From the eBay Files....

Can you believe it's June already? I swear, this year is just flying by! Last thing I clearly remember it was winter heading into spring, and now Texas is already in the triple digits. At this rate, it'll be holiday season again before I realize it. Anyway, with summertime comes wedding season, and that's what this month's theme is going to revolve around. The more I get into vintage fashion, the more I enjoy looking at both authentic vintage and retro-inspired wedding fashion and accessories. I don't think I've done a full month of wedding stuff on ATV before, so I'm pretty excited. You know the drill, today I went snooping through eBay. Come check out what I found!

Vintage '70s Gunne Sax Bohemian
Wedding Dress, $75

I wanted to start things off with this dress. It should be no secret after the series of posts I did in March that I really like the bohemian, hippie-lite fashion, especially during the summer. If I was doing a really low-key wedding with an outdoor/nature theme, this would be a perfect dress for me. I can't say I have just one dream ceremony in mind; there are many possibilities and many dream ceremonies for me that I think would be perfect depending on certain factors. The flowy material of this dress screams minimalistic jewelry and details, bare feet (maybe the little foot jewel things for decoration?) and a just-before-sunset wedding out in a field if I were to wear it for a ceremony. That's just me. But it sounds like one version of paradise. 

Vintage Dress with Vintage Victorian Beading, $70

Confession time: I actually don't like this dress. I'm not a fan of dresses with long sleeves or high necklines, so I'm quite sure you're wondering why the hell I put it up here, right? Well for one, I love love love long trains and this one obviously has it. Secondly, even though the dress does have a high neckline, I love the fact that it's sheer lace. It looks slightly sparkly and this sells me on it as well. I think the detailed beading in the front of the dress is a unique touch because I don't think I've ever seen detailing in that exact location before, but I also haven't seen a ton of wedding dresses so perhaps my opinion on that element isn't as relevant. lol I If this was my dress, I'd probably cut the sleeves off, turn them into gloves, scrap those shoulder pads, and tailor the sides so it was a little more fitted to my thighs. I don't like when silky material looks baggy, I think it should hug the skin a bit so I'd make the bottom a little more form-fitting. Again, that's just me.

1950s Lace Vintage Champagne
Tea Length Dress, $50

This is a simple off-white dress with a champagne colored waistband, and while I wouldn't wear this to the ceremony, I'd probably wear it to the bridal shower (if the theme was more formal) or the reception. I'd even wear it for a vow renewal ceremony. But for the big day, I always figured I'd go all out. I love how the texture differs from the top into the bottom but kind of fades into the bottom rather than just cutting off at the waist. The touch of champagne at the waist makes the dress more interesting because of the texture variation and the pop of color it provides. On another note, I don't mind selecting a dress similar to this one (in other colors, ofc) for bridesmaids. 

Vintage '70s Soutache Lace Sleeveless Wedding Dress,
$200

I nearly passed this dress up when I saw it, but something made me go back and look at the close-up shot of this dress, and I strongly advise you do the same. I'm still a novice when it comes to clothes and I am just now, at 27, discovering the fun you can have with textures. The style of lace for this dress is just perfect. I've never seen the flowers done in such a way and have it still come out looking as great as this dress does. Again, not something I'd wear to my ceremony, but I'd wear definitely wear it to the reception. It seems light, fun and flowy and still gives you the freedom to dance the night away without falling out from heat stroke. lol 

Vintage Long Sleeved Dress with Lace Cathedral
Train, $145

I know it's not exactly like it, but the first thing that came to mind for me when I saw this dress was Duchess Kate's wedding gown. It's something about the top half of the gown and the sleeves that does it for me. I haven't looked at the Duchess' in a side by side comparison yet, but I still think this dress favors it. Another thing that stood out to me about this dress was the varying lengths and that despite those lengths, it still has a train. I wonder how it falls or if it needs a petticoat underneath. I also like how dainty the lace on this top layer is. I don't like the long sleeves, lace or not, but I do think the dress has potential if you were to tailor/hem it yourself. 

Vintage Floral, Crystal and Pearl Bridal Headband and Veil, $20

This is more a traditional headpiece for the big day than one of the accessories below. I've seen a few throwback wedding photos where the bride was wearing a similar headband and I think it's a slightly less fussy alternative than the crown headpieces. I say slightly because there's still a full veil attached. What I love about this one is the floral headband with the crystal and pearl accents. I think it's ultra glam, very suitable for a princess-style dress, since the veil is attached to the headband it won't fall off in the event of wind, and if you don't want to bother with any of it anymore you can simply remove it without messing up your hair. 

Handmade 30" White Cotton & Lace Bridal Parasol, $10

I love parasols. I am guessing that they're different from umbrellas because they're daintier, maybe? I'm not entirely sure but what I do know with certainty is that I adore them. This would make such a wonderful prop if taking outdoor wedding photos.....and would come in handy for real if you're going to be outside at all for your wedding festivities. I am in love with the lace detailing going around the outer edges and the way that the details differ as you get to the center of the parasol. It's very feminine, still very simple which I like, and does its job of keeping you shielded from the sun. Texas, El Paso in particular, is on the corner of Hell and Earth's Core though so I don't know if it would do any good for us, but a girl can dream. 

Vintage Wedding Sinamay Headband with
Small Veil, $29

At first glance, I thought this was one of the older hats that you'd have to pin to your head and I was a little excited because I love those. I've never had a hat that I've had to pin down before, so I'm really interested to see how that works. When I paid more attention, to both the obvious title and the photos, I realized that this was actually a headband, at which point I fell all the way in love. I have a thing for fascinator-ish headbands; all of my bands have some huge accent piece off to one side. I think this is a simple piece that still has wedding day glamour and the fact that it includes the attached veil is more convenient in terms of the # of pieces you have to keep up with after removal. It's also much more accommodating to outdoor weddings than the traditional, smaller-netted veil piece if you have the ceremony during the summer. Not half as fussy as regular veils. If you're a justice of the peace/elopement type of gal, then this is also a good piece to go with. 

Vintage Cotton White Bridal Hanky, $5

In the likely event of tears...or needing 'something old,' these vintage hankies fit the bill. I really like the simple yet elegant detailing going around the borders and the stitched embroidery connecting the borders with the main part of the hanky. I can't tell if this is 4 different hankies or just two, but I believe this price is for one. If you don't want to carry a bag, I've seen where you can stick the hanky somewhere in the bouquet so that you won't be SOL throughout the day if your mascara runs. They also seem pretty thin, so if you're like me and consider your boobage as extra storage space, folded into a very small square they could fit right at the top of your chest as well, depending on the cut of the dress. Just make sure to pull it out discreetly, lol. 

1970s Beaded Purse, $7

I don't know if this beaded purse was made with the intention of being a bridal accessory, but it does make a pretty fitting one, doesn't it? I thought the size of the purse made it perfect for a bride on her big day. It has that 'something old' feel about it as well and is probably small enough to be tied around the base of a larger bouquet without drawing a lot of attention to it. It's small enough to fit a tiny mirror, a tube of lipstick, and a couple sheets of Kleenex for any mid-day touchups. Too cute. 

There were a lot more dresses and accessories on eBay that I did not feature but I have found that eBay is a really good source to find great authentic vintage bridal pieces. Vintage-inspired pieces are also huge on the site, so if you're not as good yet at picking out authentic garments and accessories or simply want the inspiration, eBay's a viable source to tap. I'm really surprised that of all the eBay searches I've done, both for Files and personal posts, that I've never looked at the bridal section before. Now I have something else to waste...I mean spend...time looking at. LOL Hope you enjoyed!