Patio Dress Fantasies

THE February  'BE MY VALENTINE' Customer Appreciation SALE is over, but keep an eye out for FLASH SALES and future DISCOUNT COUPONS.

Get ready for spring with our Etsy shops' CUSTOMER APPRECIATION SALE.  

• Use the DISCOUNT COUPON code number VLM1111 at BeeBeautifulVintage.com between now and February 29, 2016 and receive 10% off every purchase in your cart when you check out.
• Use the DISCOUNT COUPON code number VLM2222 at LuminousLadyVintage.com between now and February 29, 2016 and receive 10% off every purchase in your cart when you check out.

An unseasonable warm spell here in our Oregon winter has reminded me of my Los Angeles childhood, when all the seasons were patio party seasons. It seemed cold to me if I had to put on a sweater, but even sweater-clad, my parents would party on in our garden! 

My mother was quite the fashion icon, having had a professional life in the clothing business during the 1930s and 1940s. But of course as a child I just took her chic taste for something ordinary. She wore light weight, colorful dresses, sleeveless or with short sleeves and fairly full skirts. Her parties took place on our patio which was ripe with floral scents, as it was surrounded by roses, orange trees and a lone avocado tree.  As a boy who was born and raised in Los Angeles I took it all for granted, but she had moved to L.A. from snowy Cleveland after World War II, and she knew how special it was to have roses in the winter!

Dreaming of warm weather and your own patio party?  Get ready now, with one of our patio dresses.

#PatioDress #Tiki

Here fair skinned Sarah is already prepared for the sun in her Tiki ribbon & ric rac accented party dress. 

50's Cheeky Tiki Sand Cotton Patio Dress . Tiki Brocade Ribbon Trim . Copper Ric Rac . Raglan Sleeves . Circle Skirt . Party Hostess .

Purchase Here

#PatioDress

Cami favors gray & white checks to accent her tattoos.

50's Patio Party Dress . Vintage Square Dance style . Red Accents . Gray Check Gingham .'New Look' late 40s . Free Bonus 70s Red Bolero .

Purchase Here

#PatioDress

Sarah trades her parasol for a woven beach bag,ever-so-pretty-in-pink.

Pretty in Pink Patio Cotton Day Dress . 1950's Mexico Style . Calif Party Hostess . Rockabilly Swing Dance . White Silver Ric Rac Ribbon .

 Purchase Here

#PatioDress

A vodka martini?  Justine says "Absolute-ly!" 

40's Rhinestone Patio Day Dress .Vintage Rockabilly & Country Western Square Dance . Dale Evans Costume . Salmon Pink Creme . Circle Skirt

Purchase Here 

Here below are some more styles, which are already partying on our customers' patios! Sorry, but as with everything in LuminousLadyVintage and BeeBeautifulVintage, these are one of a kind vintage and having been sold, cannot be replaced.  So nab your unique patio dress from the items above before they fly off to a party.  And even if you don't live in Los Angeles, you can fantasize sun, flowers and cocktails with umbrellas in them! 

SOLD

SOLD

SOLD

SOLD

SOLD

 -- Posted by David (the photographer)

Preview of our Wedding Bridal Boutique

Planning for a wedding? Our Etsy shops are offering a CUSTOMER APPRECIATION SALE.  Use your discount on one the wonderful dresses that will be appearing in the new Wedding Bridal Boutique at LuminousLadyVintage.com or for anything else at our stores.

THE February  'BE MY VALENTINE' Customer Appreciation SALE is over, but keep an eye out for FLASH SALES and future DISCOUNT COUPONS.

• Use the DISCOUNT COUPON code number VLM1111 at BeeBeautifulVintage.com between now and February 29, 2016 and receive 10% off every purchase in your cart when you check out.
• Use the DISCOUNT COUPON code number VLM2222 at LuminousLadyVintage.com between now and February 29, 2016 and receive 10% off every purchase in your cart when you check out.

Here is a peek at what is coming. Photographing the dresses was so much fun (see the previous post: Photographing our Wedding Bridal Boutique).  

I kept wondering what it would be like for our model, Sarah, to be trying on all these gorgeous gowns. In my fantasy she would wear blue jeans to her own wedding.  But when I asked her, she said she planned to get married in either a red dress or a black dress! Another thing that made the process fun was having our neighbor, Olivia (who's almost 10) be a flower girl. But from a practical perspective, she could also help Sarah with the train of the gown being modeled. She was a little trooper, carrying some of those really heavy trains up and down the stairs from the changing room. Sarah said it made the whole experience more fun, modeling and interacting with her.

#VintageJuniorBridesmaid  #Vintage50sLaceDress

Olivia in a dreamy vintage 1950's Cream Lace 'New Look' Dress with rhinestone matching belt. 24 inch waste and we clipped bodice to fit her. It would make a great vintage junior bridesmaid dress with alterations or a petite swing dress. Soon to be listed on Etsy

#VintageWedding #50sLaceBridalGown

Retro 80s does 50s White Sparkly Lace Flounce Wedding Gown

#VintageBride #VintageBridalFashion

Gorgeous 80s Cream Satin Beaded Princess Ball Gown Wedding Dress

#VintageWeddingGown #BridalSalon

Exquisite 70s Belle Epoque White Satin Fancy Lace Beaded Bridal Gown

#VintageWW2Bride #VintageBridalGown

Glamorous Vintage 1940s Cream Satin Wedding Gown with Beading

#VintageBridalBoutique #Vintage70sBride

Sublime 1970s Chiffon and Lace Wedding Gown. Queen Anne Neckline. Medieval Sleeves

The gown may be sublime, but the flower girl in the candid snap above is getting a bit tired!

Detail of gown in above photo.

#EdwardianRetroGown #Vintage70sBride

Chic 70s Edwardian Style Chiffon and Lace Bridal Gown and Matching Veil

#PrincessDiWeddingStyle #SouthernBelleBride

80s Retro Southern Belle White Satin Beaded Bridal Gown. This ruched & beaded dress, shown in another view below, had an amazing amount of material, but the proportions were gorgeous, a Cinderella princess fantasy.

#VictorianRevivalBride #BelleEpochBride

Gorgeous 80s Belle Epoch White Satin Gown with Pearls, Sequins and Chapel Train. And the open lace work in the center of this Retro Belle Epoch gown's train was a surprise when I spread it out to photograph it.

#SouthernBelleBride #CivilWarBride

Vintage 80s "Gone with the wind"Ivory Satin & Lace Bridal Dress

Gorgeous 80s "Gone with the Wind" Ivory Satin Gown with Lace and Chapel Train. I loved the 40's lacy straw hat that we styled with this dress.  It seemed sort of "southern belle" to me and really complimented the gown's retro look.

#JessicaMcClintokBride  #VintageBridalSalon

Chic Vintage 90s Jessica McClintok White Lace Sheath Bridal Gown. SOLD

#RetroMedievalGown #70sBohoBride

Medieval Look 70s White Chiffon and Lace Bridal Gown with Matching Veil.The matching veil that comes with this dress deserved to be shown off.  There will be some stunning pictures with the veil in the Etsy store LuminousLadyVintage.com bride & wedding boutique, so be sure to visit it.

After photographing so much fluff & flirty volumes of material, the next two wedding dresses stood out for their 60's simplicity and 90's Jessica McClintok bride or prom dress clean lines.

#Swinging60sBride #60sLinenBridalGown

60s Simplicity Vintage White Linen Sheath Bridal Gown with Ecru Cotton Lace and Detachable Train, as shown below.

#WhiteLacePromGown ##JessicaMcClintokVintage

Chic 90s Jessica McClintok Lace Wedding or Prom Gown

#Vintage50sBride #AlternativeBridalGown

And for the bride who wants an alternative to satin, crinolines and long trains, a "peachy keen" vintage 50s Midi Lacy Peach Dress & Coat Set.