Good for What Veils Them
Continued from page 9
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wedding pieces tend to be cherished
as heirlooms to pass on. You can’t do
that if your chignon is accented with
ranunculus. “Th ere’s some beauty in the fact
that it’s just for one day,” explained
Love, who said the most-requested
blossoms also include dahlias and
lisianthus. “It makes the wedding
day all the more special.”
Not every bride feels that way,
of course. Many are embracing
a vintage aesthetic, inspired by
Downton Abbey and by a desire for
things that feel meaningful and
authentic. So-called birdcage, Rus-
sian, or fi ngertip veils — the fl irty
piece of netting that covers just the
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12 APRIL 9, 2015
SIMCHAS eyes or the top half of the bride’s
face, attached to a fascinator or
comb — have become ubiquitous
on the wedding aisle.

So are headpieces that repurpose
sentimental items like a grand-
mother’s jewelry or veil. “Th ey
might take an old brooch or some-
thing that had been in the family,
and incorporate it into their hair,”
said Janice Martin, owner of the
eponymous Ardmore couture shop
where she has designed custom
bridalwear for 25 years.

Unlike the more ornate head-
pieces of yesteryear, many of today’s
headbands, jeweled combs and
discreetly sparkly hairclips can be
worn again, said Pattie Lamantilla,
who owns the Wedding Shoppe in
Wayne, where affl uent brides spend
an average of $5,000 on the gown
alone. “Some of these hair jew-
els can be converted to a brooch,”
added Lamantilla, “so that you can
have your own heirloom from your
wedding.” Headpieces — which typically
cost in the low to mid-three fi g-
ures — aren’t generally associated
with well-known labels, the way
gowns are. An exception, said La-
mantilla, is a vintage-inspired line
by Jenny Packham, the London
designer who became a celebrity
thanks to her most famous cli-
ent, Kate Middleton. (Middleton
herself, the glamorous duchess of
Cambridge, is credited with popu-
larizing a more conservative wed-
ding look, bringing back sleeves
and lace.) “Th e new headbands are
really thin, so the wire is hidden,
and it looks like the little brooch or
the crystals are just fl oating in your
hair,” Lamantilla explained.

With all the new options,
whither the veil? Th e most essen-
tially bridal of vestments, it is the
single article of clothing that — at
least in contemporary America —
is worn exclusively by brides. And
veils remain the choice of roughly
half of them, according to sales-
people. “A lot of Jewish brides defi nitely
will wear a veil, because it becomes a
part of the service when the groom
lifts the blusher,” noted Lamantilla,
using the industry term for a sheer,
chin-length face veil. But according
to Reena Spicehandler, the visiting
rabbi at Philadelphia’s German-
town Jewish Centre, the Jewish
veiling ceremony is custom rather
than law — so while tradition-
minded Jewish brides often want
veils, it’s not obligatory.

Rabbi Spicehandler herself went
veil-free as a bride. “I wore fl ow-
ers in my hair,” she recalled with a
laugh. “It was 1973.”
Today’s veils are likely to be
lace — and to drape gently from
the nape of the neck, rather than
poufi ng out from the crown of the
head. “Veils are softer, straighter
and less voluminous,” said Kap-
lin. “Brides want something that
breathes in the wind.” And while
long trains call for longer veils, there
is no dominant length right now;
brides are choosing everything
from the Russian veil — which hits
at the bridge of the nose — to the
full-length sweep that gets pinned
up so the bride can dance at the
reception. With so much focus on the
headwear, modern brides are es-
chewing necklaces and earrings to
keep the look refi ned. “Th ey do hair
jewelry instead of large earrings,”
said Lamantilla, “and the other ac-
cessory might be a jeweled belt or
a sash.” Hairstyles also tend to be
simple — soft chignons, French
twists — in keeping with the pref-
erence for a natural aesthetic.

And aside from those brightly
hued fl owers, brides still over-
whelmingly opt for a classic, sub-
dued palette: ivory, cream, blush,
although Janice Martin recently
dyed silk fl owers in turquoise and
hot pink for a headpiece to match
a custom wedding gown, she re-
called. “I’m also developing a line of
fi beroptic and LED headwear for
the Japanese market,” said Martin.

Th e gadget-mad Japanese, she ex-
plained, “do a lot more with tech-
nology in their everyday clothing,”
so it was only a matter of time be-
fore high-tech made it into bridal-
wear. But fi beroptic hairclips seem
unlikely to make headway — pun
intended — with the natural-and-
organic crowd. “Honestly,” Martin
said, “I don’t see it coming to this
country anytime soon.”
Hilary Danailova is a fan of acces-
sorizing whenever possible.

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JEWISH EXPONENT
APRIL 9, 2015
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