Luxury Fashion & Couture Styling Blog

YVES SAINT LAURENT 'S iconic legend brought us Stole, Shawl, Cape Style!

11/20/2016

Over the course of Yves Saint Laurent’s celebrated 44 year career from 1936-2008, the creative originality that made him beloved the world-over not only set the trends for his lifetime, but for lifetimes to come.   While rejecting both traditional norms of how a woman’s ”outfit” should look as well as futurists idea of fashion, Saint Laurent invited women to ‘dress to express themselves through clothing.’

And to this invocation White Stole does embrace! What is most cherished in Saint Laurent’s sketches by lovers of Stole, Shawl, Cape, Bolero and Shoulder-Sweeping Style are the many ways YSL envisioned fabric, feather or fur to embrace the shoulders, arms, waist or neck of a Woman of Elegance and Style.

Yves Saint Laurent’s sartorial approach to fashion took women beyond the fluctuations of fashion to the realm of the “timeless” in fashion.   Among the hundreds of sketches, drawings, photographs, production documents and original garments that the Fondation Pierre Berge – Yves Saint Laurent brings to the world’s greatest museums, The Perfection of Style exhibit presents YSL’s everlasting contributions from both his Haute Couture Collections as well as his SAINT LAURENT rive gauche ready-to-wear line that became a global phenomenon after its introduction in 1966.

Unpublished documents from the Fondation’s vast archives span personal portraits of Yves Saint Laurent from the sophisticated paper dolls he crafted while just a teenager, to sketches from his early days as Christian Dior’s assistant which would mark him as a young prodigy and foreshadow his destiny as someone who would become one of the greatest Couturiers of all time, to drawings that stand as an amazing treasure-trove released for our deep pleasure.

As Curators of Stole Style, White Stole takes immense interest in the rare, behind-the-scenes look into the creative workings of Saint Laurent’s own Collection Boards featuring his sketches from 1962 to 2002 that retrace 40 years of the YSL Maison de Couture’s fascinating history.

Yves Saint Laurent’s creative process and power of “styling” women is vividly seen in these amazing sketches that White Stole was able to digitally capture here for our mutual adoration. These sketches stand as evidence of Saint Laurent’s contribution to the adoration of the Stole, Shawl and Cape in Couture, as well as in Streetwear styling. From the 1960’s onward, it is clear as fashion is long that Saint Laurent helped the world move out of a Post-War mentality and enter into the realm of Modernity - and the Stole Accessory played a significant part in that evolution!

The production of an Haute Couture garment was a complex process that began with sketches created by Saint Laurent of “ensembles” - known in America as “outfits” - which he later called “looks.” These drawings included specifics about ergonomics, “drape” and the equilibrium that must be maintained between the fabric and the body. Once Saint Laurent had created the sketches to his satisfaction, he would then meet with his chefs d’ateliers (workshop heads) to present his drawings for translation onto a toile - the preliminary garment made of white cotton.

Dear Yves, for all of us at White Stole. your archives are adored sketches that demonstrate to us that the power of style reaches well beyond the ephemeral fluctuations of fashion…. into the Timeless!

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

SHAWLS & STOLES in Indigo Infused Sacred Significance to 1900s Weddings

10/16/2016

"Spring Ribbons ~ Sky Blue" Couture Silk Satin Chiffon Bridal Stole Wrap Accessory by Valentino

Over the 100,000 years that humankind has been making clothes, a special reverence for cloth shaped in the form of a Stole, Shawl, or Cape has prevailed in many cultures, resulting in a rectangular garment that relies on a depth of meaning and strong belief. Once worn in transformational situations, these shoulder coverings were not to be taken lightly. None originated from a view of clothes as utilitarian. A Shawl has been considered to be a garment that carries a special blessing as early as the 1800s.

In the long parade that fashion is, Indigo has played an equally important role for centuries. Indigo can be a color of leadership, of sacred significance, or of “blue collar” status, but it’s resilience has led to its use by farmers, fishermen and workers from France to Japan, from China to America throughout the ages.

Once artists discovered Indigo-bearing plants containing the gift of blue, an infatuation with indigo and a huge impact on our visual world began. Nothing compares with this dye’s ability to capture the blues of nature – a midnight sky, early dawn or an impression of the sea. It can also define a mood – of joy and vitality in the lighter variations, or of melancholy and mystery in the dark hues.

However, Indigo is a dye that demands discipline to use. Because of that, artists who make textiles that incorporate the color can be considered feats of dedication to create. Some creations posted here took thousands of hours to produce – requiring prolonged concentration akin to a meditative state. Others were made swiftly but with highly specialized skill and have a different kind of appeal.

In this blogpost, White Stole showcases the diversity of what the Shawl, Stole and Sarong have signified in cultures from the late 1800’s onwards – from the Ceremonial to the Sacred Wedding - with 6 historical photos from around the world. Enjoy!

CEREMONIAL SHAWL (Pa Biang), ca. 1900 made of cotton, Indigo-dyed, with silk supplementary weft weave, metal toggles from Laos, Northern Tai Nuea people

Photo 1 is a CEREMONIAL SHAWL (Pa Biang), ca. 1900 from Laos, Northern Tai Nuea people
Long-nosed lions, serpent-headed birds are just two of the signs of a mythic imagination that inspired the creatures on this shawl. It implies a belief in the transformative vision of complex designs. Weavers have loaded the indigo background with an intricate diagram of ancient forms of hooks, spirals and stylized birds, serpents, and occasional people. Such a Shawl could serve as a facilitator of meditation, detachment and spiritual discipline.

CEREMONIAL SHAWL (Pa Biang), ca 1900 made of cotton, Indigo-dyed, with silk supplementary weft weave, metal toggles from Laos, Northern Tai Nuea people

Photo 2 is a CEREMONIAL SHAWL (Pa Biang), ca 1900 from Laos, Northern Tai Nuea people
Intensely symbolic Shawls are covered with signs of a dense imaginary world. Embedded in the maze in this piece are diamond shapes derived from Buddhism to suggest a star, or third eye. Looking closely you may also spot a river dragon, or naga, who is guardian of the underworld. Notice how the maze is not asymmetrical. The weaver’s goal was “to help the onlooker discard all preconceptions of balance and, in meditation, to question the very order of life itself.” Explains Patricia Cheesman, author of Lao Textiles: Ancient Symbols- Living Art (1988).

SACRED SHAWL (Ulos Ragidup), ca. 1900 made of cotton; warp resist (ikat); supplementary weft; natural dyes including indigo from Indonesian, Sumatra, Batak culture

Photo 3 is a SACRED SHAWL (Ulos Ragidup), ca. 1900 from Indonesian, Sumatra, Batak culture
Sacred honor is bestowed whenever this type of shawl appears in Batak communities. It is a technically remarkable cloth with complex iconography that carries great significance. Wrapped around the shoulders of a person in transition at weddings, for pregnancy, and other life changes, it invokes speeches by chosen people whose great knowledge enables them to carefully observe the cloth and divine a way to enhance the wearer’s future.

SARONG (kain kapala), 19th century made of cotton, factory plain weave; wax resist (batik)process; natural / synthetic indigo dye from Indonesian, Central Java

Photo 4 is a SARONG (kain kapala), 19th century from Indonesian, Central Java
Step into a Sarong and you enter via a network of symbols that support your place in a cosmic sacred landscape. On this sarong, a dark Indigo night is set off against a breathtaking day, both nurtured with a constant drizzle of growth and fertility – visually, plants are thriving as they drift across petals, floating coconut fronds and entwined tendrils. Fireflies flicker in the night while phoenixes and butterflies fly through the air during the day. A sense of vitality is bursting off the cloth, ready to accompany the wearer when they are participating in ceremonies wherever they may go.

KASHMIRI SHAWL with RUMAL design ca. 1870 made of wool, interlocked twill tapestry weave with embroidery in chain stitch; pieced; natural dyes including indigo from the Indian, Kashmir area (for export to Europe), Dogra Dynasty (1846 – 1949)

Photo 5 is a KASHMIRI SHAWL with RUMAL design ca. 1870 from the Indian, Kashmir area (for export to Europe), Dogra Dynasty (1846 – 1949)
Kashmiri Shawls once ignited a covetous desire throughout Europe. They were made of a lovely soft goat hair and evoked the aura of a royal Mughal personage. French King Napoleon Bonaparte saw soldiers bring them back from India around 1800 and his wife Josephine soon had acquired hundreds. Given this overwhelming demand, Indian producers began assembling shawls like this one, which is a mosaic of small woven segments locked together with embroidery. Meanwhile, weavers in Paris and Paisley, Scotland wove silk imitations that have endured in waves of revival unto today.

“Once upon a time, or actually several times upon a time, Indigo was the most important dye in the world. At one point it helped prop up an empire, and then later it helped destabilize it. Ancient Egyptians used Indigo-dyed clothes to wrap their mummies, in Central Asia it was one of the main colors for carpets, and for more than three centuries in Europe and America it was one of the more controversial dye-stuffs, and it would have been familiar to people of many nationalities.” Victoria Finlay, Color: A Natural History of the Palette, 2002

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

Top Vintage Bridal Wear Stole Wraps as seen on WHITE STOLE PINTEREST!

9/19/2015

Any glamorous Retro Wedding Theme wouldn’t be remarkable without a quintessential Bridal Wrap that makes your look stunningly complete. So, White Stole thought it only appropriate to thank all of their adoring Pinterest fans who have so carefully chosen and rated these curated ICONIC couture looks as their FAVE PINS from White Stole's Pinterest Page over the years by posting them altogether here, in one spot, for your viewing pleasure!

It is said that Beauty is Self-Preserving because what we fall in love with, we protect. We all want to be on the journey to inspiration. And every fashion-minded, Chic woman knows that taking the best looks from the past and bringing them forward not only protects, but projects the best sides of our fashionable selves....yesterday and today!

Take a peek and take-charge of your own Couture Chic by using these gorgeous 40's, 50's and 60's Vintage Photos to bring excitement for more posts to come from White Stole…and inspiration for how you can synthesize, rev-up and create your own Wedding or Evening Wear look wearing a Stole – whether Couture or Vintage – from the White Stole Collection.

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

Jackie Kennedy wearing Oleg Cassini Gown with Silk Stole

Evelyn, Sunny and Dovima in White Mink Stoles over Evening Wedding Gowns

Sketch by Rene Gruau in Red Stole and matching Gown

1950’s FASHION'S GREATEST HIT – The Stole Wrap is back in Wedding Wear!

7/11/2015

A 1940’s depression-era Bride may have worn her Sunday best suit with a military air to be married at the Courthouse, or perhaps made herself a simple off-white, ivory or beige dress she designed from furnishing fabrics with Gibson or mutton sleeves that billowed at the top and tapered to fit below the elbow. She may have made her Veil, too, from lace curtains worn on top of swept-up hair, and carried a flower bouquet made from paper due to war-time rationing.
A wealthier '40’s Bride may have danced the Jitterbug at her wedding to the sounds of a Big Band in a borrowed Wedding Gown that featured netting or the hint of the first “sweetheart” shaped neckline and corseted waist made of rayon, or sometimes silk. But as the era turned the corner to the 1950’s, the influence of Christian Dior’s “New Look” hour-glass dress with it’s flowing skirts made of yards of cloth set the stage for Bridal Wear.

The '50’s Brides are seen encircled in lace or cutwork, overskirts and puffed sleeves, and yards of transparent gauze or satin inspired by the billowing, luxe skirt, tight-waist and barely visible “sweetheart neckline” of the gown that Grace Kelly wore in 1956 to wed Prince Rainier of Monaco, or by Elizabeth Taylor’s hour-glass Wedding Gown.

The lifting of rationing on fabric allowed women to celebrate their figures with hoop skirts, crinolines and other full-skirt techniques to emphasize the waist and “pointed bosom” bodice. French lace was the rage as post-war lace began to be manufactured again, bringing back tiers of Chantilly Lace and flouncy frills to the skirts of Wedding Gowns.

Audrey Hepburn equally influenced Bridal Wear in 1954 with her “Modern Princess” look in a ballerina Tea-Length Lace Wedding Dress with sleeves and few embellishments. Gloves became the standard fashion of the '50s, with fingerless bridal gloves made of tulle, lace, or satin. Shorter, flutter hemlines led to shorter veils and many gowns were designed with layered materials, three-quarter or long sleeves, upstanding gothic style collars, or to be worn as strapless evening gowns after the wedding.

Coordinating flowing or opaque Stoles or Lace Boleros worn on top of a strapless dress for coverage at the wedding became popular at the end of the decade as dress lengths moved from floor-length to ankle-length, and dropped hemlines and scooped necklines appeared.

The 1950's was a decade defined by decorum, elegance, and etiquette. Traditional, classic wedding receptions featured Wedgewood china, white roses, cut glass, and silver on damask cloths. Wedding cakes, often displayed under a floral arch, were styled with popular motifs from the era, like poodles.

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

Audrey Hepburn, 1954, in Tea-Length Wedding Dress

1940's Bride in Bridal Hat and draped sleeve Wedding Dress

Put the Gatsby into a Bride with a Silk-Feathered Hair and Stole Couture!

4/25/2015

Eons ago, Brides simply wore their hair flowing down their back on their Wedding Day to symbolize their virginity. Later, Roman Brides began wearing an intense, flame-colored and fulsome Veil to protect them from evil spirits on their Wedding Day.

But by the 19th century, our idea of a Modern Wedding clearly turned the corner from notions of hiding the Bride’s visage to her stepping forward in all her pure, natural perfection. Wedding Veils continued to symbolize a woman's modesty in marriage, but the traditional cotton and lace “Boudoir” Cap was transformed into a confection of exquisitely colorful silk and lace, ornamented with silk ribbons, bows, and flowers fit for a proper Romeo and Juliet Wedding Day ceremony.

During the years of the 1920's, the Wide-brim Hat of the Edwardian era also reigned chic alongside the "Juliet" Bridal Cap Veil. A typically fine woven Straw Hat at that time would feature a deep crown worn so low it just about covered the eyebrows. The very wide drooping brim would drop dramatically at both sides and be trimmed with narrow satin ribbon. Large, floppy pink petal flowers were artistically arranged along the brim.

Veils pinned to hats have survived the changing fashions over the centuries and are still common today on formal occasions that require women to wear a Hat. These Veils are generally designed with netting or other sheer material not to hide the face from view, but rather to grace and adorn the head.

Hats, from fur to silk, have endured in popularity throughout cultures and religions over the centuries, coming in all sizes and shapes from Berets, Caps and Turbans, to Cloches worn to envelope either the head, shoulders and silhouette in celebrating life’s most memorable events ~ and, of course, the crowning event of a Wedding Day.

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