MORE SAMPLES

'Tis the season so there's even more happening on the sample sale front--this week Gigi, Madelyn and Mira.  These are the original dresses we used for photo shoots and trying on in the design studio. All have couture techniques like hand-rolled hems, hand picked zips and a row of silk covered buttons down the back (yes they all really and truly button individually). Also, yards of scrumptious fabric!  Check out more details, images and ordering info below.

Header photo: The MADELYN Dress: Tea-dyed tulle and Chantilly lace hourglass dress with a square neckline. Bodice is shirred and pleated with motifs of Chantilly lace underneath. skirt is five layers of tulle with China silk rose-beige skirt lining./Photo by Dominic Colacchio Photography
Photo 2: The GIGI Dress:A-line out of an ivory embroidered organza with a shot of ruffled lace underneath. Separate crinoline under slip. A long row of buttons graces the back of this dress.
More images and fabric samples available on request.

Photo 3: The MIRA Dress: Silk chiffon and Chantilly lace halter dress with full crinoline petticoat. The fitted, boned bodice is Chantilly lace backed underneath with a tea dyed taffeta to make the motifs pop. Lined in silk Habotai. A row of satin buttons line the back. MIRA is a stunning hark back to the 1950s and ultra-fem dressing./Photo by Stephanie Williams Photography

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ILLUSIONS OF GRANDEUR

Amy-Jo Tatum Bride

A very happening 2012 trend is the illusion neckline. I for one love the look of sheer necklines and sleeves and am planning on adding a least five more of these dresses to the collection over the next few months.  Popularized in the 1950s this style allowed modesty as well as showing some skin, albeit opaque but sexy and demure. These days illusion is found in a few varieties of sheer fabric: tulle, power netting, organza and chiffon to name a few. Designers are using softer and stretchier fibers for the max in comfort . . .

What's your spin on this? Would you like a sheer and almost naked look to your net top or more opaque like an ice skater would wear . . . .?

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DESTINATIONS

Your wedding destination could be as close as the park down the street or half way across the world. Wherever you pick for your backdrop, finding the gown to compliment is part of the fun. Our team of photography and beauty profs set out to find a locale conducive to handling several destination ideas: An Italianate villa with a country meadow and the area surrounding it full of wooded pathways.  St. Vincent's School in San Rafael, California has it all. In the header photos a silk chiffon and Chantilly lace dress with a full skirt is the perfect match for a villa by the sea. Below: a fitted silk taffeta sheath and organza train pair up for a country-inspired wedding . . .

CREDITS

Photography: John Truong and Stuart Lirette

Gowns: Amy-Jo Tatum Bridal Couture

Hair: Kathie Rothkop

Makeup: Juliane Chai

Models: Jen Lam and Lauren Purcell
Venue: St. Vincent's San Rafael, Ca.

Above: A vintage bouffant and hourglass chiffon and lace go nicely with the Italliante style setting. 

Classic Grace Kelly chic goes just about anywhere including this vineyard-like setting

Stuart Lirette

A vintage gown covered in antique lace works with the rustic, country setting

Costume-inspired gowns are always lovely.  This one conjours images of Natasha from War and Peace.  Silk chiffon and Chantilly lace with a brocade belt . . . .

More costume-inspired chic.  Dupionii and lace is complimented with some exqusite tropical hairdressing by Kathie Rothkop. 

 Below: A pasture.  The rustic setting works with this silk and lace boho gown

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THE BOMBSHELL BRIDE: GOING FOR A SEXY LOOK ON YOUR WEDDING DAY

CREDITS

Photography by S1 Studio

Headpieces and gowns: Amy-Jo Tatum Bridal Couture

Make-up Artist: Nida Nafees 

Hair: Dana Faulkner

Flowers: Victoria's Florals and Events

Models: Shauna Yonan

Corinne Doherty

Olay! A mantilla paired up with a lace dress to match can say old world traditional and sexy all at once.

The Vintage Chic Bombshell-Above:A strapless silk dupion and chiffon gown topped off with a Venise-lace trimmed pancake hat circa 1940s with cage veil.

Below: A Chanel neck treatment of multiple strands of pearls gives this Silk dupioni dress a real 1940s look. Added touches: the point d'espirit and hand rolled silk rose headpiece.

Another vintage classic, the silk taffeta sheath above is accented with silk flowers, dappled petals on the train and a Chantilly lace bodice.

What could go more bridal than a classic ballgown silhouette? Layers of white cotton tulle skirt over yards of crinoline beneath. Chantilly lace bodiice backed with pastel blue satin makes the floral motifs on this bodice really pop . . .

Classic and modern: A traditional silk and lace sheath with a sleek and contemporary down do. Why go for a veil when your hair could be your crowning glory . . . ?

Boho's back.  The floral head wreath, lace and tulle conjure that waif look reminiscent of A Mid-Summer Night's Dream, fairy tales, and wood nymphs . . .

Be a 1950s bombshell in this organza and lace hourglass with a halter and generous splash of petticoat

Why not add some edge to your bridal look with a Chantilly lace jabot and jaunty gaucho hat? Black and white polka dots really cinch the look . . . .

The right accessories always offer the perfect finish.  Glam girls love the sparkle of silver and gold right down to the toes . . . .

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SASHES, BOWS, FLORALS, BELTS AND RIBBONS

Gown by Amy-Jo Tatum Bridal

Photo By S1 Studio

There's a wide range of novelty belts, bows, sashes, trims and ribbons introduced into bridalwear lately. Until the 1980s, bridal was a field of little experimentation and typically a bridal gown was pretty but looked somwhat the same as the next gown. If you were a modernist and wanted to express yourself in a suit instead of an A-line, forget finding what you wanted on the racks. Besides, your mom might have freaked out at the prospect. All that's been relaxed thanks to a generation of designers and brides daring to go their own way. By way of ribbons, trims and sashes, designers have introduced color and different textures into the mix . The above gown is sashed in back with silk gauze, a fabric so light, it could be mistaken for angel wings.

Amy-Jo Tatum Bridal

Touches of the spectrum here. Blues and peaches merge to make up a tie-belt cincing the waist of a full skirt . . .

Amy-Jo Tatum Bridal

The best example of a self belt (means made out of the same fabric as the dress). Georgette linen and striped ribbon combine to make up this belt punctuated with a fabric rose.

Gown by Amy-Jo Tatum

Dress by Amy-Jo Tatum Bridal

Photo Stephanie Williams Photography

Above and below images of The APRIL dress from the Dioresque Collection. Gray satin tie belt is embellished in front by a fabric rose. Ties in the back falling the length of the dress . . .

Amy-Jo Tatum Bridal
Gown by Amy-Jo Tatum
A photo of my own wedding gown above shows that I put all the bells and whistles on one dress (and actually got away with it, I think). It had a 5 inch sash doubling around the waist and tying into a side-front bow. Pinned to the sash was a giant silk floral and tassel tie. The shoulder was embellished with handrolled silk dupion florals.

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TWO WAY COUTURE

Thought I should mention the popular MIRA gown that made such a buzz last season is actually a two-way dress. First version is a halter dress. The second, hugs the shoulder with cap-like sleeves. You've seen the halter all over the blogs thanks to the fantastic photographic talents of Stephanie Williams. I finally have images of the off-the-shoulder sleeve treatment created by criss-crossing the halter ties into a waist sash. The fitted and boned bodice is Chantilly lace, the full skirt linen GEORGETTE. Some versions I've done the skirt in silk chiffon. I'm calling this cap-sleeved version 'EASTER SUNDAY 1956' for reasons you can probably figure out. Worn either way this MIRA is a stunning hark back to the 1950s and ultra-fem dressing.

MIRA: THE HALTER DRESS

Stephanie Williams Photography
CAP-SLEEVED MIRA

MIRA can be ordered through Amy-Jo Tatum Bridal in silk chiffon or linen/georgette.
amyjotatum@gmail.com
415.258.8204

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