We have seen them on the runways, but of all the elements within designers’ bridal collections, it is the Stole in it’s many forms that is truly outstanding.  Alongside the traditional Veil, the Stole is irreplaceable for the bride who wants to feel like a fairy princess on her “I do” day.

This “must-have” gives a royal touch to the wedding - a princess allure that each of us look for on our big day.  An elegant detail, light and sinuous, capable of enchanting our guests during the triumphant walk down the aisle. Short or long, the Stole Wrap or Stole Cape is present today in all variations, from tulle, lace, organza, and chiffon, in white, pastel, or stunningly bright colors. Extremely light, the Stole lends an elegant touch that gives fluency to the bride’s movements.

More sophisticated is the Stole Wrap in embroidered or appliqued lace. The Stole Wrap becomes an essential accessory for every respectable bride, useful to conceal jaw-dropping necklines or shoulders, and when the time is right, to uncover them and be able to enjoy the party.  Truly infinite are the combinations of materials, from cashmere-silk blends for those who are always cold, to tulles that give soft volume to figures, to chiffons and silk satin for the most luxurious touch.

Reserved for true dreamers is the transparent and very delicate silk chiffon Stole Cape that enriches the shoulders with see-through grace and elegance. It is well- known that the details make the difference in elegance itself.

View White Stole's entire collection of Stoles, Silk Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

The elegant inspiration of a flowing Stole as a formal wrap of expensive fabric wrapped around the shoulders over a long dress or ballgown, created from silk or natural fabric, and of a length long enough to be draped across either shoulders, or around arms or neck has survived in all cultures throughout the ages. 

A Stole Wrap is typically narrower than a Shawl, and of simpler construction than a Stole Cape, and is typically worn loosely around the shoulders. Lighter materials such as silk and chiffon are simply finished or cropped, hemmed and bound.  Heavier materials such as fur and brocade are typically lined.  A Silk Stole is essentially a small version of a ladies’ Stole, made of silk. Though these garments or accessories aren’t always made of silk, they are typically manufactured with similar quality fabrics.

A Stole can also mean a fur or set of furs.  For formal wear, a finished length of fur using pelts from more than one animal is worn over a suit, dress or gown.  In this case, the word Stole stands alone or is used in combination: Fur Stole, Mink Stole.  A Stole is typically narrower than a Cape or Wrap.  The Fur Stole is kept fastened and held together at the front of the collar. Unlike a Silk Stole or Shawl, which is wrapped loosely around a lady’s shoulders and occasionally the neck, a Fur Stole is manufactured to fit the body more snugly

Similar to a Shawl, the Stole Cape typically uses more material length and covers more of the upper body. Also occasionally referred to as a Stole Wrap, the Stole Cape is likely to be found in a wide array of materials and colors, but the most common type of Stole Cape is typically made of fur.  Some popular dressy styles of Stole Capes might include ostrich feathers, marabou, or other material. The feathers can come in various colors, although black, brown and white are generally the most commonly seen.

In addition to making an elegant fashion statement, all types of Stoles have been used to show respect while in a church or in a formal setting, such as for a Wedding, where it might be inappropriate to display bare shoulders or a low-cut gown.

Historically, Stoles were considered ceremonial dress worn for special occasions or at formal events such as weddings, coronations, graduations, parades, religious rites and galas.  Besides the Wedding Dress, throughout history the formal dress code of ceremonial dress has included the Ermine-lined Cloak, Crown and Septer of a King or Queen, Tribal Dress, Suit of Armor, Military Dress, Liturgical Robe, Graduation Gown, and Robe and Wig worn by British judges.  The Stole as an ecclesiastical vestment consisted of a narrow strip of silk or other material worn over the shoulders or, by deacons, over the left shoulder only, and arranged to hang down in front to the knee or below.  The Stole as a long robe was worn by the matrons of Ancient Rome. 

The lithograph plate posted here showing a variety of ways of wearing shawls in early 19th-century France (ca. 1802-1814), is redrawn from various early 19th-century sources by Durin for Albert Charles Auguste Racinet's Le Costume Historique (1888), and shows the myriad, exquisite ways the Silk Stole Wrap has been worn over the ages.

View White Stole's entire collection of Stoles, Silk Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

The date was 1954.  Valentino Garavani, then a young Italian who apprenticed for Jean Desses, designed a slim, elegant ensemble with a leopard-skin belt and Stole.  A moment that marked the beginning of his signature elaborate aesthetic that would catapult him to be known only by his first name - Valentino. 

After five years with Desses, and a brief time with Guy Laroche, in which his couture sketches became the foundation of his eponymous look, Valentino returned to Rome, Italy to set up his own label, bringing with him the grandeur that established for him the reputation of what Italians call “Dolce Vita” – Sweet Life.

When Valentino showed his first collection at the Pitti Palace in Florence for the first time in 1962, the acclaim instantly annointed him the go-to Couturier for the glitterati.  In 1967, he was awarded the prestigious Neiman Marcus Award for his infamous “No-color Collection” in which he rebuked the trend for decadent color palettes, opting instead for hues of beige, white and ivory.  This collection launched his signature “V” trademark.  In the same year, he designed the dress that Jackie Kennedy wore to marry Aristotle Onassis - both events that crystalized the fame that turned his business into an international fashion powerhouse, dressing Hollywood superstars from Gwyneth Paltrow to Cate Blanchett, Julia Roberts and Elizabeth Taylor to Anne Hathaway.

When interviewed by the Telegraph, Valentino said this about his early inspirations:  "I was always inspired by seeing glamorous American movie stars in clothes by the costume designer Edith Head…and when I was working with Jean Desses and Guy Laroche in Paris I was influenced by French couture and the luxurious lives of French women."

"A dress that reveals a woman's ankles while she is walking is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen," Valentino once told The Daily Mail.   In an interview in November of 2012 with Vogue UK, Valentino noted that times have changed since he first started his career.  "Few people love and make beautiful clothes, clothes that are soft, smooth and elegant," he said. "And very few designers today design - it's very important to be able to do your own sketch on paper and then explain [your vision] to the fabric cutters. Instead, lots of designers drape - it's the new way."

UK blogger David Downton described Valentino:  "My first couture experience was drawing Valentino fittings at The Ritz in Paris - it was like entering Narnia. He is the last of the old-school couturiers. Lightness of touch, rigorous discipline and an unfailing glamour aesthetic are his hallmarks.” And, on the subject of Valentino’s use of his signature color - red: "There is cardinal red and rose red. Come-to-bed red and go-to-hell red. But when it comes to a red dress, there is really only Valentino. As someone once said, Valentino invented red."

Despite having retired from designing for the Valentino label, Valentino still works on special commissions, recently designing the bridal gown worn by Princess Madeleine of Sweden for her royal nuptials in June 2013, a fact that has kept him in the hearts and minds of devotees of Bridal fashion.  Valentino has embraced Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, the current co-designers of his famed label for the past five years, on their runway shows. The pair continue to successfully steer the Valentino ship season after season, carrying-on the magnificent, spirit-lifting collections which have come to symbolize couture in its truest sense while walking the line between feminine, light and intricate designs that remain modern and compelling for today’s women.

Each and every dress on the runway offers different fabrics and techniques, yet the concept of gowns constructed through piping details and lace, with silhouettes that we have come to know and love from Valentino – "demure, nipped-in waists and splaying skirts, necklines either cut straight across or high in Tudor proportion, Stoles, Capes and Shawls fluttering across dresses of distinct shape….with bold lines of red and black and cream that bring the body’s figure to life – remain.  Gowns in white look like they had been adorned in wedding icing - both elegant and pristine. Gowns breath-takingly made up of 450 metres of tulle, with swaying skirts that fold back on one another to create undulating fairy-tale hems.  Lines that are neither strict nor severe, always lending the sense of romantic femininity that is neither too sweet nor too austere"…remaining quintessential Valentino.

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

Folk-art, irony, youth culture and Rock and Roll all affected fur wrap fashion in the second half of the 60’s, bringing about an almost infinite amount of unpredictability in outerwear design.  Fur trimmings were an important factor in fashion for ladies in the Sixties, as the Createurs added refined details and fringe to collars, cuffs, borders, skirt hems, hats and scarves on every luxurious design presented.  Side-by-side with these details came an explosion of artistic follies that turned into a powerful trend.

Pellegrini presented a “gaucho” outfit in Persian lamb inset with zebra, Nina Ricci presented leopard "trousers," while Yves Saint Laurent added fringes of tails at cuffs and borders to an ermine "cape" of black and white squares.  This change in style brought to the streets “ponchos” that came in every fur type with great fringes in chamois or contrasting fur worn over mink "trouser-skirts", zebra "coats" made of a whole skin and decorated with lapels, collar and cuffs of silver fox, as well as mink “mini top-coats” in mink or champagne-colored Persian lamb that came down to the edge of a long stretch of boots with cuffs, collars and hems in opossum. 

Simultaneously, a search for the “Folk-art” look exploded onto the scene with a leopard and zebra "bikini" and "beach-wrap" by Sergio Soldano, the young, unrestrained furrier from Genova, Italy, whose profusion of colors captured the adoration of everyone from Gina Lollobrigida to Raquel Welch.  Revolutionary and eclectic, from the end of the Sixties onward, Soldano’s production of spectacular designs included the inspiration of the “squaw coat" and “savage” furs, to nostalgia for the 20’s in Al Capone-style "sports coats" in monkey fur and mink "mini-skirts," along with great "ponchos" of goatskin or long, "floor-length coats".  His spectacular creations spurred continual research into new methods of working with fur alongside creation of the vivid color palettes he favored – from different shades or green and twill, wheat, red lacquer and white, ruby red, ochre and lime green, pale blues, pinkish terracotta, parchment, China blue and more.

This was a time when the imagination in fur design knew no bounds.

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

In the process of demystifying
fur fashion in the 60’s, it was almost natural to turn to sport.  The formula from the middle of the decade onwards was for more and more tailor-mades, coats, jackets, tunics, skirts and trousers of fur typically in sporting garments. 

Yves Saint Laurent took the drama out of leopard-skin by presenting a pullover with sleeves and collar of ribbed knitting.  Fur combined with leather, as well as leather coats lined and belted in white fur were seen on the streets.  Most notably, the coupling of knitwear and fur that had precedents in the Fifties proved itself by the Sixties to be a trend that would last for atleast twenty years.

The Frankfurt Fair in 1968 celebrated the creations of Jole Veneziani, the godmother of the show, alongside creations by the most renowned names in Italian fur fashion:  Melloni, Parodi, Pellegrini, Rossini & Porro, and Viscardi. Fur Fashion Luminaries now created the first tennis outfit with a short skirt of white mink, Pucci designed a bush-jacket in black Persian lamb with white knitted borders, others created trousers, tunics and boots, ski-suits, anoraks and gaiters for winter sports, hooded jackets or cardigans and pullovers bordered or braided with multi-colored knitting worked in furrier’s point, giving it the elegant effect that created it’s rage. 

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

As the 60’s ushered in the first man in space, the Kennedy assassination and the collapse of the Berlin Wall, so did prosperity grow.  Young women no longer squeezed themselves into latex to imitate Mom, and in response, adults caught the infection of youthful fashion. The Mini Skirt soon became the Maxi.  Fashion changed rapidly into 2 realms:  one the informal, and the other, the formal.  Chanel launched her typical tailor-made suits, and Emilio Pucci enclosed his suits in little bags while ladies went to parties in Pajama Suits.  Nevertheless, the novelty of the 60’s was its use of expensive, natural furs for edging and cowl necks on refined garments that transfigured the usual lines of sports clothes into something very elegant. 

1966 was a year of romanticism in fashion – of a return to femininity.  That year, the Fendis held a show in Rome which became an event of major importance to the fur fashion world.  The regal style of fur for evening seemed to get younger.  “Short” became the new password.   Shirt-blouses, head kerchiefs, little jackets, sleeveless jackets and waistcoats debuted.  From their collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld, a fur revolution was born that attempted to use fur as cloth to create a true fur-fashion.  They banished the rule of the “lining,” and colored the pelts in completely new ways, dropping an idea as soon as it took root, which became key to their success.

From their debut in 1966, the Fendis illuminated the catwalks with precious furs dyed apricot or lemon yellow, and amazed people with furs for the whole family until 1970.  In 1966, Fendi released their Bride’s fur of Majestic White Canadian Mink, and two more Wedding Furs in white breitschwantz and white SAGA Mink worked horizontally with satin buttons that swept away the wedding industry with what everyone said was “half mad.”  Rather, the Fendi repertory was limitless, and to do justice to this couture house would take a whole book...not just a blogpost!

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

Presenting his first collection in 1937, Jacques Fath was a self-taught designer who learned his craft from studying museum exhibitions and books about fashion.  A popular and innovative designer known for dressing "the chic young Parisienne," Fath famously utilized such materials as hemp sacking and sequins made of walnut and almond shells.  His 1950 collection was called Lily, and its skirts were shaped to resemble flowers.  For eveningwear, he advocated velvet gowns.  Fath often draped the fabric directly onto his models rather than sketch his designs. 

During World War II, Jacques Fath became known for "wide fluttering skirts" which, The New York Times explained, "he conceived for the benefit of women forced to ride bicycles during gasoline rationing". His clients included Ava Gardner, Greta Garbo, and Rita Hayworth, who wore a Fath dress for her wedding to Prince Aly Khan.  Fath designed a wedding gown for his wife that today is one of his most notable designs.  Among his models was Lucie Daouphars (1921 or 1922–1963), a.k.a. Lucky, a former welder who eventually became the top house model for Christian Dior.

Jacques Fath hired a number of young designers as assistants and apprentices, some of which later went on to form their own Couture houses, including Hubert de Givenchy, Guy Laroche and Valentino Garavani.   

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

Maggy Rouff is known for her beliefs that a truly elegant woman is in harmony with her environment and herself.  Addressing a basic longing she sensed in women as early as the 1940’s, Rouff wooed patrons to her salon with her belief that novelty and even surprise were good for fashion, yet only novelty allied with taste yielded chic.

As a result, Rouff rarely created a design that was considered "eccentric."  She took care to establish a focal point in every design, always enhancing the underlying sense of femininity of the lines.  An evening gown in which the skirt was trimmed with a crossover hip wrap and little side puffs had simply-cut sleeves and bodice.  She had a fondness for draped details, whether it had the sarong-like side drape of a skirt panel or soft cowl folds at the neckline.  Rouff often highlighted the upper body, drawing attention toward the face with a few favorite elements such as wrapped and tied surplice fronts, unusual necklines, and dramatic sleeves.

Accents such as wide belts and sashes, bold buttons, and silk flowers as well as contrasts of color, texture, or luster were also used with the same sense of balance.  She enriched some surfaces with shirring, quilting, or trapunto, as in her 1936 "plus four" playsuit and in her 1938 button-quilted evening dress, but very lush fabrics and furs were handled in accordance with her “less-is-more” philosophy.

While Paris was occupied by German troops, Maggy Rouff, who had already lived through one world war, wrote La Philosophie de L'Elégance. Her justification for what might have been considered under such circumstances a frivolous topic, was her belief that even in darkest times there must be faith in the future. Rouff’s book is seen as an affirmation of the value and substance which the Art of Elegance had given to her life and her success. 

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

Since 1954, the House of Schiaparelli  has been known to be one of the most potent in all of Haute Couture.  During that time, Elsa Schiaparelli, was well-known as a Creator rather than a Couturier who had no formal training in the Art of Couture.  She approached design with bravery because she was free from the dictates of any specific skillset.  

Born to an aristrocratic Italian family of scholars in 1890, she fled the confines of her childhood home in Rome for a fuller life in London, New York and lastly, Paris.  In true post-war elegance, the playful, excessive, erudite and willful spirit that imbued each of Elsa’s designs swept-away the fashion world in 1927 - whether the design was her great pagoda-like mink collars mounted ontop black woolen coats,  or her bow-tied sweaters that exuded all of the surrealism and artistic fury of the 20’s and 30’s.  

Her provocative Ballgowns of the time, some with draping, feathered or embroidered Stoles were legendary, as were the seductive little jackets decorated with embroidery in a profusion of creativity.  Schiaparelli invented the idea of Ready-to-Wear, the concept of the “Boutique,” Mix-and-Match separates, Shirtwaist Dresses, Culottes, Wedge Heels, Designer Sunglasses, Overalls, and the color “Shocking Pink.”  Elsa Schiaparelli even designed a version of the “Jumpsuit” favored by sportsmen and skydivers during WWII for chic women to wear in bomb shelters!  No one had previously inspired artists, and hired them to decorate her clothes and her salon.  For those who loved her, Schiaparelli’s couture designs created the Heritage of her design house that was both bold and smart, with a flair that allowed any woman to stand out in a most exquisite way.

Like Schiaparelli, the Brides and Bridesmaids who come to the White Stole Collection follow their own path.  They are talented, creative women who embrace the eclectic and collaborative motifs brought forward by the most important artists of our time in order for us to become sophisticated women who understand their message of openness and tolerance in our lifetimes.

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

All you have to do today is look at any fashion magazine or runway to witness that the future of fashion has arrived….and it’s all about dreaming of the past.  Fashion’s tendency to sample and recycle is certainly nothing new.  This truth can be seen as early as Dior’s famous hourglass New Look silhouette, which was hailed as a watershed moment for post-WWII fashion, but it wasn’t altogether original.  

Afterall, Dior’s fanciful design was inspired by the corsets and petticoats of his own Belle Epoque childhood.  What made his designs wildly resonate for so many, however, was that they contrasted sharply with the long war-years of frugality.  Dior wrote in his autobiography in 1956: “It happened that my own inclinations coincided with the spirit or sensibilities of the times.”  And as the world turns, the attraction of timeless couture is proof that it never goes out of style.

Historically, natural fur marked certain stages in the lives of a girl of good family: at eighteen, Daddy would buy her a beaver and a mink jacket or coat for her marriage.   In 1962, Time magazine was asking: “After mink, what?”  In 1964, Valentino began to think about Evening Wear and in that year presented a short natural jacket with kimono sleeves over a long gown.  In fact, the reign of natural fur was to be a long one that also revisited us in its many evolutions.

This 1946 vintage photo by Gjon Mili of Evelyn, Sunny and Dovima in pure White Mink Stoles over evening gowns brings forth the vision of pretty beauty that brought the era under Dior’s hourglass influence.   White Stole calls this inspiration Quintessential!

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

In New York, Maximilian, as well as David of New York, who worked with Capucci during the time this Italian received the American Fashion Oscar in 1958, brought the love of Stoles to the American market even as it remained highly influenced by European Couturiers and Creatures.  The Americans tried to widen their market by banking on simple models, in tone with the fashion of the times: shoulders became rounder, collars less deep, and large buttons appeared on Stoles by the end of the decade.

With Capucci’s influence, garment borders formed romantic knots, a little Cape turned in cones that culminated at the shoulder, and a circular Stole hid a Bolero inside it.  Jackets and full-length Stoles became a single mantle, and other ensembles had detachable skirts.  These garments began to point to the move from the Fifties to the Sixties, confirming luxurious foreshadowing of the demystification of natural fur. 

After the end of the war, the most beautiful women in the world from Gina Lollobrigida to Audrey Hepburn were seen in natural Stoles.  Like the rest of fashion, natural Stoles ran along a double track for several seasons then their style would change - yet some constant features from the previous season always remained.  

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

A Couturier, by definition, is “a person who designs, makes and sells fashionable clothes for women.”  Other sources define a Couturier as “one who designs for, or owns, a couture establishment.”  Thus, the word Couturier has led to the use of the word Creature to define the clothes or fashion designer him or herself. 

From 1847 Italy onward, the founding fathers of the fur industry read like cases of fine wine:  Matti, Viscardi, Carinato, Chiovato, Pellegrini, Melloni, Bolzano and many others.  Jole Veneziani moved ahead with her progressive designs alongside Rivella and Schettini.  The trend increased as Rossini, Porro and Naldoni brought Stoles into both sporting as well as elegant realms for the public.  Giovanni Battista Giorgini’s shows at Villa Torregiani in Florence in 1951 helped launch the glory years of Haute Couture.   By 1958, the leading Couturier names of Capucci, Fabiani, Fendi and Valentino spelled Stole elegance into the 60’s and beyond.

Regardless of the name reference, the beginning Italian history of the enthusiasm for women’s Stole fashion began with a few leading men and women, though none so famous as Rivella, who founded his fur fashion house in 1868 and put a personal touch to the endless designs of Cape Stoles of the period – whether having a special collar, or a braided effect like that of a knitted pullover.  In 1958 he created a wedding dress so perfect that the fur blended into the fabric, giving it a Mikado effect.  Rivella became a leading name in the new Made in Italy label.

In Paris, the French fashion houses held fast during WWII with Fourrures Max, the most important pre-war furrier, and shortly after liberation Revillon, Freres, Fath, Molyneux, Chanel, Rouff and Schiaparelli continued with fur fashion that never entirely went away during the war, though it was confined to a very select public.  By 1947 Dior, Balmain and Balenciaga propelled fur fashions to the strata that ensured they were due to last.

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

Stoles began to be fashioned from every material type with exotic names ranging from Azurene to Silverblu, all of which added to their attraction.  In these years of anticipation of the boom, bodices became the target for all designers’ creative talents, and the designs were carried out in every material that happened to be the rage from one season to the other.  This expression of elegance in luxurious outerwear shaped to the body became subject for a thousand variations in its meticulous details. 

Stoles, Boleros, Jackets, Capes and Cloaks were, from the 1950's into the 1960's, essential to the elegant woman’s wardrobe.  The Stole had made its definitive entrance into women’s fashion as the par excellence elegant female status symbol alongside Haute Couture.

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

The year 1948 had introduced the “Little Cape” in which the contrasting little tails imitated the fastening, short Capes with peplums, along with floor-length Capes sporting little Volant sleeves or large cuffs.  Rivella’s Stole Cape was almost as big as a Cloak.  Pellegrini invented a sort of allusion to a double collar with all the fullness to the back.  Revillon brightened up the Stole with cloth inserts, as well as inserting folds of muslin into the fur. 

Boleros, Jackets, Capes and Cloaks were produced in every possible variation and color, and lived for 12 months of the year.  Aeolian, Tourmaline, Royal Pastel and Autumn Haze were the taupe-coloured, light beige and natural brown mutations of the EMBA mink, and chosen for the majority of the designs.  Little Jackets and Boleros could be short and square, fastening at the edge, could have fullness at the back or front, could do away with the collar or make it huge. 

In 1954, Dior presented a silver fox Muff in an attempt to bring back this classic accessory.  The Fur Boa also had its adherents.

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

It was only a short step from the Stole to the Bolero and its derivatives, and the 50’s were proof to this fact.  Many of these Boleros and little jackets hardly came down to the waistline.  The design-house Revillon made a shell-shaped Capelet Bolero in Royal Pastel mink, while other designers used the famous Autumn Haze EMBA mink.    Maximilian studied the Stole Bolero in Royal Pastel where the shoulders and neck remained free as a frame for a pretty face. 

The designer Fath launched a blousy Bolero in beaver.  Rossini and Porro were making them with an oriental flair.  Many were in mink, others in Persian lamb or with “crater” collars which moved their image from a sporting to an elegant look.  Jole Veneziani went beyond to a short jacket Bolero of zebra, with fringe that would later be called a T-shirt shape.

There were Vest-Jackets and little Shawls with fur puffs at the ends, and the ultra-famous Stoles consisting of four pelts that intertwined forming a knot. Many women became able to afford an Evening Stole. 

The stimulating minimum effect of the small Stole for the average woman became a fashion statement that was due to last.

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

Even for those who do not delight in fashion, the idea of the Fifties evokes the Fur Stole.  It was not by chance that, in 1950 itself, the advertisements of the American firms of Ben Mendel and Bergdorf Goodman were based on the Stole, which, in those days, had few rivals in the fur trade as regards to quantity.  American artisans, looking for wider markets, made every attempt to vary and update the classic Stole in every possible way in an attempt to make it affordable to all women.

There was the small, cropped model, which followed the Empire period line, which was often fastened with two bows beneath the bust, and another on one shoulder and grew wider on the other side, or which knotted behind into a butterfly effect. 

Others were double collared or built with multi-tiered rows of natural fur. Collars were wide and often swelled into shawls. They were square, flat, stole-shaped or molded in the form of high-knotted scarves with lines that followed those of the dressmaker.

This rectangle of fur, which constitutes a luxury embrace, was subject to a thousand variations.  

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

From the 1960's and beyond, among the “Fun and Flirty” looks that new Bridal Fashion has adopted is the Statement Dress, Tee Shirt Gown, Top Hat and Tails, the Caftan, Native American and the Palazzo pant.  With all, the preference for wearing Silk has remained the fabric that most completely brings out the Romantic Heart of a woman. 

An ethereal vision…the Silk Chiffon Shawl blowing in the wind strikes a magical pose with its muted tones of dark and sky blue, chartreuse green and purple accented with gold.  For the daring bride, a printed shawl can be something new, inventive, bold or simply a soft and whispered statement of beauty.  Set against endless blue, the blues and greens of White Stole's "Gisele" Shawl almost trumps the sky itself.

Whether wearing strands of diamonds and pearls, vivid tangerine or chartreuse silk chiffon, silk emerald green jersey trimmed in beads, pink flamingo, deep ruby red, pure black, or plaid, the Modern Bride intuitively understands the mantra of Oleg Cassini ~ “Do something you will be really proud of ~ make a unique statement!”

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

Like the variations on the traditional bridal White Dress, ‘long’ has transitioned to coming in many shades.  The few inches between the floor length gown and a tea length gown can speak volumes about the occasion’s mood and formality.  

Known as a Tea, Dance or Ballerina length skirt, the shorter skirt is a subtle departure from the traditional floor length gown.  A tea length skirt, which hits a few inches above the ankle, evokes an ingenue-like sensibility, and when paired with a ballgown silhouette, achieves a glamorous, debutante or ballerina look.  The tea length quickly became embraced for being less formal than the longer hemlines and a perfect choice for a daytime garden ceremony.

The Tea Length Wedding Dress never had more chic acclaim than when Audrey Hepburn wore it.  Audrey Hepburn married Mel Ferrer in 1954 wearing a Balmain dress with tiny waist, wide sleeves and full skirt with a floral hair wreathe that was timeless in both it’s design and it’s accessories.

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

Timeless Wedding Gown images have led the Modern Bride to step out further to choose from an opulent array of emotions, themes and elements as diverse as the Hi-Lo silhouette, the Short and Flirty knee length or Above-The-Knee Cocktail Dress, the Little White Dress, the Tee Shirt gown, Suit, Top Hat and Tails or the Caftan for her Spring or Summer Wedding Day. 

The Statement Dress and its Bridal Accessory has arrived on the scene in vivid colors from emerald green to fuchsia, chartreuse or pale ivory, embroidered with floral bouquet or with sequins.  Our modern weddings see brides wearing deep red, black, black and white, plaid, sky blue and bright pink. 

Whatever the color her love is displayed in, the opulent luxury of a silk or natural stole, cape or shawl enveloping her arms and shoulders is one of the bridal accessories that have timelessly stood as the icing on the wedding cake.  

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.

​It was perhaps the iconic wedding spectaculars of Princess Grace in buttoned-lace gown and veil designed by Oleg Cassini, or Princess Diana in her silk taffeta embellished-lace gown with opulent sleeves, tied with bows, and followed by its 25 foot train that most encouraged the romantic “Princess Bride” look, making it a major fashion impression on the world.

Whatever the dress, historically, luxury has been stated by the display of jewelry, as well as the selection of colors embroidered on opulent fabrics or that accessorize the visage of the bride. 

Whether her love is displayed in her hair with a mantilla, veil, or hat, in diamonds, or with the opulent luxury of a silk or natural Stole enveloping arms and shoulders, wearing “lace” remains a timeless image.

View White Stole’s entire collection for size color ranges of Stoles, Stole Wraps, Vintage Stoles, Stole Capes and Shawls for purchase, or rental, on our website.