Streets are Runways: aprilie 2011

vineri, 29 aprilie 2011

THE Royal Wedding Dress!

The Wedding Dress

"Miss Catherine Middleton’s Wedding Dress has been designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen.

Miss Middleton chose British brand Alexander McQueen for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing. Miss Middleton wished for her dress to combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueen’s work."

"The lace appliqué for the bodice and skirt was hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace. The dress is made with ivory and white satin gazar. The skirt echoes an opening flower, with white satin gazar arches and pleats. The train measures two metres 70 centimetres. The ivory satin bodice, which is narrowed at the waist and padded at the hips, draws on the Victorian tradition of corsetry and is a hallmark of Alexander McQueen’s designs. The back is finished with 58 gazar and organza covered buttons fastened by Rouleau loops. The underskirt is made of silk tulle trimmed with Cluny lace."

The Veil

The veil is made of layers of soft, ivory silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers, which was embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework. The veil is held in place by a Cartier ‘halo’ tiara, lent to Miss Middleton by The Queen. The ‘halo’ tiara was made by Cartier in 1936 and was purchased by The Duke of York (later King George VI) for his Duchess (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) three weeks before he succeeded his brother as King. The tiara was presented to Princess Elizabeth (now The Queen) by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday.

The Jewelry

The Bride’s earrings, by Robinson Pelham, are diamond-set stylised oak leaves with a pear shaped diamond set drop and a pavé set diamond acorn suspended in the centre. Inspiration for the design comes from the Middleton family's new coat of arms, which includes acorns and oak leaves. The earrings were made to echo the tiara. The earrings were a personal gift to the Bride from her parents for her Wedding Day.

The Wedding Shoes

The wedding shoes have made hand-made by the team at Alexander McQueen and are made of ivory duchesse satin with lace hand-embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework.

The Bride’s Bouquet

The bouquet is a shield-shaped wired bouquet of myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, sweet William and hyacinth. The bouquet was designed by Shane Connolly and draws on the traditions of flowers of significance for the Royal Family, the Middleton family and on the Language of Flowers.

The flowers’ meanings in the bouquet are:

Lily-of-the-valley – Return of happiness

Sweet William – Gallantry

Hyacinth – Constancy of love

Ivy: Fidelity; marriage; wedded love; friendship; affection

Myrtle: the emblem of marriage; love.

The bouquet contains stems from a myrtle planted at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, by Queen Victoria in 1845, and a sprig from a plant grown from the myrtle used in The Queen’s wedding bouquet of 1947.

Source: officialroyalwedding2011

luni, 25 aprilie 2011

Decorating ideas: Hotel "La Belle Juliette"

For those who are planning a trip to Paris and want to stay in a luxurious hotel, you can definitely choose "La Belle Juliette". Opened in January 2011, the 4-star hotel is located in central Paris, near Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Jardin du Luxembourg. The chic & cozy look was created by renamed French decorator Anne Gelbard.

vineri, 22 aprilie 2011

Fashionable Bike Helmets

In the past few years, I've noticed that bicycling has become more frequent in Romania too. Maybe it's the rising of fuels costs, maybe people just want to avoid accidents, but you can definitely see more bicyclists around. The only problem is that the majority of people don't wear a helmet while bicycling.

When I was a child, I remember I never wanted to wear a helmet either, because they were very uncomfortable and had that bulky-look. Plus, they're sporty and you can't wear them with anything.

Well, for all those of you who have the same problem, the Danish brand Yakkay has the perfect solution: bike helmets disguised as normal hats! They have a variety, from riding caps and baseball caps to tweed hats and windowpane caps.

If you're interested in buying them, they cost from 120$ to 140$ and you can find them at 50Cycles. (they have worldwide shipping)