We get this inquiry a couple of times a year.  A mother has been asked to dress her son as a flower girl complete with dress.  She’s usually concerned and asks us if this is normal.

And the answer is clear - no.

There are certain sects or interest groups who follow this tradition.  We suspect that it comes from the ancient tradition of sending a “decoy” down the aisle to attract evil spirits so the marriage is not cursed. 

But it is not common.  Not today. As most mothers ask us, “is this normal”?  No.

Boys certainly can participate in a wedding party!  Their roles include Ring Bearer, Jr. Groomsmen and Ushers.   They can also be called “Paiges”.  They dress like boys, though it can be short or long pants.

Does this mean you should refuse? No, the matter is entirely in your hands.  If you love the idea and the boy is willing, it’s entirely  your call.

But flower girls are typically girls. 

Something cool that Xerox is doing  –If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.How AMAZING would it be if we could get everyone we know to send some!?!Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Our guys and gals over there need to know we are behind them … so let’s SEND them!  IT only takes a second.

Happy Thanksgiving!  We hope you and your family have much to be thankful for this holiday season.

In case you are starting to think about some of the gift decisions you must make for Christmas and Hanukkah, let us offer a suggestion:

There’s no gift in the world that can compete with a carefully chosen painted portrait for sheer heart-stopping impact!

Giving parents a portrait of their children, or grandparents a painting of their grandkids, can be the best gift they’ve ever given.  What can possibly compare with something so personal as that?

Ok, a Mercedes 500SLK might be a tough one to top.  But short of that (and for a whole lot less money, by the way) you can give a gift that will literally be cherished for generations.

Most people would think that it is way too late to order a custom painted portrait, but that’s not so.  There is still time to order paintings.  But this opportunity will not last long.  Once the schedule is full, they will have to cut off any additional orders for holiday delivery.  They won’t take anything that they can’t guarantee to be there in time.

So what kind of painting do YOU want to give?  They’ve painted children and pets, of course, but also weddings, Communions, vacation homes, antique cars, scenery, and just about anything else you can imagine!

Paintings start at just $540 [believe it!]  so what are you waiting for?  Send a photo of that special subject - person, pet, or object - and rest assured that you will be praised for giving the sweetest gift of all. 

Click Here to See Portrait Possibilities, Pricing & More

We’ve seen the quality of their work - and RAVE about it!

Have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

                                 From our Staff to You

We’ve heard it said that fashion dictates that fuschia is the new black?

We hear that fuschia is being paired with lime and orange and, well yes, black.

Is it true?

Well, because fashion says so, we do offer some dresses with fuschia options.  And fuschia has always been a terrific color for wedding parties against white or ivory.

Do we see it being ordered, though?  Not really.  Occasionally.  Sporadically.  It’s definitely not the norm.

If your heart is set on fuschia with another color for a “jolt”, we’re here for you!

However, most of our customers are staying a little less trendy and selecting more traditional color combinations.

It’s all up to you!

The subject of white dresses confuses many. 

It’s simple but relatively unknown that “whites” are not all the same!

We just had a call asking if a “white” flower girl dress will match the bride’s diamond white dress.  The answer?  It all depends.  What does it depend on?  The shade of the bride’s diamond white AND the shade of white of the flower girl dress she’s considering.  Is it bright white - or is it silk white, for instance?

We’ve discussed the subject of matching garments extensively here and throughout our websites.   You can find these discussions in the categories at right - they’re always here for your use.  It applies to white like any other color.

In short, to ‘match’ all garments must be ordered from the same manufacturer at the same time from the same dye lot. 

To coordinate, though, there’s a little more room for variation.

What shades of white are there?  We’ll name several but likely will miss something.  Why?  Because every company likes to come up with their own names for things.

• White a/k/a/ Bright/Brilliant White a/k/a Stark White
• Diamond White
• Candlelight
• Silk White  (or just silk fabric in white)
• Off-White
• Winter White
• Ivory
• Cream

These are all shades of “white” and tend to get deeper in shade as you decend the list.

The closer they are together on this list - the less likely they will look good together. 

When mixing bright whites and off-shades of white, the non-bright color will look dingy or even dirty against the bright white.  Very often it is the bride in the off-white shade; if a member of the wedding party is in bright white, that person is going to make the bride’s gown look dingy.

We recommend NEVER mixing bright whites with slight shades of off-white.  That includes candle light, silk white (silk is NEVER brilliant white and always looks dull against bright whites of other fibers), off-white, winter-white, etc.

Why?  Because the off-white shades are going to look dingy against the bright white.

Now, there may be some brides who WANT their maids to look dingy . . . but we won’t go there! 

The father away from each other, the better they can look together.  Combining very different shades looks “deliberate” and makes a fashion statement.  For instance?  Cream against bright white.  This can have a stunning effect just like chocolate on champagne (same color family but different shades).

Off-white shades look fabulous with the skin tones of many.  In fact, bright white can’t be worn well by a lot of people.

Coordinating which whites are best to use for your situation really does take a little effort and deliberation.  We recommend in a Wedding that it be the Bride who decides what shade is best on her — then everyone else’s garments are selected to compliment.  If she chooses bright white, then the wedding party should be in either bright white or color.  If the bride is in any shade of off-white, then the wedding party should be in off-whites - or color.

Perhaps a white or ivory dress with a colored sash simply isn’t in your plans for your wedding or other social event.  You absolutely have your heart set on COLOR dresses.

Then simply put - you will have to focus on COORDINATING colors - not ‘matching’.

Why?  We’ve discussed this at length previously about dye lots and fabric.  In short, if you don’t order all dresses from the same company at the same time from the same dye lot, they’re not going to match.  It doesn’t matter where you order them - that’s simply the way it happens.  That’s the nature of fabric and dying.

But you DO have options.  There are always options.

Coordinate colors instead of trying to match.  Do you have burgundy bride’s maid dresses?  Pink looks fantastic against burgundy. 

Navy?  Try coordinating with light blue.

Forest green?  Try a soft, lighter shade of green for the flower girl.

Same for the ring bearer’s accessories.

The reverse is true too, of course.

Another possibility is to go with the color of your flowers for the children.  What accent color is in your flowers?  You can use that color for the children in your wedding.  This approach can produce stunning photos; it can look totally color-coordinated and well planned.

We’re absolutely THRILLED to announce the arrival of the Elsie Mo Designs collection of Flower Girl, Miniature Brides and First Communion dresses!

These dresses received very favorable reviews from Moms of our models at our most recent photo shoot!  They are lovely:

• well made
• nicely designed
• good fabrics
• nicely priced — and –
• available VERY quickly!

Several styles - like the one you see here (ELM-305) - are perfect to coordinate wide age ranges such as Flower Girls and Junior Brides Maids or Big Sister/Little Sister.

Quite a few lovely styles are also available in Plus sizes for our extra-fluffly little lasses.

 AND - this line offers some SPECIALTY dresses like “Butterfly Kisses”.

Please let us know what you think!  You can leave your comments right here!  Click on Comments - and then it will instruct you how to log in.  You have to sign up first - then it will send you an email.  Once you have that, you can leave your opinions, ask questions, etc. whenever you’d like!

We really DO want to hear from you!

We’ve put a nice selection of REALLY DARLING baby dresses on sale just in time for the holidays!

 BABY DRESS SALE

If for some reason that doesn’t take you to them - type “PP-” into the Search box (without the quotation marks).

All these precious baby dresses are on sale - whilel supplies last.  Once they’re gone - they’re gone forever.

You’ll see that quite a few have long sleeves for the cooler months, too!

Happy shopping!

Baby dress #WB-16857 has long been a favorite.  It’s probably because it’s soft with quite a bit of detail - but it’s not at all fussy.

This week it has come back - this time in NEWBORN size for the very first time!

We’ll warn you - the colors are just a bit softer than what shows in the photo.  We think that makes a lot of sense since it’s for such a tiny little girl!

See all our wonderful little dresses for baby in our Baby Dresses Department.