Bridal Robe by Certain Style

It’s spring again and time for bridal season. You might imagine that at Certain Style we’d be wading in white chiffon and lace from the little wisps of nothing ordered by brides. Actually, no. We love brides and are happy to make whatever they want, but recently Bridal nightgowns and robes have become a lot more interesting.

Even weddings are affected by the state of the economy. While brides may spend a fortune on their wedding gown and wear it only once, their bridal nightgown is a different story. The nighttime ensemble a bride chooses for her honeymoon can be worn many times. It can easily be a more lasting memento of the wedding than the dress itself, if chosen well.

For most brides the whole of the wedding day is the realization of a fantasy, so why not use sleepwear to extend the romantic fantasy of a wedding to cover the honeymoon and beyond?  Actually it’s quite difficult to do. When you talk about ‘fantasy’ and nightwear in the same sentence, it all seems to be about men.  Fantasy nightgown? No. Think fantasy costume, french maids, schoolgirls etc.   Now there’s nothing wrong with indulging male fantasy (which is usually what it is) but what about female fantasy? Sadly many brides choose honeymoon nightgowns that end up stuffed at the back of a drawer, usually because their owners feel embarrassed or uncomfortable when wearing them. But there’s no need.

Where sex is power, romance is vulnerability. The ideal marriage is of course a mixture of both; interestingly we find that it’s the second time brides who come to us looking for a romantic nightgown, but this could well be because second time brides are often a little older, and as a result more in touch with themselves. As one lady put it to me the other day, ‘Feeling romantic is

Empire Style silk nightgown, designed for a bride and inspired by the Empress Josephine.

what makes me feel really sexy’.   We’ve been asked for is a regency style nightgown for a bride who had found her Mr Darcy, and a fur trimmed robe for a fan of Anna Karenina.  Many tall women long for the romance of a full length nightgown as those in the shops only reach mid-calf. Despite our best efforts, we’ve not been able to distill romance into a single nightgown design, but then, would we want to?

What is the ideal bridal nightgown? It’s all to do with the way you want to feel. If your romantic fantasy is very ‘Gone With The Wind’, look for a nightgown and robe in the great Gothic style, Scarlet really new how to wear a robe! If you are more tended to ‘Pride and Prejudice‘ something in silk with a high waist and small cap sleeves will give you that ‘waiting for Mr Darcy’ feeling, and if Gothic romance is your thing, a full length, handkerchief linen chemise with a deep neckline, long sleeves and lavish lace trim should do the job admirably. Brocade, trimmed with frills and lace can be very regal depending on the style, while silk velvet cut with wide medieval sleeves and a beautiful trim will make you feel like a character in the ‘Lord of The Rings’ . The fantasy really doesn’t have to stop with the dress and you’ll wear the nightgown and robe far more often!

I love my job because every garment we make is unique, just like the woman who eventually wears it. Keeping romance alive is a major part of making a marriage successful. I can’t think of many things more important that that.

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