Thread Said

This weekend, something big is happening. Most of you probably at least know of Gilt Groupe, if you aren’t already a loyal member who, say, checks in on the site every single day at noon to peruse the latest designer sale. (Today: Alexander Wang.) Well, a few months ago, the girls at Gilt approached us about participating in a wedding sale they were planning, a sale that would offer everything a bride needs on her big day, from bridesmaid dresses (ahem) to wedding gowns to shoes to jewelry to lingerie to juice cleanses, all at discounted prices. (A word on juice cleanses, by the way: Don’t knock ‘em until you try ‘em. This could just be the New York in us talking, but they do rejuvenate a gal [or a boy], inside and out.) Anyway, we agreed to participate, and while that is all we can really tell you for now, may we strongly suggest logging on to Gilt at 12pm sharp on Friday, March 12? (For those of you who aren’t yet members, head over to gilt.com and fill out the ‘request membership’ form.)

(Ed. note: Oh, and sorry about the title of this post. Couldn’t resist, yet again.)

One of our recently engaged friends just called, breathless with the news that her new life as a bride-to-be planning a wedding (a full-time job, as we all know) just got so much easier.

“How?” we asked, wary. A super-expensive wedding planner? An over-achieving maid of honor?

She scoffed at us and sent us a Google link. What the… we thought, and then clicked. And then, like sunshine on a cloudy day, we stared, in awe, at a Google Docs page specifically designated for wedding planning templates. We clicked on the first template in the long list, Wedding Planner, and were brought to a concise list of how to maneuver the other wedding planning docs, and in what order. Other available templates included a budget planner, an address book, a music list, a day-of schedule, a reception menu, and just about everything in between, all of which operate with the sort of efficiency that seems to be unique to Google.

So, now that we’ve done our duty by passing along this gem of a discovery, please excuse us: We have a make-believe wedding to plan.

The launch of net-a-porter.com’s Wedding Boutique might be the best wedding present you’ll get. Listen to (or, er, read) this: The insanely talented buyers over there combed through every single dress, gown, shoe, purse, piece of jewelry and lingerie on the shopping site to curate the perfect one-stop designer shop for brides-to-be. What does this mean? It means that you won’t spend hours quietly sobbing over the non-existence of a decent pair of white heels, because you can just pop on the site and choose from one of many chic pairs of white heels. It means, essentially, that stylish brides-to-be have their own personal shopper, someone who has seen literally everything designers have to offer and specifically picked out the best for you. The site, for goodness’ sake, even offers dresses chosen specifically for the kind of bride you hope to be (classic? bohemian? minimalist?), which, in turn, makes us think there can only be one kind of bride shopping the site in the end: a very happy one.

Just as fashion magazine often advise real women to buy leopard print boots or leather minis, so bridal magazines often advise brides-to-be to dress their bridesmaids in different colors and styles. Problem is, all are nice ideas in theory, and all look great on the glossy page, but most of us end up erring on the side of the tried and true, and opting for a pair of black boots over the leopard, for six identical navy bridesmaid dresses instead of a rainbow of differing styles. We don’t blame you (or us) for this; after all, better safe than sorry.

Better safe than sorry, that is, until you see how right things can turn out when you take a bit o’ advice from the bridal mags, when you decide to go for it and be bold. Case in point? Our friend Brooke’s wedding (see pic above), which took place this past December. Each of her bridesmaid wore a different Thread dress in a different bright color, and from this photo alone you can sense how cheerful and happy and joyful and festive a celebration this must have been, in no small part (we like to think) because of her beautiful rainbow of bridesmaids.

(Ed. note: Sorry about the title of this post. We just couldn’t resist.)

Photo courtesy of Lindsay Jane.

If you are a bride, and you do live in the NYC area, chances are that you have at least heard of the Wedding Library, if you aren’t already essentially living there, what with all the bridal and bridesmaid and stationary and floral (etc, etc.) appointments. You see, the Wedding Library is kind of a one-stop-shop for brides-to-be, as the owners, Claudia Hanlin and Jennifer Zabinski, have pooled their collective knowledge and resources to represent the best out there in wedding land, which, aside from the wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses, stationary and flowers previously mentioned, also includes bands and photographers and caterers and everything in between. Pretty genius, right?

In any case, we at Thread will be holding a trunk show with the Wedding Library girls over at their gorgeous headquarters on 43 East 78th street between Madison and Park on Friday, February 12 and Saturday, February 13. Our new spring collection will be on hand to view and order. See you there, pretties!

(Side note: Can we address how heavenly this photo of the Wedding Library looks? The green trees, the sunshine and the shadows, the (we imagine) birds chirping, the quiet breeze. Spring at it’s finest. )

Our Molly dress is a bridal favorite: a favorite of ours at Thread, for sure, but also a favorite of magazines (it’s been featured in many a fashion spread) and of brides-to-be (it’s often one of the dresses they first ask about). We personally adore the idea of a short wedding dress; a dress like the Molly perfectly suits, say, a city hall wedding. (Case in point: Beth’s own nuptials.) Or a beach wedding. Or an intimate garden wedding. But our question is this: Are most brides out there really, in the end, wearing a short dress on their wedding day? During the actual ceremony, not just the reception?

Just curious, and, as such, pondering out loud (or, er, online), us being dress designers and all.

(At left: Our Molly bridal dress. Short but super chic.)

A lot of you out there probably already know about this addicting little timesucker, but we just stumbled across it when cruising around Brides magazine’s website. It’s, uh, a colorwheel. (Naturally.) Designed to inspire a wedding color palate for brides-to-be, it spouts out a different color combination with each click of a mouse. Violet + Orange + Lilac? So pretty! And how would we have ever known that otherwise? You can even narrow down your search options if you’d like to focus on, say, contrasting colors or neutral undertones.

We must warn you, however, that we don’t use the word ‘timesucker’ lightly. In fact, we use it quite literally: It took us a good 45 minutes to pull ourselves away and do this posting on it. Happy clicking!

No, Lulu is not the girl in this gown. (That’s our beautiful pal Ally! Hi Ally!) Lulu is, in fact, the white dress on Allie, and our newest addition to Thread’s small (but perfect–to us, anyway) bridal collection, and we are SO excited to introduce her because:

a.) We LOVE this style. The one-shoulder? Different and fun, but still chic and understated. The gentle pouf on the shoulder? Adds that necessary wedding flair without being too much. The empire-ish waist? Oh-so flattering on just about every body type.

b.) We can AFFORD this style. And you can, too: Despite being made out of a gorgeous silk gazaar, Lulu (like all of our bridal gowns, ahem!) retails for under $1000. $795, to be exact.

Lulu is just the first of a few new gals (and by gals we mean styles, obviously) coming soon to our bridal collection.

Brides-to-be out there, get excited, because we are. (Clearly.)

Today, while we were aimlessly cruising the web – er, working, we came across this pair of earrings. The first thing we thought was how utterly gorgeous and simply chic they would look on a bride. Can’t you just see ‘em worn with a low bun, set against bare, tanned shoulders and a simple strapless ivory dress? Sigh. Our second thought was that these puppies must cost a fortune. (We know you’re thinking the same thing.) But guess what? They don’t. They are $80. Yep. Talk about a steal, right? In fact, engaged or not, we are thinking of snagging a pair just to have for when our Big Day finally comes…

(Buy these pretty little gems here. And send pics if you do, please!)

… to remember and pay homage to the oft overlooked and under-appreciated alternate to the standard summer wedding: the Winter Wedding. Perhaps the colder weather mandates a higher standard of formality, but every winter wedding we’ve been to has been a positive bastion of cozy, festive, flat-out glamour. Case in point? Our own Melissa’s night-before-New Year’s nuptials, held at NYC’s Bowery Hotel and just oozing with… well, just look at these pictures. Need we say more?

(Above left and above right, Melissa and her husband Alex; above middle, Melissa and her father. Ridiculously amazing photos courtesy of Christian Oth.)