I’ve always been a little fascinated by the bridal industry.  So much money spent and so much fuss made for a single day in your life!  Recently, I was lucky enough to have the chance satisfy my curiosity by attending a discussion on bridal trends and the bridal industry and behind-the-scenes tour at Kleinfeld, New York’s destination wedding salon and the setting for TLC’s series “Say Yes To The Dress.”  Kleinfeld owner Mara Urshel and bridal fashion editor Juli Alvarez of the recently closed Modern Bride spoke on the trends and the business of this high-stress industry.

First of all, just going into Kleinfeld is quite a trip.  Even though I know I have in the past mocked the existence of a tv series about nothing but women trying on wedding dresses, I have to admit that I have in fact seen the series.  As with all reality TV, the participants (who have to apply) are selected to up the drama quotient.  I invariably end up thinking either a) “Wow, your friends suck!”,  b) “Wow, your mom is a b****!”, or c) “Dude, CALM DOWN.”  It is quite something else to actually walk into Kleinfeld and see the dresses in person.

read more »

The perfect summer jacket from Trina Turk.

Welcome to summer!  Wedding season is in full swing.  We’ve covered wedding fashion outdoors, in the church, at the beach, so hopefully you have your eye on the dresses you’ll be wearing at this summer’s ceremonies, but what we haven’t covered yet is, well, the cover-up!  Yes, it’d be great if your dress covered all the bases by itself, but let’s be realistic.  Sometimes weddings will take you in and out of the sun, the wind, and the air conditioning, and you’ll find yourself in need of some help for climate and modesty control.  This is particularly true if the reception is going to be outdoors or in tents and the ceremony is in a church or the ceremony is outdoors and the reception venue is heavily airconditioned.  A pashmina is always a safe choice, but if you’re looking to go a little farther afield, here are some ideas for cute cover-ups that are totally wedding-appropriate.

read more »

A breezy, beachy blue from Laila Azhar!

We’re almost to June, the biggest wedding month of the year, so it’s time to take another pass at wedding guest fashion.  While there are a few rules that are consistently safe for any wedding (don’t flash too much skin, don’t wear white), we all know that there are as many different kinds of wedding venues and dress codes as people can come up with.  (Star Trek wedding, anyone?)  Today we’ll tackle the beach wedding.

read more »

Chic, appropriate, and cool. From Trina Turk.

That’s right, it’s May, and you know what that means — wedding season is here.  If you’re between about 23 and 33, there’s a good chance that you are going to spend every other weekend this summer at a friend’s wedding.  If you’ve been through a few years of this, you probably have a couple of stand-by dresses that you whip out if you need them, but the chances are you still sometimes get invitations to events for which you just don’t have anything appropriate. I’m a big advocate of making an effort to find wedding-appropriate clothes out of respect for both the couple getting married and the venue.  (Even if you think some of the rules are old-fashioned, is it worth the risk of offending the bride or the groom’s mother on their big day?)  What’s wedding appropriate, though, definitely varies depending on the venue, the time of year, the time of day, and the couple.

The Femmeiniste style advisors have received a request for fashion assistance for attending an outdoor wedding in Cincinnati this August.  The extra twist?  She’s the sister of the groom. While she has wedding-appropriate dresses, well, you can’t wear the same dress you’ve worn to the weddings of several cousins to your brother’s wedding too.  (The earful from the family about that might last the rest of your life!)

If you’re not setting foot inside a church, sleeveless dresses become fair game.  Of course you still need to look like you’re going to a wedding and not a picnic unless the event is pretty informal, but if there’s not going to be a mass, the standards change a little. For an outdoor wedding, comfort becomes more important. Cincinnati may not officially be the south, but it’s not Churchill, Manitoba, either.  Heavy satins will look silly and cause you to poach in your dress, and anything that’s going to show the sweat the second you start to “glow” is a disaster waiting to happen. Don’t forget the wedding pictures!

So, our girl is blonde and divinely fair (may we recommend sunblock for this occasion?), tall, and although she’s slender, does have hips.  Here are our picks for outdoor wedding dresses for her this summer.

read more »

Black is always my go-to color for evening wear.  After all, it’s simple, it’s chic and everyone looks instantly 10 lbs thinner in a well fitting LBD.  Unbeknown to me, however, black is a no-go at weddings. I once managed to horrify Kai by admitting I routinely wear LBDs to weddings, and this has been a long standing argument between the two of us.  I say every dress is better in black!  She says black is whack.  Ok, maybe not in those exact words, but you get the gist.

Well, after a long, cold, dark winter, I may be coming around to Kai’s point-of-view.  The thought of slapping on another article of black clothing during these last dreary days before spring is leaving me feeling bored to tears.  I am CRAVING cheery, bright colors like never before.

read more »