BEST OF 2008 - Merry Christmas from Culture Shock!

How quickly has this year flown by?


As i recall all the wonderful "Culture Shock" brides that we have had the pleasure of dressing thru 2008, here are a few personal highlights (in no particular order...)


* A lovely Norwegian bride whose gown we decorated with a traditional Norwegian embroidered ribbon waistband (which she painstakingly hand-stitched herself), and finished with an antique brooch from her Grandmothers wedding....DIVINE!



* Our always-smiling, nature-loving & very funky client whose bridal corset-mini-dress we designed especially for her, in white silk, then dip-dyed in bright lime green and sunny yellow, so that she was like a little Aussie"bush-baby" for her garden wedding - the result was FUN, FLIRTY & FABULOUS - and it fitted her personality, setting & theme just perfectly!



* Our beautiful Tasmanian client whose wedding took place on her own organic farm in rural Tassie, by a small riverbed containing several platypus, who were seen by the guests playing in the water during the ceremony- aaawwwwww!!!! How very Australian is that?





* The highest number EVER of interstate & international clients who flew to Sydney especially for us - planning their flights to visit the Culture Shock studio for fittings with whatever other excuses to come to Sydney they could muster- shopping trips, business trips, visiting friends and family - or just solely to visit Culture Shock! A special thanks to all those globe-trotting, jet-setting brides, it's always a pleasure & we trust it was worth the early morning starts and extra travelling time! The world is definitely getting smaller...




* Our fun-loving, bold, curvaceous and retro-inspired bride who cleverly blended her love of the 40's AND 50's with her "victory-rolls" hair-do, funky Fifties Obi frock, red petticoat and fabulous red peep-toe shoes - you looked AWESOME, Miss N.....



* So many "East Meets West" inspired brides who embraced my love of Japan, and allowed me to mix splashes of RED amongst the ivory and whites, to create wedding gowns that celebrate Asian cultures as well as our own - and allowed me to delve deeply into my vintage Kimono & Obi collections.



* Likewise with my Indian-inspired bridal clients - we created some amazing & totally unique wedding gowns from rich, exquisitely-coloured Sari's this year, including bold purple, deep turquoise and brilliant aqua, plus the ever-popular reds, all mixed back with whites and ivories to stunning effect - and we hope these gowns will be worn again to Xmas/ NYE parties very soon!




* If there was one look that dominated my brides this year, despite the diverse range of styles we create - it would have to be the GRECIAN GODDESS look! And to make that happen - soooooo many never-ending hours of pinning, hand-rusching, draping, hand-stitching and french-seaming layer upon layer of sheer silk georgette and chiffon- thank goodness my beautiful & immensely talented & experienced staff ALL have such nimble fingers!


So as i wave goodbye to 2008, yet another creative, inspiring & rewarding year for Culture Shock, i now take my hat off to my FABULOUS, patient, caring and very dear team of expert staff, who work with me here in the studio, weaving their magic and making my crazy ideas come to life and look so good on each and every client - ladies, without you, there would be no gowns, no Culture Shock, and no fun ....A HEARTFELT THANK YOU SHERRY, JOAN, SABINA, EVE, POLI and LINDA, for a job VERY VERY WELL DONE!


AND a BIG, warm and very special thanks to all our beautiful brides ... here's to a SPLENDID year in 2009, have a magical Christmas,

love from Lisa xx

Soft and Flowy, Grecian Goddess RULES!

I've noticed so many more brides these days wanting "lighter" wedding gowns... made from fabrics that are lighter in weight, styling that's softer and more flowing than the traditional corsetry-style gowns, less restrictive construction, and of course - more COMFY!

I guess this need for wedding dresses that don't weigh more than the bride who wears them is due to several reasons:-

a)- Global warming! Who wants to be hot 'n' sweaty on their big day under multiple layers of thich, heavy fabric?

b)- "Bridget Jones" undies - whether we like them or not, the Nancy Ganz-type of super-stretchy shapewear and control lingerie (aka- "foundation lingerie") out on the market these days REALLY WORKS! So it now enables brides to rely less on corsetry in a wedding gown, and gives women the choice of having lighter-weight gowns and much more comfort in the lingerie dept, whilst still getting a great silhouette, flat tummy and nipped-in waist.

c)- Beautiful, soft, flowing gowns using sheer fabrics look SOOOOO romantic, whimsical, elegant and classic... the ethereal "Grecian Goddess" inspired look is definitely here to stay, as seen at every glamorous Awards ceremony this year... and you DON'T have to be a size 6 to rock this look!

I recently did a fabulous photo shoot to showcase my Grecian-inspired Couture bridal gowns... & as you can see, we created some beautiful looks on the day! Big thanks to the super-talented team that worked hard to create these images with me on a Sunday afternoon- Dario Gardiman the photographer, Simone and Claire the fab make-up artists, Jack the hair stylist and our gorgeous models Alicia and Zara - stay tuned as these images (and more) will shortly be appearing in more detail on my website, too!

ciao, xx lisa

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy for http://laqtres-theelegantweddinggown.blogspot.com/

If you require any more information or have any questions about our privacy policy, please feel free to contact us by email at laqtres@gmail.com.

At http://laqtres-theelegantweddinggown.blogspot.com/, the privacy of our visitors is of extreme importance to us. This privacy policy document outlines the types of personal information is received and collected by http://laqtres-theelegantweddinggown.blogspot.com/ and how it is used.

Log Files
Like many other Web sites, http://laqtres-theelegantweddinggown.blogspot.com/ makes use of log files. The information inside the log files includes internet protocol ( IP ) addresses, type of browser, Internet Service Provider ( ISP ), date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement around the site, and gather demographic information. IP addresses, and other such information are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable.

Cookies and Web Beacons
http://laqtres-theelegantweddinggown.blogspot.com/ does use cookies to store information about visitors preferences, record user-specific information on which pages the user access or visit, customize Web page content based on visitors browser type or other information that the visitor sends via their browser.

DoubleClick DART Cookie
.:: Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on http://laqtres-theelegantweddinggown.blogspot.com/.
.:: Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to users based on their visit to http://laqtres-theelegantweddinggown.blogspot.com/ and other sites on the Internet.
.:: Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy at the following URL - http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html

Some of our advertising partners may use cookies and web beacons on our site. Our advertising partners include ....
Google Adsense


These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to the advertisements and links that appear on http://laqtres-theelegantweddinggown.blogspot.com/ send directly to your browsers. They automatically receive your IP address when this occurs. Other technologies ( such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons ) may also be used by the third-party ad networks to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and / or to personalize the advertising content that you see.

http://laqtres-theelegantweddinggown.blogspot.com/ has no access to or control over these cookies that are used by third-party advertisers.

You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information on their practices as well as for instructions about how to opt-out of certain practices. http://laqtres-theelegantweddinggown.blogspot.com/'s privacy policy does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such other advertisers or web sites.

If you wish to disable cookies, you may do so through your individual browser options. More detailed information about cookie management with specific web browsers can be found at the browsers' respective websites.