Beach Wedding Ideas from The Royal Wedding ! !

April 29th, 2011

It’s official. I’m an incurable romantic! With all these weddings in my life all year long you’d think that I wouldn’t crumble so but, I confess, I did. Especially when Kate was on her way to the cathedral! Weddings are just such uplifting occasions.

I thought I’d share my two cents about elements of design that went into Kate’s look that can be translated into one that’s appropriate for a beach bride.

Her Dress

Stylistically we certainly saw a gorgeous example of ancient classicism balanced to perfection with elegant modernity.  I’m not saying that Kate’s dress was appropriate for a beach wedding, but this combo of ancient and modern looks is good for one.  Kate was definitely dressed formally but there was such an aura of simplicity to how she chose to present herself to the public.  Her train was, in fact,  modest for a royal wedding and I loved how her makeup was so! natural. It made her beauty so non-threatening. It was a true case of just enhancing her natural beauty so that it was visible for the cameras and all in the hall to see.

The stunning  lace over her cinched sweetheart bodice with padding at the hips to make her waist appear smaller and the gorgeous pleating of the ballgown skirt made it a perfect expression of balance and symmetry, texture and form – perfect for the modern, stylish woman that Kate is and perfect for a cathedral wedding – though it’s name Westminster Abbey, let’s face it. That was a cathedral!

The Train

I love how cathedral and church weddings give a bride permission to go full tilt with her choices. A train really gives a bride an air of regality. No matter how simple your dress, a train creates a mood so appropriately dramatic that beach brides really shouldn’t write off. They can be made in a very non-traditional way – asymmetrical or falling from the shoulders, for example – and it’s very easy to make them detachable so that you are not encumbered by it during your reception. n essence what I’m saying is that your wedding ceremony is a moment in time where it is not inappropriate to pull out all the stops no matter whether that ceremony is on a beach or in a cathedral. A long drape of silk cascading to and along the floor is fully appropriate for your ceremony. It allows you to be ceremonial for the short time that is needed.

The Veil

I loved the soft nature of her veil and that it was fully covering her face! Though I don’t get to do this look often for beach brides, I am in love with it. For me it symbolizes how love changes and brightens your perspective on the world and how the consecration of your relationship in the ceremony removes the veil between you and your groom that makes you husband and wife.  A veil is an amazing addition to your dress that makes it ceremonial and bridal. It adds drama to the ceremony and sets it apart from the reception.

Costume Malfunctions and Behind the scenes secrets

When Kate arrived at the cathedral and stepped out of her car the dress was full of creases. This was anticipated by the designer and Kate was greeted by a bevy of beauties with hair dryers to immediately rectify the situation. A wedding ceremony and reception is a finely orchestrated piece of ceremonial theater. All brides and their designers  can learn a lesson in trouble shooting regarding your dress so that, even on the beach, you will be ‘ready for your close up”.

When I get married next, it will be on an secluded tropical island deep in the bosom of Mother Nature. We shall all arrive in boats but I shall have it all – a veil, a train and a classically modern, formal sun  gown full of flow and elegance for the natural setting.

Happy Royal Wedding day everyone. I love that I was able to experience both Diana’s and now Kate’s in one lifetime!

Be Radiant,

Jasmine

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Beach Wedding Dress Elegance – How to Achieve it.

September 16th, 2010

Greetings All,

today I’m going to talk about the elegance that you are looking for in your beach wedding dress.

As you know, I live in the Florida Keys. As a local, we very often witness beach weddings as innocent bystanders when we are soaking up the rays at our beaches. The one thing you will be sure to hear from all locals is how inappropriately dressed the bride looked in her princess wedding dress. I personally hear from all my friends, “She’s look so much better in one of your dresses!” Now I am a strong believer in people wearing what they like and if you have always dreamed of a princess look for your wedding gown then I guess you must do it. But my point here is simply that the type of structure for a wedding dress that works in a beach locale is a soft one not the structured princess look.

Soft or Unstructured Wedding Dresses

If you want your beach wedding dress to be the height of fashion and totally appropriate for a beach wedding, you want it to be a soft structured dress. A soft structured dress will create a soft silhouette that has flow reflecting the natural environment you have chosen for you wedding. All of nature’s elements at the beach are relaxed and flowing; the sand is soft, the water flows in and out as it laps on the shore, and the breeze is always gently caressing you.

Halter Beach Wedding Dress

Soft, billowing silk is the perfect relaxed elegance for your beach wedding dress.

Elegance in a beach setting has a definition all it’s own. This is why you need a soft structured dress. It can have any neckline, any length and any cut that you like but make sure it is a soft silk and that there are elements of movement and flow in how that silk is draped. Your guests will be transported as they watch you walk down the isle, your beautiful dress flowing and billowing in the breeze.

When we go to the beach, no matter what we are doing there, it just demands that our style becomes more relaxed. Even if you are a pants and suit type of a woman in your regular life a

Beach Wedding Dress Body Veil

Your beach wedding attire must reflect the flow of the natural elements of the water, sand and breeze.

tropical beach resort will naturally bring out your femininity. And even if you don’t go all the way and break out some sun dresses you will be drawn to wear softer fabrics that fit more loosely and have flow. The beach just requires this relaxed elegance. A garden wedding can still handle more structured looks but not the beach. It is a world unto itself.

It’s just a law of style and appropriateness that the elements in your location must be mirrored in your attire. They must be complimentary. This applies to your groom and groomsmen as well. A beach

Men'a Hawaiian Aloha Shirts

Make sure your groom and groomsmen have a relaxed elegance as well.

wedding is the perfect opportunity to dress with a relaxed formality.

The relaxed elegance of a soft structured, romantic dress is my signature look as a designer. Check out all the options and get inspired!

Have fun with your beach wedding dress. Transform yourself into a radiant tropical goddess with your beach wedding dress. Your guests will adore it and so will he!

Be radiant,

Jasmine

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Beach Wedding Attire – The Problems & Solutions

September 7th, 2010

Greetings All,

In my last post I spoke about design factors that your dress must have to cope with the extreme heat of a beach wedding. Today I am continuing on in our discussion to talk about the final two climate factors, humidity and cold, that you need to take into consideration when you shop for your beach wedding dress.

Climate Attire Solutions for Humidity

Along with the heat, humidity is a large part of tropical beach weddings. If your beach local is in the sub-tropics or the tropics in the rainy season you are going to be dealing with intense humidity. The dry or non-rainy season in the sub-tropics or the tropics are not quite as bad but because you are right on the beach there will be more moisture than you are accustomed to. The humidity along with the intense heat will increase your perspiration.

The same design elements for heat are also excellent for humidity however there is one suggestion that I will make in addition to sleeveless, natural fiber dresses that have an airy, loose fit with handkerchief or high-low hemlines. This one suggestion is my Strapless Gauze Bra.

Strapless Gauze Bra

Strapless Gauze Bra

I created this bra especially for my designs because of their unusual construction. It swaddles your breasts comfortably and the silk gauze absorbs your perspiration magnificently. In addition, because it is a natural fiber it is cooler than a normal bra. Even if you do not need support, I highly recommend this bra for how it functions with the high humidity of the tropics. For my more fitted styles, they can be made with a lining of silk gauze that will absorb your perspiration and leave the outer layer of silk dry.

Climate Attire Solution for Cold

Yes, cold can be a condition that you might have to be concerned with at your beach wedding. In December and January here in Key West, one of the more popular locals for beach weddings, the dampness of the trade winds blowing right off the water in 60 degree weather can cut straight through you and you are going to want to make sure you are prepared for it.

Silk is definitely your solution. The more of your body that is covered in silk the more it traps your body heat in.  If you tend towards being easily chilled then I recommend that you layer your silks so that you can trap even more body heat in. Almost all of my dresses can be worn with my Mermaid Sarong as a straight wrap around skirt layered under them. It a a beautiful and elegant look and will keep you cozy should the timing of your wedding date coincide with the blowing through of a cold front! Another excellent solution for a second layer under your dress are my pallazzo pants. They create an exotic layered look that will keep you toasty warm. I also recommend my Body Veil for added warmth. If needs be it is warm enough to wrap around you several times.  Don’t hesitate to be in touch with me to discuss your specific design needs should your wedding be in these months. I’d be happy to help out with ideas.

The weather is not something that you can control but you can be always be prepared for it, especially for an occasion as important as your wedding.Tomorrow I’ll talk about the relaxed look you are looking for in a beach wedding dress.

Until then, be radiant!

Jasmine

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Beach Wedding Attire – The Problems & Solutions

September 3rd, 2010

Greetings All,

As you are shopping for your beach wedding dress, you are dealing with all the issues of beach-appropriateness for this most important day of your life. Today I am going to talk to this point/problem specifically.

There’s something very different about a beach wedding setting that requires special consideration. Your three design requirements will have to take into account the climate, the relaxed lifestyle of island and coastal locals, and making sure that your wedding dress will be formal enough for the nature of your celebration.

Climate Problem

The climate issues you are dealing with are

  1. Heat & cold (depending on the time of year)
  2. Humidity
  3. Wind

Climate Solutions

Heat & Humidity

  1. Sleeveless dresses are a must. The moment you have a sleeve attached to your dress you are trapping a lot more body heat in. Even a short, capped sleeve will make you 100 times hotter. When beach locals are hot, they are really, really hot! Your neckline options are plentiful; halter, strapless, one shouldered, or sleeveless V or scoop-neck. As you can see, all of my beach wedding dresses are sleeveless. This is an essential design feature. Take note that my Bell Sleeves are NOT attached to the dress. They all the romance without adding the heat factor.

    Bell Sleeves

    Bells sleeves add romance without heat.

Note: If you are looking for a more modest look, simply use The Sea Nymph Sarong in a soft organza or The Body Veil as a sheer shawl that covers your upper body elegantly, dramatically.

  1. Natural Fibers are a must. Natural fibers ‘breathe’ with your body. This means that they do not trap your body heat. Any man-made fiber is going to be hotter. They also are NOT eco-friendly as they are not biodegradable! The appropriate natural fibers for a wedding are silk, cotton and linen. In my book silk is the most appropriate and contrary to popular opinion, COOL. Silk has the amazing quality of being cool as well as being able to keep you warm. It is my design choice to use silk for my beach wedding dresses over linen or cotton. Any design made of silk will add the essential elegance that is appropriate for celebrating your nuptials.
  2. Airy designs are also highly recommended. When your beach wedding dress allows for air circulation, you will maximize your ability to stay cool.
  3. Handkerchief or high-low hemlines are highly recommended. These hemlines allow for more air circulatation.

Note: If you are looking for a more modest look, simply use The Sea Nymph Sarong in a soft organza or The Body Veil as a sheer shawl that covers your upper body elegantly, dramatically.

Tomorrow I will go into the humidity & cold factors that you face when you are on the beach. Until then..

Be Radiant,

Jasmine

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Your Fashion Balancing Act

May 21st, 2010
Jasmine Sky of Studo Jasmine Sky

Jasmine Sky of Studio Jasmine Sky

Greetings All,

As I said a few posts ago, beauty has been defined throughout the ages as balance and symmetry. This doesn’t mean that everything has to be absolutely symmetrical. When you look at plant all of it’s stems are not the same length but over all it is balanced and symmetrical.

When you dress yourself it is your job to take whatever shape you are and work on giving the eye a balanced and symmetrical image. Read the rest of this entry »

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How to Meausure Yourself to Determine Your Body Shape

May 20th, 2010
Jasmine Sky of Studio Jasmine Sky

Jasmine Sky

Greetings All,

Equip yourself with a measuring tape, pencil and paper, and a calculator. Today you will learn how to take your measurements properly. Read the rest of this entry »

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The 4 Body Shapes

May 17th, 2010

Greetings All,

I know I told you there were 8 different body shapes but for fitting purposes they distill down to 4 in various different weights. These 4 are from Bradley Bayou’s system which I feel is the most useful. In reality his system has 48 body shapes. For fitting purposes, this is much more true to live than 8. What you need to remember in this process is that everybody’s body is different.

The 4 body shapes are inverted triangle, rectangle, triangle and hourglass. Here are their definitions .

inverted triangle body shape

Inverted Triangle

Inverted Triangle

The Inverted Triangle shape is when your shoulders or bust are larger than your hips. Your shoulder or bust measurements are more than 5% bigger than your hip measurements.

The Rectangle

The rectangle shape is when your shoulders, bust and hips are around the same size, with no defined waistline. Your shoulder, bust and hips measurements are within 5% of each other. Your waist is less than 25% smaller than your shoulders or bust measurements.

Rectangle body shape

Rectangle

The Triangle

The triangle is when your hips are wider than your shoulders. Your hip measurement is more than 5% bigger than your shoulder or bust measurements.

Triangle body shape

Triangle

The Hourglass

The hourglass is when your shoulders and hips are around the same size, with a very defined waistline. Your shoulder and hip measurements are within 5% of each other. Your waist is at least 25% smaller than your shoulder, hip and bust measurements.

Hourglass body shape

Hourglass

Those are the 4 shapes. Tomorrow I’m going to show you how to take your measurements so that you can determine which of the basic 4 shapes you are. Then we’ll add you height and weight and pick out the exact one of the 48 you are!

This information is super valuable to you when you are trying to find a beach wedding dress style that is going to make you look dynamite. You will be able to shop online with much more ease and confidence after I’ve discussed all the slimming secrets for each shape. You’ll be shopping for your beach wedding dress very differently once we’ve gone over all this.

Until tomorrow..be radiant,

Jasmine

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Fit Friendly Design Secrets

May 15th, 2010
Jasmine Sky of Studio Jasmine Sky

Jasmine Sky of Studio Jasmine Sky

Greetings All,

Today I’m going to share with you the basic design principles in my clothes that make them fit-friendly and very flattering. These are very important to know when you are choosing the style for your beach wedding dress.

My clothes are designed;

  1. to have what I call “flexible sizing/fit”.
  2. primarily on the bias.
  3. with a lot of diagonal  lines.
  4. I design for body shapes

Flexible Sizing/Fit= Tailored Fit

The ideal fit of a garment is a fit that gently traces and embraces your natural silhouette. Not to tight – not too loose. A good fit on a garment should make people say, “Wow, you look fantastic! Did you loose weight?”

I design with a ‘wrap and tie’ theme. As long as the silhouette of the garment is flattering to your body shape, the garment is going to fit many different sizes of that shape because, as much as I can, I make sure that I design into the garment enough yardage so that it can expand and shrink according to the size of the woman wearing it. Simply put the garment naturally tailors itself to your body when you put it on.

This design style also has a bonus to it. It means that with some styles you are able to wear the garment several different ways. This means that you get several looks out of one garment which really increases the value of that dress for what you pay for it and for all the uses you will get out of it.

This ‘flexible sizing/fit’ is a very different design approach than working with a set sizing system. I label my clothes “One Size Fits Most”. I do this for 2 reasons.

  1. they really do
  2. I have to call their size something and this is the closest of the sizing conventions that works for my styles.

Bias Cut = Flattering Fit

The bias cut is the diagonal of the grain of the fabric. It has a natural stretch to it. Because of this natural stretch it drapes over the body in a particularly flattering way – in the way that defines the ideal fit – gently tracing  and embracing your form without being too tight or too loose. It’s drape is totally different from that of  the straight grain of the fabric. It is not used a lot in mass produced clothing. A big reason for this is that it requires more yardage and therefore increases the cost of the garment.

I am in love with the bias of the fabric. It is a huge factor in a garment being flattering to the female form. It literally ‘loves’ your body. It embraces it and says “You are beautiful just the way you are right now!” It elegantly reveals your assets and quietly conceals your flaws without having to do a lot of tailoring. Bias cut is my best design friend.

Diagonal Lines = Slimming Effect

Diagonal lines are powerful things. And I’m not exaggerating. Put a diagonal line at your waistline and you can remove 5-10 pounds easily.

My experience is that they are much more of an organic line for the body. Look at your body sometime in the mirror when you don’t have any clothes on and find all the diagonal lines. We have curves and what is a curve but a straight line with rounded diagonals in it.  What I like  the diagonal line for is the balance and symmetry it gives to the horizontal and the vertical plains of our body.The diagonal line connects these  two plains organically and draws our eye to the vertical plain. If we are looking for slimming effects, the vertical line is the one that we need to emphasize as much as possible with our clothing and accessories and the diagonal line does this.

Designing for Body Shape

Your body shape is far more crucial for me to know than your size when I am trying to determine which of my designs will look good on you. That and your gut instinct.

The definition of beauty through the ages has always been balance and symmetry. The most balanced female body shape is the hour glass silhouette. When I design for body shape what I am doing is making sure that whatever shape you, the garment will accentuate whatever it needs to and conceal whatever it needs to to bring your shape into balance.

Designing for body shape is designing with the express purpose of creating a final picture of balance. I am always adding to my collections and never subtracting because my designs are all about creating solutions for different body shapes not about creating a new design for the season.

These four design principles are the driving forces behind all of my styles. The only other force is my desire to help you look and feel your most beautiful!

Tomorrow…the long 8 different body shapes!!! Yeah!

Until then…be radiant,

Jasmine

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Your Beach Wedding Dress – How to Choose the Style & Get the Right Fit

May 14th, 2010
Jasmine Sky of Studio Jasmine Sky

Jasmine Sky of Studio Jasmine Sky

Greetings All,

Today I’m going to start talking about how to choose the style for your beach wedding dress and how to make sure it fits. This is a huge subject and one that, I believe, will bring you much consolation. It will help you choose the best beach wedding dress style for your body shape and personality – the style that will make you look your sexy-best.

Your Body Shape + Your Personality = Your Beach Wedding Dress Style.

Your wedding day is not only the most special and meaningful day of your life for you but it is also the day when all eyes will turn to you. It is your red carpet moment. And you are naturally wanting to look your most beautiful. Every bride’s body shape and personality are different but what every bride has in common is wanting to look and feel her most beautiful, gorgeous and desirable. For each bride this is expressed differently according to her body shape and personality.  In order to find the right dress for you you’ll need to determine what body shape you are and what aspect of your personality you want to express with your beach wedding dress.

My job is to help you look your best.

Not all styles are going to look good on your body shape but the good news is that there are certain styles that really work for you. It’s my job to help you determine what body  shape you are and then what will look best on your shape to conceal your flaws and reveal your assets. A good fit of the style that is best for your shape is also a very critical factor in looking your best. So for the next couple of weeks I’m going to go into all the details of these factors and how they can work together to have you looking your most beautiful, gorgeous and desirable! We’ll start with the science of anthropometry.

The Science of Anthropometry

Anthropometry is the measure of the human form. It involves gathering statistics on the variations in body dimensions across the population. Obviously this plays a huge role in clothing design. Recently a company called SizeUSA conducted a study of 10,000 Americans using a scanning machine called a TC2. It can scan the body in less that 6 seconds, measuring 200,000 data points on the body to create a 3-D true-to-scale image of each human body. From this data was distilled 8 basic body shapes. Add weight differences amongst these 8 shapes and you get even more different sizes and shapes. This is very valuable information for all us women who want to look more beautiful!

Getting the Right Fit

I am talking about anthropometry with you because the sizing convention of our entire clothing industry is based on a 1930s military model. As we all know, Americans today don’t look at all like what they used to look like in the ’30s and ’40s. This fact alone has us in a bind when we are trying to find the right fit on a garment. But add to it the fact that the garment industry is designing clothes for one type of shape – the fashion model that is 5′10″ tall, 115 pounds and a size 4 at the most – and you’ve really got a problem! Because each shape needs different treatments to create balance/beauty we need to focus on 3 things

  1. what is our shape
  2. what style of garment will create balance/beauty for our shape
  3. the right fit of that style

Tomorrow I’m going to talk about how the design of my styles fit into all this information that I’ve just shared with you. And, yes, I will be going over all the body shapes one at a time and how to determine which you are – but that will come a little later. Stay tuned! It’s all very exciting information that will help you look your most beautiful on your wedding day and everyday!

Until tomorrow…be radiant!

Jasmine

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Wrapping Directions for The Body Veil

May 7th, 2010
The Body Veil by Jasmine Sky

The Butterfly Wrap for The Body Veil

Greetings All,

Another fabulous way to wear your body veil over your beach wedding dress or sarong is the Butterfly Wrap. Here’s how you do it…

Wrap #2  The Butterfly Wrap

Step 1: Take one edge at the center of one of the long sides of The Body Veil and place it at the front of your neck letting the width hang down the front of your body.

The Body Veil by Jasmine Sky

Back view of The Butterfly Wrap

Step 2: Throw the lengths over your shoulders and have someone tie it in a single knot at your back.

Tomorrow, wrap # 3, The Bolero Wrap.

Until then, be radiant!

Jasmine

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