How budget-conscious brides can have their dream dress

The cake, the flowers, the catering… when you’re planning a wedding, the list of expenses goes on and on. One of the most substantial expenses can be the wedding dress. It’s your special day and you want to look flawless and feel amazing, but can you do it without breaking the bank? Many bridal stores have a trying-on fee and even that can be enough to put you over budget!

Here’s how you can buy a dress for the big day without stretching your budget.

Sale, sale, sale

The word ‘sale’ is enough to set many a heart racing with excitement. Many brides, however, don’t think to use sales when looking for their wedding dress. Make a list of your favourite stores and find out when their sales are on. Gowns are often significantly reduced, so it’s well worth a look. Sample sales are another great option, so keep your eyes peeled for advertisements and make sure you scan your local paper.

It’s not second hand – it’s ‘vintage’

Embrace the vintage craze and consider a pre-loved wedding dress. Shopping for a second-hand wedding dress means you could find some serious bargains. Remember, they’ve only been worn once, so many of them are in mint condition. If you want to go really vintage (such as a 1920s gown, for example), there are many speciality stores. You’ll get a dress with real character for half the price.

The bride wore white

If you’re up for being a little adventurous, why not steer away from the typical white wedding dress? The moment the gowns are deemed to be a ‘wedding dress’, you can guarantee the price will triple. Check out the cocktail dress or evening-dress options – you may even still find one in white!

Google your gown

Online shopping – you do it for shoes, groceries and electronics, so why not for your wedding dress too? You can find some great bargains by shopping online, and if you’ve got enough time, you can even order from overseas.

Nip tuck

If you’ve found a dress that’s within your budget but it’s not totally perfect or not quite your size, don’t just keep walking. Think about what you’d like changed and whether or not a seamstress could alter the dress for you. Often, numerous elements can be altered on a dress, including the length, width and detailing. You might be just a few stitches away from the perfect dress.

You don’t have to save for years before you can get married. There are lots of things you can do to reduce the expense of a wedding, and saving money on the dress is a great start. So, whether you found the man of your dreams on www.eharmony.co.uk or at work, you don’t have to wait! Finding cheap wedding dresses can be as challenging as finding free Leeds dating agencies, but with these tips you should be well on your way to beautiful bridedom without being bankrupt!

Fashion Design Goes Green

Nowadays, everyone seems to be going green. In other words, people are altering their lifestyles and consumption rates in order to reduce their ecological footprint on the Earth. This summer season saw record-high temperatures in many parts of the United States. It is becoming clearer and clearer that the globe is slowly warming up. However, going green does not have to mean compromising your fashion sense. Plenty of people have figured out ways to make fashion design into a more environmentally-conscious industry. Here are some recent methods used to combine sustainability with style.

Wholesale clothing manufacturers and fashion designers are taking extra care to use sustainable materials such as cotton, hemp, bamboo and wool produced without the use of chemicals or pesticides. And whether or not the use of sustainable materials are employed in the latest designs, designers are taking specific care to find alternative materials to fur, leather, and other skins and animal products which seem to be regularly associated with high fashion.

Another eco-friendly trend of late is the development of fabrics from recycled clothing and other materials. Innovative, up-and-coming designers are creating entire fashion lines constructed from recycled clothing. This includes men's dress shirts that are fashioned into women's skirts, or vintage nightgowns re-vamped and sewn into evening gowns. And this trend extends beyond recycled fabrics alone. Some designers are making clothes, bags, shoes and accessories made from recycled materials like candy wrappers, plastic water bottles and even old tires!

Being aware of the material that your clothing is made from is only one aspect of sustainable style. There is also the awareness of where your clothes come from. Much of what is considered "couture" is made overseas and shipped to the United States. This uses a lot of energy and creates the excuse for an inflated price. The trick is to shop locally. Buying clothing made in the United States, or even in your own hometown can cut energy costs, and support your local economy.

There's no reason why you can't stay fashionable without adding to the environment's boiling stew of problems. With the consciousness of green fashion comes the consciousness of a greener world beyond fashion. That attitude is exactly what we need!

Links of Interest
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Fashion School Flare For Your Night Out

It doesn't take a fashion college education to get yourself dressed up for a night on the town (though it might help), but things can still get a bit confusing when preparing your sexy self for a special night out. The fashion tides are changing quicker than ever, and the last thing you want is to show up to the door of the hottest night spot looking...well... anything less than hot! Thankfully, we can assure you that you are not the first woman on the planet to encounter the mystery of dressing oneself for a fun night out! Take a look at some of these fashion ensemble ideas, straight out of the fashion college classrooms to inspire you for your own weekend fun.

1. For the woman with the ultra-feminine hourglass figure, a soft, yet structured, fitted dress is a great way to wow the crowds on a night out and about. Pick a short dress that is fitted around the hips and thighs. It often helps to pick a dress that is a different color on the top and bottom, though you can obviously choose any dress that suits your taste. A change of color around the waistline will emphasize your curves, and fitted bottom half will hug your hips and flaunt toned legs! Pair your show-stopping dress with a pair of fun-colored platform pumps, a clutch or a small purse and choose one fun jewelry accessory, like a pair of dangling earrings or even a ring.

2. Who says you can't show up to the club in jeans? As long as the jeans are fitted and sexy, you can absolutely rock some denim duds out and about. If you want to show off your toned legs, and hide any middle pudge, try pairing some faded, fitted, skinny jeans with a loose, low-cut tunic in a fabric like chiffon. In order to remove the focus from your middle section, choose a tunic with a wild pattern, a ruched detail or an empire-waist. Finish off the denim-chic look with a pair of heels, platform booties, some stud earrings and some bangles for your wrists!

3. If you've got an ultra-slim figure to rock, slip on a little black dress and show it off! Since the ultra-slim can pull off pretty much anything, it's a good idea to choose a look that will emphasize the little curvacious-ness that you've got. Choose a short, skin-tight tank dress that will proudly display your tiny legs and work the curves you've got. Choose it in black for a sophisticated staple, or a bright color like peach or red if you're looking to stand out in a crowd. Add a belt around your waist if you really want to emphasize your hips. Finish off the look with a Brightly colored pair of pumps and a classic clutch.

More than an extensive knowledge of fashion merchandising, dressing up to go out takes a little bit of confidence, energy and a lot of personal style. However it really helps if you know what kind of clothes work the best on your body type. That's the type of detail-oriented thinking that becomes the difference between looking good, and looking GREAT!

Sexy Dresses For All Bodytypes

A few years ago a movie came out about four women, all with vastly different body types, and an imaginary pair of jeans that miraculously fit them all. Not only did the pants fit the women, but they fit the women well...really well... These pants were such an amazing, magical discovery, that the friends ended up sharing the pants four ways. They mailed them back and forth all over the world to each other while each of them was in a different place, experiencing their own, unique adventures, and each time that each of the women wore the pants, they seemed to get noticed in a special way...

Unfortunately, fairy tales like that usually only exist in movies. Most real-life fashion situations include women having to learn how to dress in the right cuts and styles for their body types, and guess what? Every body is a little bit different. In the larger-than-life, American retail market, there are so many style possibilities, it can often feel like an incredibly difficult task to dress yourself in the most flattering styles for your body type. Not only is it hard to find your styles in the first place, but it is easy to get distracted by something that you love...that just doesn't fall on your figure the right way. Thankfully, our fashion school experts have dug up some scintillating dress styles that seem to work on every body type we can think of, with no magic necessary!

1. Empire-Waist Dress. The empire-waist dress style refers to a dress that is cut with an extremely high waistline that sits right under the bust, and then a longer, looser skirt flowing downward from there. The empire-waist dress can work on all body types in a truly remarkable fashion. If you have wide hips or a curvy bottom, the flowing skirt can majorly flatter your bottom half. Likewise, if you are top-heavy, or have an especially narrow waist and hops, the skirt can create the illusion of width across your middle.

2.Wide-Sleeve Wrap Dress. A kimono-style, wide-sleeve wrap dress displays wide, dangling armholes, and cinches the waist by wrapping and tying around your middle. The sleeves on the dress make it easy to hide wide arms or flab. Additionally, the tied waistline will emphasize feminine curves, and the deep v-neck will make the torso appear elongated.

3. Full-Skirt Halter Dress. A full-skirt halter dress is a great way embellish your best attributes and hide any not-so-flattering areas. The halter-style upper-half, which ties around the back of the neck will show off the clavicle bone and shoulders (a beautiful part on any woman's body). Additionally, the cinched waist will emphasize narrowness of the waistline, and similarly to the empire-waist style, the full skirt will add body to narrow-hipped ladies, while also disguising extra-wide hips or a full bottom.

Since the magic pants from the movie don't exist in real life, it remains most important to figure out the cuts and styles that will make your body look and feel beautiful. Not everyone can pull off ballgowns, mini-skirts or band-aid dresses, but thanks to our fashion college experts, every woman can try one of these three styles, and look amazing in it. It sure doesn't take a degree in fashion design to dress yourself for an evening out, but it does take a little bit of research and experimentation to find out what works best for your body type!

Get Belted Up This Summer In A Cinch

Throughout the history of fashion design, belts have always been a strong outfit staple. Belts are functional and form-related. They often serve you by holding up your pants, shorts, or skirts, and at the same time they can make a huge fashion statement. Belts can do many things to the figure.

They can pull in at the high waist and emphasize the female hourglass form. They can add a splash of color to a solid-colored dress. Belts can buckle up, tie in a knot, dangle down, sit high on your waist or low around your hips. The possibilities are virtually endless. Whether you choose a subtle and understated belt to tie your sophisticated outfit all together, or you decide to make a bold fashion move with a statement belt, fashion school experts have suggested four belt style ideas to rock around your waist this summer.

1. Wraparound belt. This spring and summer, the wraparound belt has certainly been making its way around town. Typically, these belts are thin, and instead of wrapping around the waist once and buckling in the center, they are extra long in order to wrap around two or even three times before buckling. Sometimes they even tie up in a messy knot instead of regularly buckling. The wraparound belt is a fashion college favorite, and it's an especially hot summer 2011 trend. This belt goes especially well with a loose tunic or shirt-dress.

2. Wide Belt. The wide belt is characterized by its extra wide appearance. This belt won't fit in most belt loops, but many fashionistas would argue that the benefits outweigh the impractical disadvantages. Wide belts can sit on your waist and flatter your body by tucking down your belly. Often, they come equipped with a large, metal clasp or buckle which can truly set the wide belt off as a strong fashion statement. Since it's hard to fit through belt loops of pants, this look goes best over a solid-colored dress. You can try a simple black, brown, tan or gray, or spice it up with a bright color to add some summer flavor to your look.

3. Tassel Belt. This summer, tassels, tassels, fringe and more tassels are popping up all over fashion college campuses and around town. Often in leather or suede, the tassel belt wraps around the waist and lets tassels dangle off of it and hang around the hips or upper thighs. This look is cowgirl-tastic and will totally make any old outfit with denim more interesting. The tassel belt is best paired with a pair of jeans or jean shorts and a blouse.

4. Classic Leather Belt. Perhaps the most wearable and recognizable belt style is the classic leather belt. However classic it is, you can still customize the look to fit your own fashion needs. You can wear a thick belt or a skinny one, a braided leather belt or a regular strip of fine leather. Also, you can embellish with a bold, metal buckle, or keep it simple with a regular clasp. The classic leather belt goes with anything, and better yet it never goes out of style.

Don't underestimate the power of the belt. Pants, shorts, skirts or dresses all need them, and they can really pull together any look. Belts are functional, form-fitting accessories and you can get a lot of wear out of them. This summer, try cinching your waist with this fashion school favorite.