From the Etsy Files....

Honestly, a lot of the reason why I wanted to feature weddings this month was because I wanted to show off some of the amazeballs wedding dresses I've come across on Etsy each month. There are so many unique, creative ideas and shops on Etsy that I love checking out, not to mention that there are also a lot of authentic vintage pieces for sale on the site, which is also great. I so wish I could feature all of my wedding favorites from different decades, but then this post would be waaaaaaaay too long for both comfort and attention span. lol I haven't forgotten about this month's Vintage Spotlight post; it'll be up within the next few days. Just bear with me a little while longer so I can get caught up. June's been a busy month for me in my personal life so I haven't had as much time lately to dedicate to posts. I'm hoping to get back on track (or as close to it as possible lol) for July. But enough about me. Etsy, take us away!

Cream vintage tulle & lace wedding dress,
$375

This reminds me of a late 1800s--early 1900s sort of dress, maybe because of the lace in the skirt. It has kind of an Art Deco feel to it, maybe? I can't quite place the time period. But I can see wearing some cute Victorian-style brown leather boots with this. I normally don't like the multiple pearl necklace thing, but I like the way that this dress was accessorized. I think it helps with inspiration of what else to pair with the dress. There's something I really like about this, I just can't quite put my finger on it enough to explain it properly.

Retro Record Wedding Invitation, $6.50

I saw one of these while I was going through my picks for Pinterest and I knew immediately that I was going to be putting this on the Etsy files. How '50s adorable is this?? I never would have thought to have a record-style invitation, just like I never would have thought to design my invitation like a vintage fair, like I showed you on Pinterest last week. 
I think this is such a fun and creative way to integrate a subtle touch of retro inspiration into your wedding if you don't want to go over the top with the vintage elements. I also think it's a nice way to ensure that your guests will want to keep the invite; I've noticed that the cuter the invite, the more prone folks are to keep them after the wedding as a memento. Or maybe that's just me. lol 

1950s 14k Aquamarine Engagement or Wedding Ring
with Rose Gold Band, $895

If you don't want the traditional engagement or wedding ring and still want something that has a bit of retro elegance to it, I think this ring or one in a similar style would be a good way to go. Rose gold is in again, so actually, if you like to stay on trend with things and go vintage at the same time, this ring yet again answers the call. 

Instead of the typical diamond in the band, this gem is aquamarine and I think it paired very well with the rose gold band. For a ring that's nearly 70 years old, the previous owners have taken very good care of it; I'm no jewel expert but I don't see a lot of clouding or flaws in the aquamarine. I love it.

Rare 1920s Silk Peignoir Negligee Set, $878.99

This is a peach trousseau set with the gown and robe from the '20s. Can't include wedding day fashion without including a lil sumthin' sumthin' for the real show--the wedding night! lol This is an excellently maintained set from the '20s and I love it. It's totally sheer so don't think for a second about wearing this (even with the robe) to leave your hotel room--not that you should have leaving that room on your mind anyway! I feel like the only thing this is missing is some of those cute boudoir 1" heels with the little pouf on them, a 'la Blanche from the Golden Girls. 

18k Art Deco Diamond Necklace, $4,950

This is an Art Deco-inspired necklace, and I am plotzing so hard over it. This is an 18k white gold bridal necklace, which I think would be sooo amazing to wear with certain types of wedding gowns. Depending on the style of the dress, this would work as an awesome accent piece if you have a simple gown, or if you want to go all out with the massive gowns. I wouldn't wear something like this if the neckline isn't sweetheart or strapless; I'm not sure it would look right. 

I love the detailing on the necklace as well as the trio of hanging stones. I think that it would look good as a choker without the diamonds, but it looks fab with them. It's extremely pricey but considering that we are talking about 18k metal, 2k total in diamonds, and the fact that there's only one of these for sale in the shop, I suppose it's worth it.  

1970s Lace Bridal Gloves, $17

I'm not normally a glove person, but the more I get into vintage bridal fashion the more I find myself looking at gloves. I'm not exactly good with gloves and definitely not white ones; I have the distinction of being both a clumsy and messy gal sometimes (read: all the time) and these wouldn't last the morning. I do like them a lot though. They're sheer, I love the floral pattern, and I like that they're a shorter length. With shorter gloves like these, I think they'll go well with both short and long dresses depending on the style. The price isn't bad either.

                                                                             

Upcycled Art Deco-Inspired Chandelier Earrings, $28

What I like about these earrings is that they're upcycled. Originally these were just clip-on earrings, but the seller of these earrings decided to upcycle them and insert the rhinestones. I like that she did that because not only do the rhinestones fit with the theme of the earring frame, but I hate when older pieces get thrown out because people are unsure of how to repurpose them. The price is pretty solid too and I think they're good for both formal and semi-formal wear because they're not overly fancy.

1950s Lilli Diamond Cocktail Party Dress, $228

Honestly, the first thing that came to mind with this dress was, "This would be a really nice option if I wanted a small civil ceremony." Even though this is actually a cocktail dress, I think it would be suitable for a justice of the peace or barebones ceremony. I think it's ultra simple, it's still functional for everyday wear, but it does have a bridal feel to it. 
Dressing it up for a simple ceremony wouldn't be hard, there are both headband veils and small fascinator-style veils that would be complementary to the style of this dress. Pearls are timeless, I like how they look with the dress in this photo and I think keeping it completely simple if going with a dress like this provides a classic sort of elegance. Not my personal style, but I like. 

1920s Art Deco-Inspired Flapper Wedding Dress, $535

I can fully admit that it was the sparkles on this dress combined with those feathers that made me click on it initially. I first wanted to make sure that those feathers were part of a separate boa and weren't sewn on to the dress. lol Then I wanted to see the detailing on the dress. This is obviously a '20s inspired wedding gown, and only because I'm so late with this post can I tell you that I will be putting up a piece from my Amazon Files that would look so slammin' with this dress. 
This isn't normally the type of dress that I'd go for, but I adore this one and it would fit right in if you wanted to either go simple without the fuss of bustles and tulle layers or if you wanted to go full '20s glam for your big day. 

Handmade '20s/'30s Flapper Deco Dream
Wedding Dress, $599

It's another '20s inspired gown. I know. But who cares, get a gander at that back!! That is the entire reason I'm so in love with this dress. I'm not a fan of slinky dresses; if you have body flaws or problem areas slinky or silky material like this seems to accentuate them all. But I would Spanx it up and call it a day just so I could wear this. 
I don't think I'd like the back of this dress quite as much if done with a dress of another material, and I don't think it would embody the era it was inspired by if used with another material. The silky, sexy material is glamorous in sort of an effortless sort of way, with bling dripping everywhere. This dress really does pay tribute to that, so hats off to the designer for creating this. It is perfect as is. If you want to see another dress in this shop with a super sexy back, check out this one.

1970s McCall's Bridal Gown Pattern, $13.50

For the ambitious seamstress, here is a '70s based bridal gown pattern from McCall's. I would be so intimidated by trying to create my own wedding dress. If I didn't use it for a bridal gown, it does look like it would be a good foundation for a cute summer maxi dress or high-waisted skirt if you were able to get creative with the pattern. I've never sewn my own garments though, so I don't know if I can make separates out of a dress pattern.
 If any of you are seamstresses, educate me please--if you were to buy a pattern for a dress like this, could you get creative and make a skirt instead? How much freedom do you have with patterns?

Vintage Bohemian Floral & Lace Bridal Hat, $32.50

Other than the mushroom cap style wedding caps from around the '50s or so, I've never seen a bridal hat before. I saw this one though and I kinda love it. It really does fit the bohemian style, which would also suit more than a couple of the dresses from a shop I'm going to feature below. I prefer this kind of hat anyway, the more floppy hats, so to know that there's a bridal version is kinda sweet. If you're doing a really boho style ceremony and have a dress with maybe similar lace appliques on it, this hat would be fab with it. 









Also, I wanted to feature a few shops on Etsy that I came across that have a sweet selection of vintage or vintage-inspired bridalwear. 
A couple of the items I featured in this post are from Retro Vintage Weddings and I am completely obsessed with the bridal portion of the shop. The categories of wedding dresses are very organized, so everything is easy to find and if you're a beginner at learning time periods in fashion, this is a good place to study. That's actually how I learned about different time periods in fashion; I studied various shops and websites that specialized in different fashion eras and the staples or signatures of the time period. Even though some of these pieces are vintage-inspired, they are inspired enough to where you can see the time period it fits into, which I like. I love this shop and if you like vintage bridal fashion, I think you will too. 
I couldn't do a bridal post without posting something that was '70s related, which brings me to this next shop. Daughters of Simone is an awesome shop specializing in bohemian bridal wear, and I love the effortless feel of the dresses that are for sale. The dresses are no-fuss, simple and gorgeous. Some of the dresses have trains, while others barely graze the ankles. Some have an off the shoulder neckline, and others are long-sleeved. But they're all undeniably boho and '70s chic.  
millstreetvintage is a fantastic shop that I discovered while looking for bridal goodies.So far this is my favorite piece in the shop, with this one pulling a close second and this one in third. There is a variety of different party, formal and casual dresses spanning from the '50s to '70s although you might come across the rare '40s frock or pair of vintage wedges. If you're from mill street vintage and you ever read this, if you're ever in need of a model for these hot clothes, I am so down!!! LOL
While I was looking for sexytime wear, I found Dixie Dallas, which has a fab and varied offering of vintage lingerie and nighttime clothing. I featured one of the pieces from the shop earlier in this post and much like Retro Vintage Weddings, the shop is very organized and put together well. The pieces have been kept in superb shape and even though I'm not normally a frilly person for bed, I'm willing to change. LOL

Well, that wraps it up for me this week. I can't quite explain the giddy joy....and the near devastation lol....that I had trying to fit some of my favorites into this post and having to leave some of them off. And I still didn't do my regular of just 10 items; I couldn't. Just couldn't. lol One thing I did notice was that certain decades have a lot more in the way of wedding fashion than others. In case you couldn't tell by several of the things I featured, I have a thing for Art Deco. lol I hope you were able to find some eye candy in this post or maybe a few new favorites on Etsy to check out; this post was seriously one of the highlights of my week and I really hope you enjoyed it. 

UPDATE: 6/26 Mandy's note: On another note, as I mentioned on Twitter and I believe at the top of this post, this month has been super busy for me. Here's what's been going on. Two of my brothers had graduation ceremonies I had to attend, I had surgery last Monday so I've had pre-op, clearance and post-op doctor's appointments clusterf!cked throughout the month, the battery on my laptop is dead so I haven't been able to take my laptop with me and finish posts on the go, I'm super behind on my review blog so I've been trying to catch up on those posts as well as my book reviews (which believe it or not, were worse than either blog in terms of lag lol), we had a near tragedy in the family last Thursday, my brother's birthday was yesterday, and personally, I'm just not doing so good. Whew. That was a lot. It's been a really tough time for me emotionally and mentally and I think not being satisfied in life in general has contributed a lot to my mood and my motivation levels. I love being a blogger, I really do. But to say I'm struggling right now with it would be an understatement. I think I'm just struggling period. I don't feel comfortable with going into too much detail and that also isn't the point of this little update, but just know that I really am working hard to catch up on everything.