Miscellaneous Monday: Nail Polish, Studebakers & Lace

Can you smell that? I think Christmas is in the air! (OK, OK, enough cheese, but I just can’t help getting excited about this season!). As we properly near the start of winter, I thought I’d share some truly seasonal miscellany today. This week I’m loving warm grey nail polish, red Studebakers, and frosty lace mermaid dresses.

Favourite accessory: warm grey nail polish

If you’ve read much around the blog, you know that I love nail polish – it’s my favourite accessory. I also hold the firm belief that it’s the perfect accessory for any occasion – including your wedding day. My particular favourite nail polish for this season is Essie’s Cashmere Bathrobe. I’ll grant that the name doesn’t exactly sound like something you’d wear on your wedding day, but it does encapsulate the warmth of this gorgeous grey tone, perfect for a December or January wedding.

Favourite transport: red Studebaker

What better way to incorporate the colour of the season than in the car you arrive in? Some of our favourite folks over at Kens Cars have this fabulous 1928 American Studebaker Dictator available to brides in the west country and I can’t picture a more perfect vehicle for the season.

Favourite wedding dress: lace mermaid dress

This dress combines the elegance of lace with the drama and sexiness of a backless dress. We found this particular look on Etsy, but if you’d prefer to find a similar gown in your area, check out our list of stockists in the Bristol and Bath area on our website.

As usual, if you’ve got some miscellany of your own to share, we want to know! Tweet us @WestWeddings or email us at westweddingsbristol@gmail.com. 

The death of the strapless dress?

You know wedding season is coming up when searches for wedding hats have increased by 235% in the last month. How do we know this? Well, Twenga, the new-generation search engine which enables shoppers to see items from different retailers across the world in one handy place, has released data today about what brides in 2011 are looking for online.

The dress silhouette of the moment, according to the research, is the princess cut, closely followed by the mermaid and empire line. Perhaps marking the end of the strapless dress' dominance over the last few years, the most popular necklines are off the collar, scoop and v necks.

Veils are also up in popularity, with Twenga noting a 113% increase in searches for this item.

Pronovias is the most searched-for brand, but Ronald Joyce and Justin Alexander, in second and third place, have seen a rise in their popularity. In fourth is Benjamin Roberts and  budget-savvy brides have resulted in Nicholas Millington coming in fifth.

Of course, with two Royal Weddings coming up in the next six months - as well as fashion royalty Kate Moss - it will be interesting to see how the dresses chosen will influence other brides' choices. Just as copies of Oscar gowns go on sale immediately after the ceremony, so too have Royal Weddings traditionally led to dress styles being emulated within days of their first glimpse - something that began in Victorian times. Whatever Kate, Kate and Zara opt for will soon be showing up in Twenga's search results.