The Perfect Hat

To go with my honeymoon outfits, I have been in search of the Perfect Hat.
So far I haven’t had much luck.

The trick is finding one that’s a neutral colour, that isn’t a true cloche hat, but also isn’t super wide rimmed or floppy. Sounds easy, right?

Right.

I’ve discovered the lovely Helen Kaminski, but much as I LOVE some of her designs, I really can’t afford the $100+ pricetags that come with her hat.

Currently, my favourite of her designs is this one:

from Hats Paradise

But I’ve also been looking for cheaper solutions and have come across the following hats:

from Yes Style

I’m actually kinda feeling this one, but I’m not sure about the upturned brim.

from Dino Direct

also from Dino Direct

and also from Dino Direct

I kinda like this one, too.

But since I’m terrible at making up my mind, if anyone has any suggestions about which one I should get, I’d be eternally grateful!!

Vintage Honeymoon Outfits

Since my fiance and I are doing a river cruise for our honeymoon, I’ve decided to go all the way and wear pretty sundresses basically the whole time we’re away.

As such, I need to track down some pretty dresses. I’ve been scouring the shops for sundresses. I’ve found a few at Harris Scarfe (which I really must take photos of to show you), but I’ve also been eyeing off a few online shops like Unique Vintage (from whence I am hopefully obtaining my travelling dress) and a few others, like Vintage Betty and Covelli. And so far, I’ve seen a couple on Covelli that are on sale! Bonus!

So, without further ado, some pretty, pretty dresses that I’m hoping to find the money to buy:

from Orange Sweetie Dress

from Black Swing Dress

and

from Brown Beverly dress.

I hope you love them as much as I do. I’d love to hear about any bargains you find!

Coloured Petticoats

One of the things I’ve been thinking about is whether I want a coloured petticoat under my wedding dress.

For example:

from pixiepocket.com

fiftieswedding.com

from http://honeypieboutique.co.uk/

Don’t they look stunning?

I’ve tracked down a couple of suppliers of the coloured petticoat, Dolly Couture has them, as does Honey Pie Boutique and Vivien of Holloway.

So what do you think? Coloured petticoat, or no?

Cleaning Costume Jewellery

I have discovered that one of the more difficult aspects of planning a vintage wedding is working out how to care for vintage items.

Take my jewellery for example. I bought some perfectly lovely 1930s style jewellery from Etsy

but I cannot work out how to clean it. I can’t use any chemicals myself because
the chemicals are supposed to be bad for pearls (both real and faux), and I’m concerned that if I use one of those ultrasonic-immerse-in-water-and-vibrate-the-dirt-out machines, it’ll cause problems with the glue holding the faux pearls in place.

I’ve tried a silver polishing cloth, but to not much avail. I think the only thing I haven’t tried is using a soft brush (such as a paint brush) to brush any dust out, but there doesn’t seem to be much there.

So basically I’m stumped. The jewellery is pretty, and it sparkles, which I suppose is all it needs to do, but I’d be a lot happier if I could be sure it was clean!

Do you have any advice for me? Would love to see any tips and tricks! Alternatively, have you purchased anything that’s been hard to clean or maintain?