女皇的新衣

去年九月時份，離開了家三整個星期到英國及法國進修，當然不忘到處瀏覽留下自己的蹤跡。

法國之旅一早已經預計好的，英國那部份，因為從互聯網得知英女皇登基六十週年，而其中一項慶祝活動便是在白金漢宮舉行有關登基大典當日的大型展覽。能吸引我拋下女兒丈夫不顧一切急急前往，都是為了一睹女皇登基當天穿著的禮服。請你不要見笑。這件由女皇禦用設計師 Norman Hartnell 設計的禮服極盡華麗，精緻細膩的手工令這襲衣裙成為了時裝界的佳話，也讓英國的刺繡工藝留芳百世。

那年代，照片都是黑白的。雖然現在互聯網資訊甚為發達，從現在彩色的照片上看，怎麼也想不到這衣服的真身是徹徹底底的光芒萬丈。這次展覽館的館長也得一讚。參觀者都是先看其他有關大典的歷史資料，看看皇宮裏的珍藏，各個修飾瑰麗的偏廳，也收看了大典當日的電視直播拍攝花桇。那時候的查理斯皇子只有四歲多，妹妹安妮公主兩歲多，正當大人準備好拍攝世紀照片的時候，做哥哥的突然調皮了一下，妹妹看到覺得好玩，又跟着哥哥扭動身體。女皇在大庭廣眾之下不能開口責罵，皺一皺眉後，拍打了皇子的肩膀，示意檢點些。兩兄妹很聽話，馬上安靜下來。當下看到了女皇作為母親那「平民化」的一面。儘管母親有多威風﹑多八面玲瓏，孩子要頑皮時，受萬人景仰的一國之君，也有頭痛的一刻。

那一個世紀合照的時刻，當女皇與一眾貴族和家人整理衣服時，才發覺原來他們身上的奇珍異寶和身上的衣裙是這樣閃爍不定的！那一刻我真的怦然心動，我更希望盡快看見那些曠世寶石和女皇﹑皇太后﹑皇妹與及其他女儐相的衣服。館長便是把這些最奪目的展品放在最後的大廳中展覽。

終於來到最後一個展館。大廳中最當眼處的玻璃櫃放着的便是女皇登基的衣服。它之所以耀眼，原來是因為裙子上釘了上萬顆的珍珠和數千顆水鑽。那精湛的刺繡技術真是無與倫比。很慶幸有生之年看到了使我神往的事物。

當日看到新聞報導關於展覽的消息，想都不想的就對老公說要過去看看。有點像一個任性的小姑娘，不顧一切的。老公問有甚麼東西這樣吸引着我呢？

山長水又遠花那麼多錢為的是去看一條裙子，想法好像有點不正常，而家裏也不是有這種閒錢讓我瘋。他不會明白，到現在也不能明白。也許正如他瘋愛曼聯一樣。朗尼昨夜入球，他興奮得明知我對足球提不起任何興趣，都堅持要我眼睛離開電腦一會兒，看入球的重播片段︰老婆妳看啦，這是碧咸當年成名的入球方式！中場射入啊，真是太精彩了！

每人總會有每人對自己的堅持，女皇的設計師呈上了第九個裙子的設計圖才獲女皇首肯。女皇的堅持，造就了 Norman Hartnell 的事業高峰。我心十五十六的不能決定行程，怕家裏負擔重，老公縱使不明白甚麼吸引着我，也未必真正體會多走多看對一個設計師有多重要，但很感謝他堅持讓我去圓夢。

我們都是已經活了相當年紀的人，看過世面如女皇的，見到了登基大典的裙子時也嘩了出來（其實聽說她說了一句︰Glorious！）老公看到曼聯入球仍然手舞足蹈像小孩子。我看見女皇的新衣也不停的嘩嘩嘩起來。希望每一個人的生命裏，都有一兩件會讓你感動得大喊一聲「嘩」的事情。

四歲時的查理斯皇子和兩歲多的安妮公主

他們曾經是多麼的天真可愛

誰知日後兄妹倆也會在情路婚姻上碰上不如意事？ 

Image credit: Royal Collection Trust

登基後當然要拍攝一張象徵權威的照片

原來這幀照片是在白金漢宮裏拍攝的

著名攝影師 Cecil Beaton 將西敏寺大教堂 Henry VII's Lady Chapel 的一角的油畫作為背景，

女皇坐在前方，調教得宜的光與影，

把年輕女皇堅定的眼神和英姿表露無遺

此有別傳統的皇位當權者肖象攝影，成為了攝影史上的佳話

Image credit: Royal Collection Trust

女皇這襲極盡華麗的登基衣服除了大典當天和其後六次在不同場合穿着外，

六十年來從未作公開展覽

這是我拋下女兒丈夫隻身飛往英國看展覽的原因之一

據說在這塊由皇家刺繡學院刺繡的紫色絲絨皇袍完成前，

女皇在多次的登基大典彩排時披在肩膀上的

竟然是一條長長的床單……

Image credit: HELLO! Magazine

女皇登基裙子上的精湛刺繡

一向以來當別人說起這裙子的功勞時，大家都只談及設計師 Norman Hartnell

其實最功不可抹的還有他的刺繡師傅，整整九個星期日以繼夜的趕工

一針一線小心奕奕的繡。三千多個小時，終於繡出了歷史

這是關於其中一個刺繡師的小小資料，可從這裏作延伸閱讀

Image credit: from Royal Collection

刺繡解構一︰這是代表蘇格蘭的國花薊花（Thistle）

（薊粵音「雞」，漢語拼音是「jì」）

而右上角和左上角的刺繡圖案是代表愛爾蘭的三葉草（Shamrock）

整條裙子的格子設計是仿效 latticework 的建築設計風格

Image credit: from Royal Collection

刺繡解構二︰這是設計師 Norman Hartnell 給女皇批準的刺繡草圖

這組花卉設計已經包含了大不列顛帝國的盛世年代

1）小麥︰代表盛產國英屬殖民地巴基斯坦

2）屬於英聯邦澳洲的國花金合歡（Golden Wattle）

3）英聯邦新西蘭國花銀蕨（Silver Fern）。（蕨，粵音「決」。漢語拼音是 jué）

4）蘇格蘭的國花薊花（Thistle）

5）棉花︰也是代表盛產國英屬巴基斯坦

6）愛爾蘭的三葉草（Shamrock）

原來設計師後來在裙子的左邊悄悄繡上象徵幸運的四葉草，寓意女皇吉祥幸運

7）英聯邦印度的國花蓮花（Lotus）和英屬殖民地錫蘭（今日的斯里蘭卡）的國花（也是蓮花）

組合而成的雙重蓮花

8）英屬殖民地南非的國花霸王花（Protea）

9）黃麻葉，代表盛產國英屬殖民地巴基斯坦

10）這朵綻放的淡粉紅花是代表英格蘭的都鐸玫瑰（Tudor Rose）

都鐸玫瑰是一朵由紅玫瑰與白玫瑰組合而成的花朵圖案

由亨利七世成為英格蘭國王後開始沿用，

紀念來自蘭開斯特家族（紋章為紅玫瑰）的母親，

和來自約克家族（紋章為白玫瑰）的妻子伊利莎白

而「都鐸」是亨利七世父親的姓氏

11）代表威爾斯的韭

12）代表英聯邦加拿大的楓葉（Maple Leaf）

13）一行珍珠和一行寶石相間的彩帶，象徵大英帝國和英聯邦國家不可分裂的關係

14）ER 是 Elizabeth Regina 的縮寫。Regina 是拉丁文，解作皇后

假如是國皇便用 Rex。因為伊利莎白是二世，所以她皇朝的縮寫便是 ERII 了

Image credit: National Gallery of Australia

參觀白金漢宮的那個早上，在皇宮中大大小小的房間穿梭了幾個小時後，

終於來到最後一個展覽廳，看到了女皇的新衣

那一刻，就像這幀照片一樣，我給震懾得只懂說 Wow......

你可能會笑我傻，我看見裙子的時候，好像有種四目交投的感覺……

從照片中可以看見玻璃的反射下衣服上的水鑽閃閃生光

我親身看見的是更耀眼的景象，真的像看到天上的繁星一樣，一閃一閃的閃耀不停

難怪女皇穿上的時候，都從心底裏歡欣地說了一個字︰Glorious! 

別的人看看也就走開了。我痴痴的看了又看看了又看，

走開了又再回來，然後一直的看，都不願走

直至一位伯伯走過來，我忍不住說了︰真的很閃呢！

老伯伯看到了我羨慕的眼神，說︰不如問問女皇，可否把裙子借給妳結婚當天穿吧

我說不錯的提議，可惜我已經結婚了。哈哈

我很謝謝他把我這個人在他鄉的孤獨參觀者逗得開懷

真懷念英式幽默

Image credit: HELLO! Magazine

女皇的六個女儐相（都是未婚的貴族女子），負責整理女皇的衣服

據說女儐相在大典所穿的衣服（也是由 Norman Hartnell 設計縫製）非常緊身，

教堂當天坐滿賓客，而且儀式冗長，

為免這幾個妙齡女子身體不適出醜於人前，

設計師在她們的手襪裏縫上了有醒神作用的炭酸銨醒藥 smelling salts

（或稱鼻鹽或嗅鹽，也有職業運動員作賽時使用）

Image credit: Daily Mail UK

特別選擇了星期五早上前往參觀

展覽會當時還有兩天便結束

為的是避過了趁尾牙才來參觀的洶湧人群

陪著我排隊進場的

意想不到的居然全是上了年紀的當地人

他們都打扮得漂漂亮亮的，端莊得體

連阿婆阿公都有心意穿戴漂亮的，

下次再去參觀的話，我一定會打扮打扮的

Our first vintage dress viewing

When I was preparing for our first private vintage collection viewing on Thursday night, I was a little worried how well would my vintage finds be appreciated. Afterall, they are old, and they have signs of being worn. So old, that at least a few of the dresses are of "grandma's age" (over 60 years old). 

In where I was brought up, houses are small and that means we do not have much storage space. Therefore, anything unfit would automatically be sent away or discarded. I remember my beloved grandma would come up and collect our beautiful clothes for some distant relatives (or their distant relatives) in China, when they were still relatively poor in the 1980s. 

It is also not a very en vogue thing in here to wear vintage clothing. Or I should say, fashionistas and fashion bloggers take pride in wearing vintage as the mixing and matching of new + old items is something really stylish, unique and one of a kind. But this has not appealed much to the public yet. We still have a long way to go before the general public even grows to like the idea of wearing vintage. Vintage clothing shops do exist, but not that many. Besides, it is just too easy to pop into ZARA and H&M to buy something affordable and stylish. These shops are like convenience stores now. They are everywhere!

There will always be people who are willing to salvage whereas many of us would choose to readily discard and give up. I am always glad some people decide to keep something beautiful. This is how I found all these wonderful items for my next business adventure.

Vintage and antique dresses are never easy to find their second or even third home...It somehow takes courage to wear them. Why? Because many of us mind too much about what others have to say. Why is she wearing OLD clothes? Why on her wedding day? Hasn't she got enough budget for her big day? If only you can see every piece of them in person, to touch and to feel, to see the craftsmanship, and to even try them on. You will know why they survive decade after decade. Beauty does lie within each and every piece of my vintage finds. This is the reason it has taken me years to collect them from around the world, and to wait patiently until it finally grows to be a sizeable collection. I only choose the best and share the best with all of you.

(Thank you Petite Petals as always for the use of their beautiful studio.)

Something old, something new. A 1950s prom dress on the left and 

some bridal headpieces and a ring pillow I create.

From left to right: soft pink chiffon prom dress with velvet flower embellishment from the 1950s; 

bluish grey polka dot mesh ruffled cupcake tier prom dress with 

peach pink satin sash and underslip from the 1950s; 

bubble gum pink polka dot cotton pleat maxi dress from the 1970s

I was astonished to find out I had NO "good looking hangers" for my vintage dresses!

I therefore rushed to the supermarket to get some plain wire hangers, padded them, and 

wrapped each of them with satin ribbon and finished off with 

silk flowers, more ribbon, laces, tassel and rosettes.

The rosettes on each end serve as stoppers to stop spaghetti strap dresses from falling off.

A relatively rather easy DIY project that anyone can attempt doing at home.

To Veil or Not To Veil

Never in my professional life as a wedding stylist and accessory maker would I tell my brides NOT to wear a veil. Well, unless she is doing a City Hall wedding in t-shirts and jeans. (You can still wear some sort of veiling, like a veiled fascinator, if you attend your own wedding in an executive suit dress.)

The history of veil goes back a long time, with different cultures and beliefs of its origin and usage. According to Wikipedia, the first recorded veiling was in the 13th Century in Assyria, and only women of nobility could wear a veil. Other women from lower classes were forbidden to wear any.

However, the most "common" and the most romantic you and I have probably heard is the one about the general of George Washington, who, in the late 18th Century America, passed by and saw Washington's step-granddaughter (Washington himself had no issues with his wife Martha) behind a veiled window. On the day of their wedding, the bride recreated this moment by wearing a laced veil. That was when bridal veil became a fashion.

In other cultures, veils are used to ward off evil, and to "disguise" and "conceal" a bride should the devil decide to come take her away from the groom.

Because of my "dual culture" upbringing, I had chosen to wear both the Chinese and Western veils on my wedding day. 

My own veil was an inspiration from Queen Elizabeth II's Norman Hartnell design which she wore on her wedding day. It was definitely a labour of love...and torture. I spent a total of three months working on it (though not day and night) because I could only work on it during my free time. And on many sleepless nights I pricked my fingers absentmindedly. My original plan was to incorporate as many as 99 pieces of lace appliques. I have probably done around half only. Still, the final outcome is amazing. 

Wedding veils can be expensive, because of the workmanship involved. I would encourage brides never to not choose one because of the pricing concern. Choose one you can comfortably afford or even borrow from friends! When you don't have something new, you can always opt for something borrowed. 

I was still tirelessly working on my veil on my wedding day!

(Image by Thomas Galleria)

My all time favourite picture. 

My father was inspecting my Chinese wedding veil which I bought online and 

I was still working on the last few pieces of lace appliques on my "Western veil".

(Image by Thomas Galleria)

My inspiration. Queen Elizabeth II's wedding veil

(Image credit: www.fashion-era.com) 

.My own veil, trimmed with gold scalloped lace and sewn with many guipure lace appliques. 

This is my first time posting pictures of my own veil and the Queen's together. 

I guess I really did what I had wanted. Looking back, I never regret a moment. 

Perhaps when the day comes one of my daughters weds, 

I will finish the remaining sewing and completes this veil with 99 lace appliques. 

(The number 9 signifying eternity in our culture.)

(Image by Thomas Galleria)

When you smell lavender

Who are you reminded of, when you smell lavender?

You are not imagining if you think you can smell the beautiful flower. That's because dried lavenders have really been adoringly kept and thoughtfully sealed inside this heirloom dove grey silk and lace trimmed ring pillow. Proudly presenting my newest creation. And, three stems of lavender (I made extensive research online and looked at many photos before creating a lookalike) made with Japanese glass beads (each piece requiring over an hour to finish) are there to witness the moment when you become man and wife...

J'adore...

This ring pillow is now listed in my Etsy shop. Bring it home before any else does it!

Picasso's Women

When I was working on a wedding headpiece recently, I randomly made some petals, and later decided to sew the petals together to form a flower. Then I added silver glass tube beads with a gold glass seed bead on top of each of the tube.

Suddenly, I had a thought. I thought, could my flower happen to look like a real orange blossom?

I began to do an image search online and found that an orange blossom does have five petals! What's more exciting was that the stamens looked surprisingly alike to what I have done with my glass beads! Only that my petals were a little chubbier than the slim and svelte natural ones. Regardless, I proceeded with the flower making and happily adorned them on top of the headband.

Later that night, my husband came home. To earn some praises (like a little girl) and confirmation, I showed him pictures of real orange blossoms and asked him to compare my work.

"Do they look alike?" I needed to know because I was about to write in my product description that the 100% silk flowers were orange blossoms.

He glanced back and forth, (with me excitedly anticipating) and said in a firm voice: "NO."

"What no? Not really alike, but still alike, or absolutely NOT alike?" I asked.

"I cannot see their similarity, at all," my husband declared.

He broke my heart definitely in that three seconds. So I began to explain about the five petals, the gold and silver stamens....I told him, artists always have their own visions of things, their own interpretations of nature...you know, their own versions of...of whatever they work on.

"Well. you asked me to give you an opinion, and I gave you mine. I said no, they are absolutely not alike, because they really aren't!" he just had to reiterate it.

Some people are born with imagination...some are well, just more...realistic.

Argh. Wait till he sees Picasso's "women"!

《Seated Woman》was modeled by his Picasso's mistree Marie-Thérèse Walter in 1937

       

《Dora Maar au Chat》Picasso painted his other mistress Dora Maar in 1941

A real orange blossom (picture source from the Internet, photographer unknown)

My version of an orange blossom

There are no rules in styling, you've just got to try

We had a wonderful event at Chinoiserie this past Sunday. It was my first public event as an exhibitor and I was lucky enough to have met over 20 brides-to-be.

How funny it was that during the event, I was presented as an expert in styling headpieces. If you have been following me for quite a while, you know clearly that I am just an amateur who is fortunate enough to have finally turned a life long hobby into a career.

I got asked a lot: what kinds of headpieces go with what kinds of head shapes?

To be honest, I will tell you: I do not know.

True that we are born differently in head shapes and sizes wise. However, how you look, how you want to look, what you love, and most importantly, whether you have the courage and confident to try new styles, or styles that you would never have dreamt of attempting, all matter.

I had a very beautiful fresh-faced bride-to-be, who kept saying she lacked femininity in her look. She was born with a very gorgeous head shape, (and a great body!) just like a perfect egg! You would just envy her flawless fresh skin! I didn't find a single spot! She showed me her dresses, every piece was a dream gown! So feminine and truly romantic. I knew I had to tell her: "with just a little bit of makeup, you are going to stun everyone around you. You've got to have confidence in yourself too!"

I literally forced her to try on every style available at my little corner. She hesitated but she did start trying. When the first headpiece landed on her head, the one she kept telling me "I won't look good in it", her worried face broke into a smile. That's when you know your customers are feeling very good about what you have made.

She tried as many as she liked, and every single piece looked as if it was made especially for her. She's been those lucky few who can wear all my headpieces and look stunning in each and every one.

I was taught long ago by my boss at one of my previous jobs: try, and you may have what you want. Fail to try, you definitely have nothing.

There are no rules in styling, please remember that you've just got to try.

;-)

my little one helping with the set up and trying on a veil she adored

A dress table full of hair accessories: every woman's dream?

When Clients are Happy

When we make things for other people, we are often happy to see the end products looking exactly as we first created and captured on pictures. (We don't want clients asking why their accessories are looking nothing like the listings.) However, the ultimate happiness always comes from the satisfaction of clients' surprised little notes, telling me how they adore my creations.

These notes often come in when I least expect them, and I never take these notes for granted.  

Thank you those who have loved HoSD designs and have been so sweet enough to tell me how much you love what you receive.

These encouraging notes help me survive the sometimes rough and depressive creative journey. 

I am forever grateful to your kindness.

♥

"the headband arrived yesterday and is stunning, absolutely beautiful even more than expected!

"thank you vey much"

~ from a bride in Italy 

May 20, 2012

"Absolutely lovely headband, the craftsmanship is really phenomenal. This seller was prompt, professional, and a lovely person. Such a pleasant transaction and a wonderful piece."

~ from a bride in Maryland, USA

May 11, 2011