1950s Swing Dresses for Bridals Weddings and More

This post will teach you how to select the crinoline that will best shape your 50s swing dress. When wearing a 1950s vintage... or custom made vintage inspired retro swing dress,  consider a few details to assist you in achieveing the best look for you. You will need a crinoline to enhance your swing dress. Carefully selecting of the crinoline will cause you to look your very best. Details to consider are below.

• Choosing the crinoline that will shape your swing dress to achieve fullness of beauty is the overall goal.
• Consider how much lift your dress will need. To much lift can cause your swing dress to look like a square dance dress. Not enough lift will leave your dress flat without the fluff and feminine appeal.
• Consider the length of your swing dress. Your crinoline should be one to three inches shorter than your actual swing dress. Measure your dress from waist to hemline to get the length.
• 50s dresses can show off your lovely legs. Your hemline of your swing dress to show off the best of your legs. Some swing dresses are more complimenting when worn at tea length...just above the ankle. Some swing dresses are best just below the knee cap. The most common length falls somewhere in calf area of the legs.
• Try your best to achieve a balanced look. Your crinoline is the key to projecting the balanced look.
• A plus sized swing dress will not need as much crinoline as a very small sized swing dress. Yet the very small swing dresses should not be so wide that it makes the legs appear as toothpicks.

So you see, it is wise to be careful about the crinoline that you select for your wedding day. We all love looking back over those photos to admire how beautiful we looked as brides. My next post will list crinolines from various websites to show you the measure of fullness of each crinoline. Let me know if these post are helping. Thanks for visiting.                www.showbelles.etsy.com

Plum brocade 50s swing dress has a 3 layer crinoline under the dress. Dress is 2 inches longer than the crinoline. The crinoline is made in the same color shade as the dress. When you are dancing in a swing dress,occasionally the dress will fluff up. You want your crinoline to be as lovely as your dress.        www.showbelles.etsy.com

Petticoats,Bridal Gowns,Costumes, and Cage Crinolines

Wear a petticoat over your cage crinolines to add fluff and soften your hoop steel cages.Petticoats usually gather at the waist to create the softness and fluff. It has been written that during the Victorian years, the ladies wore up to nine(9) petticoats under their wedding dresses, bridal gowns, period costumes,formal dresses and gowns. When you see Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind, you will note that all of her dresses had a certain airy swaying movement. The movement was the petticoats that fluffed the dresses out.

The function of the hoop steel cage is to raise and shape dresses and gowns that have very wide sweeps or hemline circumferences. Without the hoop steel cage, dresses and gowns with sweeps of 132 inches or more would look like a lot of fabric hanging over the floor. The dresses and gowns spring to life when the proper cage is worn.

Pictures on various websites highlite exellent examples of how the cages and petticoats make the dresses come to life. Check out the Pinterest links below to several dresses and gowns from the Civil War Period and Victorian Era. Can you imagine the dresses without the hoop cages that projects the dresses out. The dress would look like tons of fabric draping off of the ladies without the shaping hoops and bustles. This applies to bustle dresses, bridal gowns and many other garments. They look best when they have the proper shaping undergarments. Great fitting undergarments add value to the outer garments, when worn appropriately. Check the links below to see for yourself. Just imagine these dresses without the support undergarments.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/69102175506527642/
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/69102175506526979/
http://www.pinterest.com/showbelles/victorian-steampunk-gothic-dresses-gowns/

Look at the dresses closely. Try to imagine them without the bustle cages and round hoops. These dresses cannot be worn without the proper undergarments. If you need help deciding which undergarment will work for your dresses of any type,  leave a comment, or contact me at www.showbelles.etsy.com. Or contact me at rhondagr@gmail.com.I normally answer within 24 hours or less. Thanks for visiting.
www.showbelles.etsy.com

How to Wear Cage Crinolines with Bridal Gowns Dresses or Costumes

This post will help you to decide if you need an elliptical cage crinoline to wear under your bridal and formals,Victorian,Dickens,Civil War,Marie Antoinette,French Colonial, period historical costumes,dresses and gowns.

• The photo on the left shows the cage crinoline without a bustle pillow pad.
• The photo in the right shows the cage crinoline with the bustle pad.
• The other photo  shows a burgundy black 2 toned shot taffeta bustle skirt with a 3 foot train.The train is projected by the elliptical cage crinoline. Adds lots of drama longer trains.

To wear the cage crinoline with dresses, gowns and costumes that have dropped waist bodices, do not use the bustle pillow pad as shown in left picture above. The waist to hip area will adapt, and flatten out to accomodate the fitted dropped waist bodices. A dropped waist can fall up to 9 inches below the waist.

Right sided picture shows a bustle pad pillow is resting over the back hip area under the cage crinoline. The pad supports the weight of the cage crinoline, and dramatically raises the cage to a higher projection toward the back. If you have a true bustle dress or historical dress ,or wedding dress with a lengthy train at the back, this cage could bring your dress or gown to the magical look that you are expecting.

The burgundy and black 2 toned shot taffeta skirt on the bottom left is a bustle skirt made to wear with the elliptical cage crinoline. The front is more tapered to the body, and the back projects outwardly and dramatically to show off your beautiful dress trains. The sides project out and gradually flow into the dramatic train supporter at the back.This cage crinoline is excellent for wedding and bridal gowns with this type of pattern construction. This cage is also excellent for historical period reenactment dresses and gowns.

Our custom made elliptical cage crinoline shown in the photos above is 134" inches circumference at the hem. The cage crinoline has 6 rows of hoop steel to support the weight of heavy skirts. The hoops can be pulled in to make the cage smaller and more tapered.

Need another type of cage crinoline, bustle cage or panniers cage? We custom make a a wide range of bustles cages, cage crinolines, Colonial Rococo Marie Antoinette panniers and more. These cage foundations will bring out the magnificence in your dresses,gowns, and costumes. Our dress foundations are custom made to fit your size and dresses, gowns, costumes. Links to our cage crinolines, bustle cages, and panniers are below.

www.showbelles.etsy.com

www.showbelles.bonanza.com

www.stores.ebay.com/Show-Belles-Costumes-and-Clothes