My Little Etiquette Shop: Girls in white dresses – hold the blue satin sashes,

Sorry Julie Andrews/Maria, we’ve got a bride on our hands who doesn’t want anyone wearing color at her wedding.  So in the coming Oprah-void, for Favorite Things she’ll have to stick to snowflakes and mittens – although this sounds like a summer wedding, so we’ll work on that one.  On to our latest reader dilemma:  Send yours for us to tackle!  Please email us at MyLittleFlowerShopPS@gmail.com, and include the word “etiquette” in the subject line.
Q:
My niece’s wedding invitation arrived and it requests that everyone wear white to her celebration.  I thought it was tacky to wear white to a wedding. Also, telling people what to wear seems bossy, and expensive for families. My kids don’t exactly wear a lot of white. Should I talk to  my niece about maybe not doing that part?
– Bleach Mum
A:
Mum,
There’s two ways to go here, and we’re advocates of family peace and harmony, so we’d actually advise you to stay, well, mum. Speaking up could upset your niece, which I guarantee will upset your sister. Whether or not your niece has put on her bossy pants, your sister is in the midst of planning her daughter’s wedding (trust me – an emotional time for mama bear) so it’s best to roll with the color scheme. As you hinted, your family will likely only use these outfits once – so they don’t have to be high end designer duds. Check out TJ Maxx, Target, or sites like Overstock.com for low priced, good looking options. And then, day of, admire the truly beautiful effect of a large group of people all in white. Should your niece want our opinion, we’d advise against all white flowers. With  monochromatic pastels, however, she’ll knock everyone’s (white) socks off.
Shop Nice!

dress on :: prøving

Nice day for a white wedding? Victorian Fashion Slaves vs. those who tell the Queen to Kiss It

Whatever happened to Billy Idol’s little sister, anyway?  Well, he voiced his opinions, but in the end, whether or not she wore white was entirely up to her.  Historically, white does symbolize purity.  So that’s why the Pope wears it.  But brides? That’s all Queen Victoria’s fault.  Prior to Victoria’s wedding to Albert, one simply wore one’s best dress down the aisle.  And everybody wore their dresses again. She was the first high profile bride to wear white.  So technically, every major designer, and 99.9% of brides are following Victorian bridal fashion trends rather than 2011 bridal fashion trends. Now purity is no longer signaled by your gown, and some gals just like a little color.  Reese Witherspoon was recently married in a pink dress (although IMHO, it was a little matchy-matchy with her skin tone for my taste, and her flowers seemed to match her hair…but we’ll deal with that another day).  There are women who decide to get married in orange, or deep purple, or whatever color makes them happy. What color flowers do we recommend when brides go rogue and tell Queen Victoria that her era is SO over? There’s nothing like a colorful dress to inspire great work.  Anything goes really – the color the adventurous gal chooses opens a thousand doors.  We generally advise though, (sorry Reese, you got steered astray) that you don’t match your bouquet to your hair.

Oh and by the way? Victoria had her dress restyled so she could get some more use out of it.  Now THAT’S a trend we could all get behind – especially on Earth Day.  Reduce, Re-use, Recycle your wedding gown!

Palm Springs and Palm Desert shopping: Five top clothing and accessory stores – latimes.com

Palm Springs and Palm Desert shopping: Five top clothing and accessory stores – latimes.com.

I love the love the LA Times is giving our Uptown Design District shopping scene!  You can find our store in between Route 66 West and Wil Stiles – 664 N. Palm Canyon Dr.

Come shop, and stop in to say hi!

Thanks to RJ Taylor for this beautiful morning shot of Uptown Palm Springs. See more from RJ at http://thedesert411.com

The Uptown Design District: home of high design, and My Little Flower Shop!
Beautiful Uptown Design District - photo by RJ Taylor