retro rockabilly wedding goodness

December 6, 2007 4:36 PM

Tea length, retro, rockabilly dresses for my wedding that aren't white. Know a great resource?

I'm getting married February 29th (leap day!) and am looking for a dress that's pink, blue or green with a tea length rockabilly or retro style. What are you favorite vintage retro style dress sites? Petticoats would be fun too.

And has anyone seen that Helen Bonham Carter pink dress anywhere?

Thanks so much for any guidance hive mind!

posted by dog food sugar to clothing, beauty, & fashion (11 comments total)

Stop Staring and Mode Merr both have very cute vintage style dresses. I don't have any personal experience with either line, but have heard good things about the quality of pieces offered at both places.

And congratulations!
posted by suki at 4:48 PM on December 6, 2007

red dress shoppe was the first thing that came to mind. Also, there are some darling 50s dresses at revamp vintage, and vintageous has genuine vintage dresses.
posted by logic vs love at 4:49 PM on December 6, 2007

To get exactly what you want, you might have the dress made. Vogue has reissued a bunch of vintage patterns; having worked with them myself, I'd say those would need to go to a pro to be done well. (Click on the ones with photos to see the drawings - the art is much better than the photography to really convey the dress.) Butterick and Simplicity have also reissued some vintage patterns - Simplicity 3780 is really, really cute in fact - and they are easier to work on than Vogue (or, as we say, Vague's).

You can usually make these dresses for as much as you'd pay at Stop Staring or anywhere else, and it will fit you perfectly . . . and you can make it any color you want.

Your local fabric shop (like Hancock's or even Joann) might know of a local person who does seamstress work - there's always someone. If you know anyone who does reinactment of any kind, whomever makes their costumes might be a good bet, too (as long as their costumes are well-made!). Be sure to select your pattern or patterns before meeting with the seamstress and let her tell you whether she can work with the pattern or not. Seeing as this is not a full-scale wedding gown, it shouldn't take that long to do. Have fun! You'll look awesome no matter what you choose to do or wear.
posted by Medieval Maven at 5:01 PM on December 6, 2007 [2 favorites]

My Baby Jo has rockabilly and retro-style dresses, as well as shoes.

There's also Ebay.

Congratulations!
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 5:01 PM on December 6, 2007

Have you checked out the forums at IndieBride? There's a whole thread about finding poofy, tea-length dresses.

/also wants a tea-length dress for her wedding and will be favoriting this question.
posted by misskaz at 5:19 PM on December 6, 2007

I had the people at Whirlingturban make mine--tea length, retro and non-traditional. I went with one of the circle skirt designs. My now-husband helped me do the measurements. Despite not knowing what we were doing, the dress was sized perfectly and required no alterations.

If you're interested I can send you a photo of what I had made. It was very affordable also--in the $200 range.
posted by divka at 5:54 PM on December 6, 2007

Plasticland and Pinup Girl Clothing carry rockabilly/retro looks too.
posted by xo at 6:15 PM on December 6, 2007

Oh my good golly gosh! Every answer is AMAZING! Thank you so much everyone! Keep 'em coming!
posted by dog food sugar at 6:15 PM on December 6, 2007

Trashy diva has some really lovely retro style dresses, ranging from formal to casual.
posted by estronaut at 7:56 AM on December 7, 2007

Have you seen the Simple Silhouettes site? They have some lovely dresses that seem to be in the same spirit as the Helena Bonham Carter dress; and their color selection is great.
posted by Spinneret at 3:34 PM on December 7, 2007

O.M.G.

This is so great. I can not thank all of you enough! I love every single one of these sites.

I must say I'm really leaning towards divka's Whirlingtuban at the moment.

For others who favorite'd this thread, here's some sites I found on my own search:
Daddy'O's where the blue and green dress I linked at the top are from,
Unique Vintage,
Stephanie James,
Posh Girl Vintage.

Again I can't thank everyone enough. Every link is a treasure trove of fabulousness! I'm going to have to re-do my entire wardrobe.
posted by dog food sugar at 6:11 PM on December 7, 2007