Vintage Weddings - One Hundred Years of Bridal Fashion & Style

I have to confess I love books and wedding dresses so when this absolutely beautiful book turned up on my desk yesterday I was a little ecstatic. Vintage Weddings - One Hundred Years of Bridal Fashion & Style by Marnie Fogg is, as you guessed it, all about amazing wedding dresses. From the 1900's through till now discover the designes and trends that changed the world of bridal design forever. With foreword by designer extrodinaire Bruce Oldfield OBE it's a absolutley gorgoeus book full of wonderful pictures and information. It even includes a wedding planner and a section on groom's fashion of the time. In perfect time for the Royal wedding! Vintage Weddings is published by Cameron House and is available at all good bookstores from June 2011 for $49.99.



Posted by Emilie Harrison

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MoS Guest Blogger from Washington DC: Last Minute Gift Guide!

When MoS Charlotte asked me to guest post while she was on “Blog Maternity Leave,” I excited to help her out! That emotion was quickly followed by a small moment of panic. MoS Charlotte and MoS Washington do such a fabulous job day in and day out! I knew I could not fill their big blog shoes! Instead of trying to appear to have some fashion or design sense, I am going to appeal to the other procrastinators out there (like me!) and give a quick run down on some Last Minute Holiday Gifts! Hope some of these ideas help you out!

The Gift of Books 

I am a big fan of giving books as presents! And yes, I was that girl who gave books as presents in elementary school when everyone else gave My Little Ponies and Shera dolls. Here are some of my favorite books from 2009 that you might want to sneak onto your holiday gift list to give or to receive!

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

The Blind Side is a great book for the guy in your life and is a must-read for any sports fan. Although the book was published in 2007, the movie by the same title is out in theaters now and it is getting great reviews! Sandra Bullock was just nominated for Golden Globe with her role in this movie! There are 2 different stories running through this book- one story discusses the evolution of football to allow for the importance of the left tackle position. The other part of the story tells how a boy named Michael Ohr  grew up on the streets of Memphis and amazingly became of the most sought after college football recruits.  Available on amazon.com for $8.97.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

This book actually came out in 2008, but it was such a great book I had to mention it. I am not normally a fan of short stories, but Olive Kitteredge won me over. The book, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, is a series of short stories that weave together the lives of the residents in a small coastal town in Maine. Often it is hard to bring characters to life in just a few pages, but Elizabeth Strout succeeds. This book is a must-read. Available on Amazon.com for $8.40.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Kate Morton is an Australian writer whom I stumbled across in my public library this past summer. The Forgotten Garden is very reminiscent of the classic book, The Secret Garden and feels like a guilty pleasure when you are reading it. The story begins with a very young girl who arrives by boat in Australia unaccompanied and with no knowledge of her background. The story weaves together the search for the truth about the young girl’s family and past. Of course, there is a forgotten garden that links the past with the present and eventually the great mystery of the girl’s past is pieced together. Available on Amazon.com for $15.21.

Okay, okay…. this blog is called Matters of Style and I have been busy talking about books!  If you don’t want to pick out some books for the holidays, here are a few items on my own personal shopping list (to give and to receive!) that may inspire you as you make your last minute Christmas lists!

The Splurge Gift

Spend some money on yourself or shamelessly ask someone else to splurge on you!  Here on some of the items on my own wish list!

How about this nice pair of Stuart Weitzman pumps for $295?  Wouldn’t they be fabulous for one of the holiday parties Guest Blogger Atlanta wrote about on Tuesday?

Or this gorgeous Tory Burch satchel for $435? Perfect for holding all of your work essentials during the week and for your busy Saturday mornings running errands.

And I am drooling over this Ranjana Khan necklace made with crystals ad glass faux pearls. To die for!

Not-such-a-Splurge Gifts

So we can’t always get the splurge items on our Christmas lists! Here some other items I am hoping are under the tree Christmas morning! 

I would love to cozy up in this V-Neck Henley sweater from J Crew. Prices are listed as ranging from $129.99 to $142.50 on jcrew.com

If you haven’t bought a pair of LL Bean’s Wicked Good slippers, then you don’t know what you are missing! These slippers are so comfy, you’ll wish you could wear them to work! And for only $49.95, this is a gift that is sure to make your wallet happy as well!

I love this Vintage Vine bracelet from Banana Republic, which costs a very nice $42. It would be a great addition to a New Year’s Eve outfit!

And a few other ideas...

What about buying tickets? (For You or Others!)  To concerts, sporting event, the ballet, the opera… I could go on and on. Tickets are a great last-minute idea! Personally, I am hoping snag some tickets to the Golden State Warriors vs. the Washington Wizards so I can see Davidson’s Stephen Curry play!

Bottoms up! A fine bottle of wine or liquor might do the trick last minute! Why not splurge on a nice bottle of wine or a nice bottle of liquor this holiday season?  You can show that you know the gift recipient well by purchasing the type of wine or liquor he or she prefers. And I will admit that I had to make use this last minute idea last year when I discovered that my mother-in-law and I had bought the same gift for my husband only a few days before Christmas! The Johnnie Walker was a hit if I say so myself!

Have you considered an Alternative Gifts this year?   Nothing symbolizes the true spirit of giving like an “Alternative Gift”. You can give an alternative gift by making donation to a good cause or charity in honor of a friend or loved one. This is the type of gift you know you will feel good about giving, and people will be happy to receive! We all know times are tough, and Alternative Gifts are a great way to help other less fortunate than ourselves. As a teacher, I have to give a brief plug for the great website www.donorschoose.org. This site allows you to give to teachers in high-poverty schools across the country so they can supply their classrooms for the best learning to take place. DonorsChoose is linked with companies like Barnes & Noble and Office Depot, so you know the teachers will receive the items listed on their posting.

Happy Gift Giving!

Thank you to our wonderful guest blogger for these fantastic ideas- no matter how much you plan for Christmas, there's still always something to grab at the last minute, and these suggestions are much appreciated!

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French Style

Another of my favourite inspirations when I'm designing wedding stationery or planning a photo shoot for WSG is French Style and Decoration - A Sourcebook of Original Designs by Stafford Cliff. This book is so beautifully designed with many full page reproductions of French design through the ages.

With a total of 600+ designs every page reveals a different medium from wallpaper design, fabric patterns to tablesettings.





Available from Amazon for USD$20.57 + shipping.

I love this book so much I have just ordered the second book in the series - English Style and Decoration. No doubt this will be equally as inspiring.

Posted by Jane Cameron

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The Glossy Life

With Christmas fast looming (5 weeks and 2 days to be exact!) it's time to start thinking of neat little gifts for your closest girlfriends. If, like me, they like to read, like to splurge (on important things of course) and need a few survival tips on setting realistic financial goals, overcoming emotional spending, shopping addiction (I tell myself there are worse things you can be addicted to!) and how to save, then Marianne Vicelich's The Glossy Life is just what they need. Chapters such as 'Make your wish and make it come true', 'From Prada to nada: How to cope with poverty', 'Small things make you happy' and 'You Inc' aim to point you in the right direction for achieving your financial dreams. All seems pretty easy to me! The book is available at select bookstores nationally and retails for $34.95. Visit www.booktopia.com.au to purchase online!

Posted by Emilie Harrison

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A Source of Inspiration

I was rummaging around in my bookcase at home this morning and stumbled across one of my favourite books, one I'd like to share with you. It's called The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones. My version is a reprint of the first release from 1856.

Owen Jones was an architect and designer in the Victorian era and was esteemed enough to be appointed Director of Decorations for the awe-inspiring Crystal Palace exhibition in London. Over his lifetime he travelled extensively through Europe and the Near East, cataloguing the amazing array of decoration and architecture in an attempt to improve the standard of British design. It's an incredibly interesting read as he details his finds from each country and touches on the history he unfolds and it includes over 2000 patterns - makes my head spin!





I find this book is a constant source of inspiration for me - something that inspires design, colourways, ornamentation, decoration - all of the elements that go into wedding styling. It's a question we hear over and over here at Wedding Style Guide - 'how do I determine a theme for my wedding'. The answer is simple - find something that inspires you. It may be an interesting pattern like the ones in my book, or it may be something completely unique to you. Whatever it is, it can be a platform from which all other ideas will spring.

Posted by Jane Cameron

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Well Noted

If you're after a cute-as-pie place to keep all your notes in the lead up to a big event or special occasion then I'd get your hands on one of Cristina Re's gorgeous new journals. Available in 6 designs featuring luxurious finishes such as metalic foiling, flocking and embossing, as well as lined pages, they'd make the perfect gift or special keepsake. The journals are available in A5 hard cover with grosgrain ribbon and mini soft cover with elastic. Visit www.cristinare.com to view and shop online.





Posted by Emilie Harrison

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Brilliant Bookends

Nothing completes a room like a well displayed bookshelf.  From built-ins to the budget-friendly Billy, a bookshelf can really add warmth and coziness to a room.  And as we have posted before here, the way you arrange your books and other decorative objects makes all the difference in the world. 

One key element to any bookcase is a fabulous bookend.  Bookends often come in matching sets of two, but we also love the idea of using a decorative object as a bookend- be creative!

In this home featured in Elle Decor, various pictures and vases are used in lieu of traditional bookends.

Elle Decor

Here, they have used large seashells, urns, and to break up (and hold up!) the rows of books.

Elle Decor

Figurines, orbs, bowls, and lacquer boxes make perfect bookends here!  Even a special bottle of wine!

I Suwanee

We love how they have displayed art on the bookshelves behind the books.  It adds another layer of interest and depth to the shelves.

Jane Mayle Habitually Chic

Colorful book covers make such an interesting wall of this room.  We love the vases, orbs, and boxes used intermittently on these built-in shelves!

Domino via Simply Seleta

We never would have thought of laying all the books down horizontally, but it looks fab here, particularly when accented with seashells, coral, and other organic elements!

Simply Seleta

Who knew that a tv could be gracefully included in some bookshelves?!

Domino via Patricia Gray Interiors

What a contrast, from elegant crystal candlesticks to a child's giraffe figurine- you can definitely use any objects that are special to you!

House Beautiful

This Pottery Barn ad brilliantly uses a set of turquoise foo dogs as bookends.  This is something I've copied in my own entryway!

Pottery Barn

And for some of our favorite bookends...

Jonathan Adler's divided bull is so cute and edgy!  It adds a fun masculine touch to your shelves.

Jonathan Adler

As I may have mentioned before, I found PERFECT agate bookends like these on the way to MoS Washington's wedding at the Greenbrier.  Who knew that a quick stop for gas at the West Virginia Welcome Center would result in such a fabulous purchase?  And the set was $12, which is hard to beat!  If you aren't headed to West Virginia anytime soon, you can order these from Jayson.

Jayson Home & Garden

We love organic (or organic-inspired) elements like these silver "wood" bookends from BD Jeffries.  If you are in Charlotte or Atlanta, definitely check out this fab interiors store!

BD Jeffries Wood Bookends

Foo dogs!  So ugly they are cute, right?  You can spend a small fortune on some antiques, but if you want the look without the commitment, try these from CB2!

CB2 Fu Dog Bookends

Plantation Home Amethyst Bookends

Plantation Home Ammonite Fossil Bookends

These crystal ball and cast iron bookends from Restoration Hardware are gorgeous!  They are an interesting variation on the ball lamps that you see all over the place.

Restoration Hardware Crystal Ball Bookends

Isn't this blue coral from Vivre just stunning?  And we love that it is already mounted on a lucite stand.

Vivre Blue Coral Sculpture

How fun is this white ceramic stack of "books" to use on your bookshelves?!

Williams-Sonoma Home White Ceramic Books

Isn't this faux coral so gorgeous?  Looks just like the real thing but is much friendlier for the environment!

Z Gallerie Faux Coral

We are obsessed with elephants!  Wouldn't this elephant statue be so cute on your bookshelf?  Or even on the floor holding a stack of your favorite books!

Z Gallerie Ceramic Elephant

This white parrot is the perfect traditional touch for your modern bookshelves.  And like everything else at Z Gallerie, the price is right!

Z Gallerie Ceramtic Parrot

We posted these fabulous ceramic pineapples a few weeks back after our Key West trip, but we can't help but include them in this post about bookends.  A pair of these would be just beautiful flanking a collection of books!

Z Gallerie Ceramic Pineapples

Ebay is a wonderful resource for fabulous vintage bookends!!  The prices are great, and you can really find some interesting pieces!

We love vintage alabaster, and these little alabaster statues are so unique and interesting!  Like the foo dogs, they are so ugly they are cute...

Ebay Vintage Alabaster Bookends

We would definitely paint these wise old owls a shiny white.  Such an easy project, and you can't beat the price!

Ebay Owl Bookends

We imagine these horse head bookends in a gorgeous neutral room with linen sofas and nailhead trim. 

Ebay Vintage Horse Bookends

More adorable elephants!

Ebay Vintage Elephant Bookends

Which bookends are your favorites?  Do you have any special ones in your house?

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