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Dress: £320, Self Portrait. Trench: DAY Birger et Mikkelsen (old but buy similar from Asos here). Clutch: Anya Hindmarch. Shoes: £69, Boden |
I bumped into Sasha from Liberty London Girl at a press event recently and we were discussing Self Portrait and a recent article somewhere saying that pretty much ‘everyone and their mother’ are wearing this brand to a wedding these days. And I must admit, as I was packing this beautiful dress in the car heading to a wedding in The Midlands, I read a quote on twitter saying “If I see one more person in Self Portrait….yawn”.
I must admit, I was briefly mortified. But then thought “it’s still the most gorgeous dress I’d seen after hours of trawling through the internet”. Journalists, Fashion Editors, and dare I say, Londoners (myself included) tend to be a bit snobby about labels. We have that thing to disregard anything pretty much as soon as it becomes mainstream. It’s a bit like as an English student at university, I refused to read anything from the “bestsellers” list – it was pure snobbery, really. Luckily, I overcame this – right now I’m reading ‘Girl on a Train’ and I’m loving it.
Yet I felt wonderful in this magical dress – yes, it was more than I wanted to pay but the quality of Self Portrait is far superior than any other brands in this price range. And if a brand is getting it right – isn’t it right we should all want to wear it?
I love wearing maxi dresses to weddings, it adds a sense of occasion – and a dress I can wear with flats? Perfect. These Boden shoes really are so comfortable (I danced all night in them!) – and I love that my feet are wrapped up in bows.
Again, the clutch is one of those ‘bring out for every wedding’ bag in a similar vein – the last wedding I went to there were 4 women with the same bag. But I don’t see this as a fashion cliche – more just women with good taste…
I used this Anya Hindmarch ‘Valorie’ clutch for my wedding and it makes me smile whenever I use it. And that’s all that matters.
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Dress: £320, Self Portrait. Clutch: Anya Hindmarch. Shoes: £69, Boden |
So – wear what you love. And love what you wear (and don’t listen to silly things people like me tell you about how to dress).
Hi Alex, That dress is beautiful and I have to admit, I have never heard of Self Portrait (maybe a tad out of my price range!) The underskirt of yours looks longer than that on the website… Did you have yours altered? I think I would want to do the same!
No, I didn't have it altered at all…the underdress is actually much shorter than the pic online, yes i agree actually x
I'm loving this brand at the moment. They do the most perfect dresses for special occasions x
Wonky Lauren
It has touched on such an undervalued market! So clever x
I love your comparisons in this post Alex. I was EXACTLY the same and refused to watch Breaking Bad at the time. Thankfully I've gotten over that.
Love the dress – will investigate this brand for future weddings!
Haha – thank goodness, Breaking Bad is too good to miss!
The dress is gorgeous and you look fantastic in it.
Thank you – I'm not sure how many more times I'll wear it but fingers crossed as I love it x
Really interesting dress 🙂 I haven't see something that "different" a long time 🙂 Love it !
Absolutely gorgeous pics!!! Love your dress.
It's a beautiful dress and yes you are right, just because a brand is seen more isn't a sign that it is 'yawn' but more that they've got it perfect right now and stylish women have discovered it and are embracing it
This is so pretty wedding outfit. I have also not heard of the Self Portrait concept in wedding gown. I love this idea and would like to buy it for my destination wedding. You know I have booked the best venues Los Angeles.
Beautiful wedding dress and the country side landscape. Your photos are so awesome.
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