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• A Library of Dress designs: Chapter "P"

  Published Jun 08 2021 in #1950s, #cherryvelvet, #ChristinaHendricks, #cottondresses, #dressdesigns, #JoanHolloway, #madmen, #pinup, #plusmodel

  This week we have positively perfect dresses for you to peruse with names starting with the letter "P". 

  PAIGE

  Way back in the Spring of 2013, this special dress joined our collection. Inspired by a home sewing pattern from the fifties, this dress harkens back to a time when we would sew ourselves a dress and show it off it with our best gals on a bike ride and picnic.  The prints were fabulous, the collar was to die for and our signature A-line skirt was a flattering fit for any body.  Oh, and of course we added pockets!!

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  PEGGY

  The Peggy dress was a festive frock designed for Holiday 2011. Inspired by the popular show Mad Men and the divine dresses worn by "Joan Holloway" as portrayed by the fabulous, curvy Christina Hendricks. Peggy made the most of a curvy figure with her deep scoop neckline, 3/4 length sleeves and a very full pleated skirt. Can't really explain now why we named this dress the Peggy, really it should have been the Joan dress?

  

   

   

  

  

   PHOEBE

  The Phoebe was a sweet, summery sundress style with straps and an A-line skirt. She came in only one print and was a very limited edition that was made only once. It was a special order dress created for a company in the US and we made some extra for our store. It came in this playful blue and white lattice print. 

   PRISCILLA

  Named after none other than Priscilla Presley, this was another limited edition dress that was only made once. The neckline and waistband were cut from narrow printed borders at the edge of the fabric. Diane remembers the pattern for this dress was tricky to make because of the constraints of the fabric. We made the skirt in a solid black to go with the printed bodice.

   

   

  You can see how daring and different each of these dresses are and why they have become collector's items throughout the years as you have supported the brand and helped us grow.

  We keep these designs fresh for you by making small quantities of each print so you are unlikely to see your dress on someone else.  We see how unique each of you are and we know you want to express your personality with the print that suits your mood in the designs that feel best for your body shape. It is so much fun to create these dresses for you to enjoy. We can't wait to have more new designs for you, soon!

  Signing off until next week's next instalment...

  XOX Cherry Velvet

   

• A Library of dress designs : Chapter "L"

  Published Apr 28 2021 in #10yearanniversary, #canadianfashion, #cherryvelvet, #dressdesigns, #madeincanada, #pinupdress, #plussizepartydress, #plussizeretro

  Take our walk down memory lane this week to revisit the "L" dresses. Many of these dresses were especially designed to go out on the town and party in style. Remember those good old days?

  LANA

  Beginning with the Lana party dress; this one was designed to dazzle after dark in Jacquard and sparkle fabrics. This dress was perfect for dancing the night away; with a shapely V-neckline, glimmering fabrics and a full-circle skirt. It was especially pretty with a crinoline to emphasize the fullness of the skirt in a twirl.

   

   

  LEAH

  The Leah dress was named after our sales agent, that's been with us for many years (like more than 10 years!) and also models for us. There were two version of this dress, the first of which being the Lace version. It had a layer of lace over a comfortable cotton lining. There were three versions: Royal lace over nude, Black lace over nude and Black lace over Black.

  

  

  This was also a limited edition version in jade green with a black flocked velvet damask print.

  

  LEANNE

  The Leanne dress was named for a lovely and very clever customer that collects Cherry Velvet dresses. One day, Leanne came to visit us at the studio and showed us her library on her phone with all the prints and dresses she owned. This was her way of making sure she knew what she already had in her collection and what she wanted to buy next.  What a great idea for coordinating her closet!  

  

  

  Leanne is currently available now and all are on Sale here!

  

  

  LISA

  Lisa was an adorable sun dress. This easy-going beauty debuted the Summer of 2016 in cool cotton. The prints were carefree and perfect for a pool party or beach BBQ. The photos show the sweetness and whimsy of this fun style.

  

  

  

  LUCY

  Lucy made her appearance in the fall of 2014, debuting at our Canadian Museum of Flight photo shoot.  This vintage inspired dress was special with only two colours offered. Lucy featured a sweetheart neckline edged in ric rac. The fabric was stretch-cotton sateen and looked amazing on curves with a crinoline. She was named after Lucille Ball, because who doesn't love Lucy!

  

   

  

  That's it for the "L" dresses of yesteryear. It is so fun to see these styles again as we plan for the new ones that are coming in soon. Cheers to soon having more occasions to celebrate with party dresses!

   XOX Cherry Velvet

   

• A Library of Dress Designs: Chapter "J-K"

  Published Apr 19 2021 in #10yearanniversary, #1950s, #dressdesigns, #madeincanada, #plussize, #themarvelousmrsmaisel

  We hope you're enjoying this walk down memory lane. It's so fun to reminisce about the Cherry Velvet dress styles we've made over 10 years. This week's edition is all about dresses named with the letters J and K.

  JACQUELINE

  Introducing one of the newest dresses this spring; the Jacqueline was named after a lovely, long-time customer. Our Jacqueline dress embodies everything Cherry Velvet stands for: great fit, cute details, and fantastic prints. A stand-up collar accents a V-neckline and cap sleeves provide work-and-play versatility. You may already have noticed that all the newest designs have deeper, more generous pockets. These beautiful Jacqueline prints are available now; sizes and quantities are limited.

  

  

  

  JENNIFER

  The Jennifer was a work appropriate style for the summer that came out 2 years in a row; for 2015 and 2016. She had a cute stand-up collar, front button detail and an A-line skirt. Sushi anyone?

  

  

  

  JUDITH

  The Judith came out in the Fall of 2015. She was named after a lovely lady from Nova Scotia that had the coolest laundry line we've ever seen! (Of course made up entirely of Cherry Velvet dresses!)

  

  Her namesake dress had 3/4 sleeves and a very sexy neckline finished to mimic a bow at the front. 

   

  

  KATE

  The original inspiration for the Kate came from a beautiful dress design from the 1950's.  The design was originally worn by the iconic fifties model Dovima. Coincidentally the same design was used in a episode of The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel. 

  

   

   

   

  

  The cut of Kate's bodice uniquely allowed that stripes and checks were shown off to best advantage in this design.  The beauty of the Kate design really came out with the use of these linear prints. You can see how the bodice is enhanced with the stripes cut on the bias at the center front.

  

   

   KELLY

  The Kelly dress came out in the Spring of 2015 in Stretch cotton sateen fabric prints. This V-neck dress was perfect for the photoshoot that we did on location at the Granville Fluevog Shoe store. What a treat that was! We had our pick of all those beautiful shoes to match up perfectly to the dresses. 

  

  

   How time flies when we are having fun! These pictures bring back great memories of these dresses and the fabulous models that wowed us. Our story will continue next time with a chapter on the dresses beginning with the letter "L".  I look forward to showing off the beauties in that group.

  We have more gorgeous new dresses coming soon; because a girl can never have too many dresses, right? 

   XOX Diane

• A Library of Dress Designs: Chapter "E"

  Published Mar 24 2021 in #10yearanniversary, #1950s, #canadianfashiondesigner, #cherryvelvet, #dressdesigns, #ellymayday, #history, #ovariancancer

  This post is all about our beautiful dress designs that start with the letter "E". A word of advice, you may need a box of tissues handy. I have a heartfelt story to tell you about one of our models and the dress that was named for her.

   

  Emily

  In the Spring of 2023 we said 'Bonjour' To Emily. Diane was inspired to create dress dress after watchin the TV show Emily in Paris. This was also the first eve halter style we created, with a nice full skirt and pleated bodice. It was the perfect breezy sundress for those hot Summer days!

  

  

  

  Elizabeth

  The Elizabeth dress was first released in the Fall of 2013 and then again in Fall 2018. It has a similar cut and fit to the popular Chrissy dress. These first prints; as modeled on lovely Bianca Bombshell and Ruby Roxx were made from a beautiful stretch cotton sateen. 

  

   

  

  In our later release of the Elizabeth dress we switched to our regular 100% cotton in these stunning prints:

  

   

  

  Elly

  Of all of the dresses I have written about so far, this one is the hardest to write. These photos bring back memories of a young 25 year old girl that was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, the same disease my own mother died of when I was 12 years old. I know most of you remember Elly Mayday (aka Ashley Luther) she was a Cherry Velvet model for a number of years. At the time of this photo shoot she was very ill and had lost all her hair from chemotherapy. She is actually wearing a wig that I bought for her in these photos. I imagined how I would feel as a 25 year that had lost all her hair and my heart went out to her. 

  

  The Elly dress was designed and made especially for her, for an event called Strut for a Cause. It happened the night before she was scheduled to go in for major surgery. Since the blog about this event was on our old blog (and no longer accessible), I will repost it for you to read about if you wish as next week's blog.

  The eye-catching wingbust design of the Elly dress was a vintage design inspired by the dresses of a very influential 1950's (and beyond) designer; Alfred Shaheen. I am launching a much anticipated remake of the Elly dress that will be ready for release in summer 2021. The prints are inspired by the original Elly dress with some updated additions (the original fabrics are no longer available).

  

   

   

  

  

  Emma 

  Released in 2015, the Emma dress was made only once for our Spring 2015 collection at the Hycroft Manor photo shoot. The most popular print was predictably "Cool Cats" as modelled on Ruby Roxx.

   

  Eva

  This was an extremely limited run of dresses. Only a few of these Eva Lace party dresses were ever made. 

  

  

  I hope you all understand why I wanted to share these memories about Elly Mayday with you. I feel it was important to honour her memory in this post; by sharing some of her images and story with you. She was certainly an important part of our history and I will never forget her and the lessons I learned while working with her.

  XOX Love Diane

   

   

• A Library of Dress Designs: Chapter "D"

  Published Mar 18 2021 in #1950s, #cherryvelvet, #dressdesigns, #madeincanada, #pinup, #retrodress

  D is for darling, delightful, decadent, divine... dresses! This post is all about the beautiful designs released with a "D" name. Come continue this journey through Cherry Velvet history with us!

   

  Diane

  After more than a decade our very own designer finally decided to name a dress after herself. And so the Diane was born. This dress features a flirty sweetheart neckline with adjustable ties and a full skirt perfect for twirling the night away. A sassy and unforgettable style that quickly became a customer favourite!

  

  

  Danielle

  Named after a darling previous staff member and model, this design was released for the first time way back in 2015. Ironically, we never did get a photo of Danielle, in her namesake dress. However, we'll always remember Danielle fondly anytime we wear one. We once did a photo shoot of the Danielle dress right in Fluevog's Granville store! What a treat that was to have a wonderful selection of shoes on hand to pair with the dresses.

  

  

  

  

  

  Daphne

  After many requests for dresses with sleeves and due to the popularity of the Brigitte dress, Diane, our designer, combined those desires into one dreamy dress. You might recognize the back detail from the Brigitte as the neckline in the Daphne. Sometimes, that's how a new dress is born, from customer requests or details re-imagined into a new style. This first image is of our long time model Danielle of the 'Daneille' dress fame, here modeling the Daphne at our Save On Meats photo shoot. The Daphne dress debuted in our Fall 2012 catalog.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Dina

  The Dina dress was named after a very lovely lady that was the buyer for a company called Gwynnie Bee. They bought many, many dresses from us over the years for their dress subscription service. The Dina was only released once in Fall 2013. (P.S. it was never made in the Camera Print)

  

  

   Dita

  This iconic dress was named for none other than Dita von Tease herself. It was a design that was directly inspired by a dress that Dita wore. It was originally released in 2 colours in the summer of 2014. And once again in the Fall of 2017 in the Golden Galaxy print with white and gold stars on a black background.  

  

  

  

   Doris

  Named after 1950's songbird Doris Day, this dress is just as lovely as the lady. With a bustier style top, the details are fabulously flattering and just perfect for the summer, with straps that cover your bra's. She was designed with unique seaming at the bustline to not only emulate a corset but some of the classic Alfred Shaheen styles of the 1950's. You may not realize this but the Doris is actually the exact same cut as the Elly, the only difference is the addition of the 'wings' on her sister dress, the Elly. 

   

  Aside from our iconic Cherries and Dots print, there were several wildly popular and often asked about prints in the Doris. One was called Pixel Party....we even made a video game out if it! 

  

  

  

  

  Another super popular style was Octopus Garden. A fabric designed by Margot Elena of Tokyo Milk. 

  

   And how could we forget Starmagic? Glow in the Dark dresses are a fan favourite and this was the very first one we made that #glowedinthedark. 

  

  I hope you've enjoyed this chapter from our dress archives.  Stay tuned for the next library instalment all about the letter "E"!

  (...this is starting to sound like Sesame Street! :)

  XOX Cherry Velvet

   

   

• A Library of Dress Designs: Chapter "C"

  Published Mar 09 2021 in #10yearanniversary, #cherryvelvet, #dressdesigns, #history, #pinupdress, #plussize, #retrodress

  We sure hope you're enjoying looking back at our history of dresses as much as we are enjoying writing it and reminiscing! We got to know so many lovely women in all the photo shoots we did over the years, and it's an honour to share all these stories again.

  On to the letter "C"!

  CELESTE

  The Celeste dress was a one time only design that came out in the Spring of 2014. We designed it especially to accommodate this metallic border printed fabric. To make a border print work, the pattern pieces need to fit sideways on the fabric so that the border runs along the hem of the dress. This style and the Sally dress were the only two styles we ever set up for a border print so far.

  

  

  CHARLOTTE

  

  The Charlotte was the very first dress Cherry Velvet ever made. You can imagine our excitement in the office when the first shipment of dresses arrived. Even though the caption reads 10 prints, there were actually 14 prints all together, all on the chart below plus the Butterfly print. Only a very small handful was available in some the the prints. What made the Charlotte especially unique was each of the 14 prints had it's own special trim around the 'V' neckline.

  

  

   

  Some of you may remember our original studio in Railtown, Vancouver. A customer is modelling the butterfly print that is an all time favourite of our designer Diane's. She still wears this dress to this day.

  CHLOE

  The Chloe dress made her only appearance in the Fall of 2013. She was a very pretty style with a scallop detail around the neck. Even though the Chloe never came back again, the bodice and fit of this style was the precursor to quite a few other styles like the Brooke and the Olivia. The green colourway modeled by Ruby Roxx was the most limited pattern in this design.

  

  

  

  CHRISSY

  Many of you will recognize this classic Cherry Velvet style, it's a design that has been recut many times throughout the years. It was named after our model Chrissy Snow (in this first photo) The mock wrap of the bodice is universally flattering to many figure types and indeed is a style that fits whether you have a larger or a smaller bustline.

  

  The Chrissy first appeared in the summer of 2015. She was often cut in a polka dot or a floral print as this design requires a 2 way print. 

  

  

  

  

   

  

  

  CHRISTINA

  The Christina dress was the third style we ever made in the Fall of 2011. It had the addition of vintage trim on the collar and cuff. This Kimono Fan print was especially adorable with it's red ric-rac edging.

  

  

  COLETTE

  The Colette came out in the Spring of 2014 and again one more time. It was made of cotton sateen with a bit of stretch which lent itself well to this wiggle dress design. Colette's sassy style featured unique cut outs at the shoulder and a cheeky flounce at the hem. 

  

   

  I hope you've enjoyed this chapter from our dress archives.  Stay tuned for another chapter next week!

  P.S. When the whole library is complete, we'll save it permanently on our website so you can look through it any time. 

  XOX Cherry Velvet

• A Library of Dress Designs: Chapter "B"

  Published Feb 23 2021 in #10yearanniversary, #cherryvelvet, #dressdesigns, #madeincanada, #pinup, #plussize, #retrodress

  Join us as we continue our pictorial history of 10 years of Cherry Velvet dresses, this chapter all about names starting with the letter "B".

  BARBARA

  The Barbara was the second dress style we ever made in 2011. It was named after a former Cherry Velvet employee, Barb Wilkins. The Barbara came in a whole range of prints with contrast banding around the neck and sleeves. Can you pick out which prints were the most popular?*

  

   

  

  BETSY

  Betsy debuted in the Summer of 2016. Another employee Dawn modeled these for us as well as Charlotte Doering at our Hycroft Manor shoot.

  

   

  BIANCA

  The Bianca dress named after our model, Bianca Bombshell, was the wiggle dress version of the wingbust Elly dress. The wingbust style was popularized by a designer named Alfred Shaheen in the 1950's. It's a name used to describe the petal or wing shaped accents on the dress bodice. 

  

  BRIGITTE

  Our most popular dress of all time is also the one that we made the most of by far, is the Brigitte dress. Named after the gorgeous starlet, Brigitte Bardot, she was first released in the Spring of 2013. The following is only a small selection of the prints that were made in the Brigitte dress. This first image is of Model Elly Mayday photographed by Pin-up Perfection Photography.

  

   

  

  

  

   

  

  BROOKE

  The Brooke dress is a really special dress with a full-circle skirt. She needs the most fabric of all our designs, taking a whopping 4 yards of fabric in some of the bigger sizes. This photo is from our January of 2013 Hycroft Manor photo shoot.

  

   

  More exciting 'C' dresses to see next week...

  XOX Cherry Velvet

  *P.S. The most popular prints for the Barbara were "Good Luck Tattoo" and "Polka Party", although once we introduced the Sugar Skulls, that one quickly  became the most popular print for the Barbara dress.

• A Library of Dress Designs: Chapter "A"

  Published Feb 18 2021 in #cherryvelvet, #dressdesigns, #history, #madeincanada, #pinupgirl, #plusmodel, #retrodress

  Cherry Velvet began making vintage-inspired retro dresses in 2011! That's over 12 years now, can you believe it!? 

  To mark this milestone we thought you would enjoy seeing a complete pictorial history of all our dress designs. You'll get to revisit each of the names, designs, favourite prints and all the lovely women that have modelled our dresses for you to collect over the years.

  Let's begin our journey down memory lane with the letter "A"....

   

  DELE

  Named after the famous singer songwriter, the Adele was an elegant wiggle dress we could imagine the woman Adele actually wearing. She made a one time only appearance back in June of 2013 here on beautiful and curvaceous Ruby Roxx.

  

   

  ADALINE

  Inspired by the movie and beautiful dresses from The Age of Adaline, the Adaline had a vintage inspired, 1940's appeal. She made her appearance in 2015 at our photo shoot at historic Galbraith Manor on Ruby Roxx and Kaleigh Almond. Adaline's unique cutout neckline sure did turn heads.

  

   

  ALICE

  Croquet anyone? Models Veronica Belle and Ruby Roxx show off the Alice dress while playing lawn games at beautiful Momiji Gardens at Hastings Park. The Alice dress featured several hidden animal prints by fabric designer Tula Pink. The Alice was released only once in the summer of 2016.

  

  

  ANGELINA

  The Angelina made her first debut in the Fall of 2015. She's a style we've since repeated many times. With a longer, more natural waistline, Angelina is a great choice for average height to taller girls. She features a stunning back detail; two straps twisted in the middle to make your exit as memorable as your entrance! She's a long time favourite of many customers and is still available to this day.

  

  

  

  

  

  ANNETTE

  Our very first big official photo shoot was at the historic diner, Savon Meats with photographer Shimona Henry of Pin-up Perfection Photography in January of 2013. This was also the very first ever photo shoot for our patternmaker Genesis Hiles and model Elly Mayday. The Annette dress made an unforgettable apperance with her unique U shaped Peter Pan collar and a lovely open back detail all accented with contrast piping. 

  

  

  Annette came back once more in Spring 2018, but this time with the addition of a full skirt.

  

  AUDREY (original)

  In all these years of making dresses, we've only made one actual velvet dress called the Audrey named after our designer Diane's Mom. For Holiday 2012, it came in three colours of sumptuous rayon velvet; royal blue, dark green and midnight navy.

  

  AUDREY (2023)

  This sweet dress with timeless charm made a comeback in 2023 with a brand new look. It featured a style that was easy to wear both day and night with a lovely full skirt.

  

   

  

  AURORA

  Named after the Disney princess from Sleeping Beauty, this dress was certainly made for a girly girl. It had a mock wrap, pleated bodice, short puffed sleeves, a very full skirt and a generously wide tie belt to tie in a bow. We made it in cotton prints but also in several solid special occasion fabrics too. 

   

   

  

  AVA

  Named after the elegant 1940's star, Ava Gardener, the Ava was the only peplum style we ever released. She was an early style that debuted in 2012. This was Danielle Keil first photo shoot with us, she was a Cherry velvet employee as well as a favourite model. 

  

  

  We hope you've enjoyed the first chapter from our dress archives as we look back at designs named with the letter "A". Stay tuned for more...

  P.S. When the whole library is complete, we'll save it permanently on our website so you can look through it any time. 

  XOX Cherry Velvet