I wouldn't play hard with my hair if I were you. keep it simple.. sophisticated, bu simple. I would not even add flowers (cause you already have them all around your dress) nor sparkling elements (that wouldn't be in line with the rest of your look). You will be elegant and beautiful without need of add anything more, don't worry!

5. Hairstyle for a Blush Shaded dress:  In this case, being the color the key point of your look, I can't tell you how to gather your hair ('cause it depends mostly on the dress' shape) but I can tell you that I would recall somehow the blush of the dress in your hair, probably by adding blossoms. The blush is romantic, make your hairstyle being romantic as well.

6. Hairstyle for a Long Sleeved dress :  as I told, the long-sleeved dresses are maybe the most regal of all. To get an appropriate regal hairstyle the key-word is "simplicity". Go for a simple shape but enrich it with a precious veil (in lace like the sleeves maybe?!) or a fine tiara to add light.

Let your guests and the groom being fascinated by your look! Let them remember how perfect your were, not "too much" nor "not enough"...just PERFECT.  

BRIDAL STYLING : 6 NEW TRENDS FOR WEDDING DRESSES

Here are the bridal dresses TOP trends for the 2016! what is the one the suits you most?

1. Fairy tale : bright, sparkling and romantic, this kind of dress recalls to the Disney's princesses. It will illuminate your decollete and your look and doubtless it will enchant your guests and, mostly important, the Groom! In terms of dress-cut it is better for whom has wide shoulders and want to emphasize her top part.

2. Cropped top : following the last high-street fashion trends, this is maybe the most fashionable of all and probably limited to the youngest brides. You must have a very flat belly and small breast to wear it properly. Absolutely not for everyone, but if you are a very fashion victim and a very thin figure this could be the best choice for you!

3. High-low :  this is the half-way between a short and a long dress, perfect if you want to show off your legs but have the long train also. This kind of dress will enhance all your body, because it will draw the eye attention both on your top and on your bottom part. If you really want to make a great entrance this is the right choice for you! Personally I think this is one of the best bridal dress cut ever (maybe my favorite) but it requires a very self-confident personality.

4. 3D Flowers : the flowers become real! We are no more talking about prints or lace, but real 3d application that will make you seem a nymphs! this is very romantic and, to me, it recalls to the famous "privamera" print of Botticelli. You will feel a Venus in that dress and that sounds great 'cause Venus was the Goddess of Beauty! There is nothing to say about the dress cut cause here the applications have the key-role and they can be applied on several kind of dress shapes. So you must really feel romantic and a bit bohemian to choose this style.

5. Blush Shades :  If you are not really convinced of the pure white, nor the ivory color, this is your year! Pink blush shades will dominate the 2016 palette, not only for the wedding embellishments but also for the dress! Here the color has the key role, not the dress cut, but you must be quite romantic and classic and , mostly important, you must love pink! warm colored hair (like red,reddish brown or medium blonde) match better with this kind of color.

6. Long Sleeves :  absolutely regal! it immediately recalls to Kate Middleton's wedding dress, indeed. Good if you look for a simple dress cut but, nonetheless, you want to feel the "queen" on your Big Day. It will give you importance, despite the simple shape, because none of your body part will be unadorned. I suggest it for women who wants to give importance to their arms (for example if they are very thin and you want to add volume).

So, before going on trying and choosing your Wedding dress,  think who you really are and what part of your body and your personality you want to enhance and highlight, then make your choice! Do not forget that dresses styles are closely related to hairstyles, make-up and shoes kinds! Shortly I will talk about these subjects as well.. so don't miss it!!

Stefania