I was recently asked to make a watch for a bride. It's not a common request as the poor bride had already found out! The bride knew she wanted it to be simple and to have a pearl strap-so I provided her with some options for the actual watchface which came in from America and she chose a really simple but pretty one. The strap was simply some Swarovski pearls of varying sizes which were jazzed up with some crystal rondelles!

Short 'n' Sweet

If I had my time over, I wish I had the guts to go for a short wedding dress. A vintage style probably would have suited me best and would have given the perfect excuse to go all out on the shoes!

More and more wedding dress designers are adding short dresses to their collections and there is a huge range of short styles now available.


This dress by award winning designer Ian Stuart has a really cute bubble hem and has great crystal detailing under the bustline which draws the eye in to the smallest part of the figure, making it really flattering.


This David Fielden dress is really sexy and glamourous and is less about structure and more about the movement and draping of the fabric. It has gorgeous sequin detail and is working the shoulder detail look that is very now.


Alan Hannah's dresses are all about structure and sculpture and this sexy number is no different! The bodices of these dresses are nothing short of amazing and can create a miracle waist on anyone-the tulle and crystal detailing along the top of the bodice is brought down to the skirt which flows with flamenco fabulousness!!


And finally to my most favourite short dress designer-Candy Anthony. Her designs are just the most amazing vintage style, feminine and pretty dresses! They immediately whisk you off to a bygone era, one where every girl is graceful, elegant and fun. There are also so many ways to accessorise these dresses-vines, cuff bracelets, huge flower combs, bird cage veils and of course pearls, pearls, pearls!

Each Candy Anthony dress is made to measure and she has a beautiful range of fabrics and colours. For the very brave she's even made a magnificent leopard print dress with a gorgeous bright red tulle underskirt-defintely not for the faint hearted!!

A very important date!

I'm a huge Tim Burton fan so I'm a teeny tiny bit excited about Alice in Wonderland being released this weekend! I'm also really excited about Anne Hathaway playing The White Queen-so far, from what I've seen her costume looks amazing and even better still, she's festooned with pearls! I LOVE pearls!!!



Not only is she wearing a pearl necklace, but she also has pearls sewn on her bodice, along with lots of textured layering of lace and tulle and crystal. The design draws from historical period costume, but is also easily tranferable to bridal style. There is nothing more elegant than strings of pearls and the additon of a few crystals gives the perfect balance between lustre and sparkle!

For some White Queen styling Kingston Design recommends the Roaring 20s individually hand-knotted strand of pearls which can be worn long or doubled up for a shorter look.




Or the Enchanted Oyster Elegance pearl and crystal necklace, with matching cuff bracelet for a higer impact look. This is a three strand necklace that drapes beautifully! Both necklaces showcase vintage style clasps which are available in either rhodium or 14k gold plate.



Can't wait to see the movie on the big screen!

Now stocked in Frilly Frocks, Drogheda!

Kingston Design is delighted to announce that it is now being stocked in Frilly Frocks, Drogheda! I visited Frilly's on Tuesday and met the lovely Dara who has an amazing selection of wedding dresses that made me wish I was getting married again! The store has a nice balance between the traditional style and design of dress such as the Pronovias range and then there's also a fantastic selection of vintage inspired dresses such as Luci Di Belli and Geisha Designs. Dara also is fortunate to stock dresses that are exclusive to her store so brides can be sure of getting that 'wow' factor.

I was in Heaven looking at all the beautiful corded lace and beaded detailing, so, so pretty! What I liked about the vintage-look dresses is their quiet sense of drama, even though they don't have the big, traditional wedding dress silhoutte, they just ooze sexy glamour and reminded me of the kind of dresses worn by 1920s -30s Hollywood starlets!

Feathers and lace headpiece

Looking through the Monique L'Huillier Fall 2010 collection I saw that the headpieces used were very similar in shape to a Kingston Design comb called Feathers and Lace. This comb is based on a 'pad' of feathers which is layered up with corded lace and then accented with Swarovski crystals and pearls and also some really pretty genuine vintage 1950s gold glass pearls. The whole effect is really soft, feminine and pretty. It lends itself quite well to the vintage 1930s style but also looks great as a statement piece with more modern styled bridal dresses.

I recently had a bride who liked this 'Gilded Lily' comb but wanted something to tie in with the pearl jewellery she was planning on wearing. Together we designed a pearl version of the comb that was softer in outline which suited the floral design in her dress. Her hair tone really made the pearls stand out and she still had a little bit of sparkle in the flower's stamen to twinkle and reflect the light!

Daughter Cambodia

I came across the NGO charity Daughter Cambodia early in 2009-based in Phnom Penh, they help to resuce girls from the sex trafficking trade in Cambodia. As well as giving the girls somewhere to live safely, the charity also help the girls to reclaim their dignity by giving them the skills to support themselves. By working with the charity, the girls are provided with childacre facilities and are paid above-average wages. There are a variety of products they make, but I fell in love with their silk roses! After putting in an order for them, I couldn't wait for them to arrive and was brimming with ideas for them and I certainly wasn't disappointed! They are so gorgeous, it's almost a shame to add to them-each petal is hand cut and stitched together, ensuring that every single rose is beautifully unique. I have been in talks with the charity to set up a scheme whereby a portion of each sale made by Kingston Design's range using the roses, will go directly back to the charity. The Vera Fokina piece in the post below is an example of the range.
You can read more about the charity by visiting their website at: http://www.daughterscambodia.org/index.php