Supplier Sites
I know it seems a little early to most people but spring 2010 is now fast approaching.
We have some preview pictures already and some collections start to arrive in November.
The fashion disc I put together has as many 2010 pictures as I have right now so please place your order if you'd like one. The button is on the home page.
If you can then you really must pay a visit but if you see anything anywhere else and can't get it in the right size, colour etc then just give us a call and we may just have it stock. We'll always try and get it for you anyway if your local supplier can't be bothered.
Things to consider when choosing your outfit
Timing So the wedding isn't for a while yet is it? Well please consider that almost all of the outfits for this type of occasion are ordered six months ahead of each season. i.e., we order our spring stock from July to August in the previous year. It starts to arrive anytime from late November and obviously from then on in, as outfits are sold, the choice becomes less each day. Re-orders are sometimes, though rarely, available but it's foolish to rely on this as you can be so easily disappointed. The same situation is common to all retailers of Mother of the Bride outfits as we all have common suppliers If you see an outfit elsewhere that you like, then please ask us for our price and availability. If we have it in stock we will be happy to send it out on approval for you. Fittings Not everyone is the same size, and it's a fact that many women lose weight running up to the event anyway so a good tailoring service is absolutely essential. We recommend that you buy your outfit only from someone who offers this service as any mistakes in tailoring can be devastating. You wouldn't get a refund from anyone you bought the outfit from if the garment was ruined by shoddy tailoring from a third party. The whole day can be absolutely ruined. We are very proud of the quality of the work from our own seamstress. We recommend that you revisit the shop with your outfit about three weeks prior to the wedding day for a fitting. You will be unlikely to have any significant weight or shape difference in the remaining time. Our tailoring service is very inexpensive with a cost unlikely to exceed £20 except in the most exceptional cases such as making an outfit a complete size smaller. Sorry, we don't make bigger!
Hats This is a particularly
sore point. Nearly all other retailers in this area sell hats to
match the outfits. We honestly believe this is the cream on their
cake. Hats can be really extortionate in price, nearly always are,
and are generally only worn the once.
While everyone wants to look their
absolute best, consider the overall cost. A matching hat can be as
much as £250 to buy and you will be unlikely to pick a hat up for
less than £160 at the shop where you buy the outfit.
We offer
matching hat hire for as little as £40. The difference can purchase
your matching shoes and clutch bag. Of course you can still buy your
hat from us if you really want.
Please visit our page for Hats, Shoes
and Bags
Mother of the bride and groom outfits
At Norma and June Fashions you will find probably the largest collection of mother of the bride outfits and groom's mother outfits in the UK. Chosen specially from the collections of the leading designers in the world our stock is immense and very varied. Quite frankly the selection is terrific.
Most of our Mother of the Bride outfits are equally at home as superbly styled formal wear for those extra special occasions.
Size range starts at size 8 and goes to 26 wide. We do occasionally have larger, or can place a special order given sufficient time. The Ann Balon collection comes in plus sizes up to XXXXL (size 28ish) for those ladies with more generous proportions.
With our huge stock of outfits from the most exclusive fashion houses, we firmly believe that you will not find a better source in the north-east or even the UK. We probably hold more specialist designer labels than any other single shop in the UK. The list on the left is just a small example. Not everyone wants to purchase an outfit that will probably only be worn once so we have an extensive range of extremely smart suits that will be suitable for many more occasions. Naturally these are more affordable too. Whatever your needs, if it's ladies fashion then you just can't go past us for choice and value for moneyEspecially important is the tailoring service we offer to make your chosen outfit fit exactly the way you want it. We place a special emphasis on this point as any other shop without this facility would not make any refund on bad tailoring done by anyone else. It can happen, and you know what Sod's Law is like.
Our outfits are extremely well complemented with matching hats, most of which can be hired inexpensively, but priority is given to customers buying their outfit from us. Of course you are welcome to buy a hat if that's what you want.
We also stock a specially selected range of ladies shoes and clutch bags to match most outfits. Actually not many shops sell shoes for the mother of the bride, going with latest fashions instead, ie the big clumpy clodhoppers that seem to have found their way into fashion right now. Not only do we sell the shoes for the mother of the bride, as well as any special occasion, we also provide a superb service where we can actually have the shoes, bag and hat handmade especially to your own design. See our shoe page for details.
We have been especially careful in our stock selection to avoid those labels that can be found in high street shops and department stores except where it is absolutely unavoidable. This is because so many wedding guests choose their outfits in these places and it would ruin any wedding day if the Mother of the Bride was wearing something one of her guests was also wearing. It does happen, believe me. At least if you find a clash of outfits prior to the wedding day, then we will arrange an exchange to overcome the problem.
It's only down to you now. If you don't visit us then you will never know if that one-off, gobsmackingly gorgeous outfit was here. All too often our customers have tried all the big city shops, have been searching for months in some cases but still return to us as our selection cannot be beaten. A few of our suppliers have useful websites and some less so. If you visit our Suppliers pages from the links on the side-bar and the home page you will be able to click on the relevant ones.
We are stockists of Ann Balon, Cattiva, Peter Martin, Libra, Gold by Michael H, Personal Choice, Cameron Blake, Damianou, Destinations, Mireia Bisbe, Gloria Estelles, Luis Civit, Max Pierre, Claudia Stevens, Michel Ambers, Presen, Libra, Frank Usher, Medici, John Charles, Dynasty, Arruba, Kate Cooper, Ispirato, Condici, Paule Vasseur, Montage, Mon Cheri, Chianti, After Six, Ronald Joyce, Veni Infantino of Morilee and many more. Don't forget to visit our suppliers page for links to some of their websites.
New to our range this year are the wonderful collections from Luis Civit, Giorgia Netti, Quintesse, Belinda Ch'ng, Paula Borges, Belmonde, Whimsy, Godske, Lady G, Lucinda Grey, Maria Coca, and many others. Oh and we daren't forget to mention the exquisite collection from Gloria Estelles and Mireia Bisbe.
Of course, we are continuing with our firm favourite ranges from Condici, Coterie, Paule Vasseur and Cattiva. Matched with our wonderful hats these superb collections take a whole lot of beating. If you want to see more of some of the current collections just follow these links Condici Cattiva Coterie Paule Vasseur. Click here to see the Paule Vasseur size chart.
The autumn 2009 season is still underway with ladies calling for Xmas wedding outfits, early January outfits and fashions specially for the Xmas-do. We expect some of the spring early deliveries from various suppliers from late November and then it will be ongoing from mid January so keep an eye on the website as I'll be putting more news on here as well as new pictures as soon as I get them.
The Condici and Frank Usher websites are amongst the best out there, kept up to date and well presented. They will give you a good insight into the range we have ordered from them. Just remember to come back to us after your visit.
The early Paule Vasseur and Luis Civit have already found favour for the autumn and we expect a quick turnover from them so please contact us quickly if you want anything from their collections. The new Ann Balon collection is underway now and although we can't possibly keep every outfit in every style and colour we can order as neded. I have the collection on disc right now so I can send these out as requested from the button on the Ann Balon page.
As the new season stock arrives I'll be putting more pictures on this page so keep dropping in to see them.
As usual we will be operating our airport collection service for those who wish to take a very inexpensive Easyjet (or whoever) to either Newcastle or Durham Tees Valley Airport.
This was a big hit last year. Just make sure you don't book before calling us first to ensure availability of car for collection.
Shop hours: 9.30 am to 5.00 pm. Monday to Saturday
Norma & June Fashions Ltd, Low Row, Easington Village, County Durham SR8 3AU: Tel 0191 5273945