Amuse-Bouche designer lingerie: handmade in Glasgow, Scotland
Goodness, where to begin? It’s been a busy time at A-B HQ of late and I’ve been neglecting my little blog terribly. As a maker/designer/everything else I often find the ‘keeping in touch’ bit at the bottom of my list of to-dos, but I am working on it. The imminent arrival of Team A-B’s newest member (a shiny new laptop) ought to help – I’ve been updating mostly on my phone and iPod and inevitably that makes me want to throw things.
There’s been a whole bunch of lovely things happening over the last couple of months. Firstly, I completed the second Amuse-Bouche collection and I’ll be updating the website with the new images very shortly. I plan to do a general website update too, so look out for some new features and improvements as well as plenty of new knickers.
The second collection has a black and white theme so there are lots of bridal options as well as some darker, sexier pieces this time around. I’ve taken inspiration from the Art Nouveau era as before, adding film noir & femme fatale influences for a vintage-inspired, dramatic look. I’ve named each of the new pieces after movies from the film noir era to convey the sense of melodrama, menace, intrigue and glamour that inspired the collection.
I had a wonderful day at the end of October shooting the new collection with a fantastically talented team. My model was the outrageously beautiful Adriana Bucur, and the spectacular make up and hair were by Kaeleigh Wallace. The stunning photography was by the wonderful Tom Cairns. Huge thanks to the team for your hard work and effort in creating such gorgeous shots to showcase my lingerie.
For a sneak preview of the new collection, you can check out Tom’s blog.
I’m absolutely thrilled to be featured in this wonderful article on the new collection, courtesy of The Lingerie Stylist.
I’m also delighted to be featured on the fantastic US blog, The Full Figured Chest, with the Cage aux Folles Knickers from the first collection.
In fact, Amuse-Bouche has been getting around a fair bit since last we caught up – I’m also very pleased to be featured on the US-based website, Directory Sexy.
So from the US back to home soil… There’s been a wee bit of local activity too.
I’m really pleased to have joined the fantastic team of handpicked wedding suppliers at The Glasgow Wedding Collective. Look out for Amuse-Bouche at the next GWC Wedding Fayre in the new year.
Oh and I’ve also set up a facebook page, so I’d love it if you swung by and ‘liked’ my page.
Phew. I think that brings us up to date for now. I won’t leave it so long next time – more frequent updates to come.
I’m very pleased to announce that Amuse-Bouche lingerie is now available online at the wonderful Esty Lingerie!
Esty Lingerie is an online lingerie boutique specialising in independent designer brands.
For any stockists enquiries please contact us or email marie@amuse-bouche.co.uk.
I’m very excited to announce that Amuse-Bouche lingerie is now stocked at Made With Love in Glasgow.
Made with Love is a delightful little boutique specialising in vintagewear and handmade treasures, and I’m thrilled to be selling my work alongside some other great local designers.
Made With Love, 231 Berkeley Street, Glasgow G3 7HH
For any stockists enquiries please contact me or email marie@amuse-bouche.co.uk.
Things have been fairly quiet of late on the blogging front, so I thought I’d take a short break from the sewing machine and share a few images of some pieces I’ve been working on recently.
The new collection features lots of pretty floral motifs, like the sheer ruffled flower shorts below.
The latest set off the sewing machine (freshly made today) is the black and nude lace halter bralette and knickers set below. This one has a noir-ish, deco feel, using oversized satin bows and soft stretch lace.
I adore the sequin and pearl appliques on this bridal knickers and garter set. They were rescued from a 1960′s wedding dress so alongside the baby blue satin bow, this set is the traditional old, new and blue.
I’ve been enjoying mixing old materials with new and as a continuation of that, the knickers and camisole set below is made with upcycled lace (which started life as a vintage prom dress) and new silk satin in dusky pink. As with the last collection I’m always looking out for interesting embellishments and here I’ve added a coordinating rose cameo decoration.
noun \ˈä-ˌmüz-ˈbüsh, -ˌmuez-\
The French phrase ‘amuse-bouche’ means literally something to “entertain your mouth”. A gastronomic, fine-dining term, an amuse-bouche is traditionally served at the beginning of a meal and is usually a small morsel the chef sends out, free & unsolicited, to entertain waiting guests and showcase his or her skill and creativity. It gives you an idea of the chef’s approach, and the restaurant’s attention to your appetite. Simply, it’s an unexpected and complimentary treat before the first course is served.
A tease of what’s to come, the delicious sense of anticipation, the hint of something very special about to be discovered. I felt that the euphemistic quality of the name lent itself well to the seductive quality of lingerie as well as speaking of luxury, refinement and a treat for the senses.
Of course, it’s been pointed out to me that there’s also a level of naughtiness associated with the name (by those who enjoy a pun or two), which as happy accidents go I couldn’t be happier about. It fits in well with the nature of Amuse-Bouche, drawing on influences from art and nature but also exploring a saucier, cheekier side in the burlesque-inspired pieces.
In the end I love that the name is a naughty double-entendre (twice over you could say), that’s open to interpretation by the wearer. In the same way as lingerie means different things to different people, Amuse-Bouche can represent beauty, romance and vintage elegance, or it can bring out a cheeky, playful, showgirl side – something that I believe fits the Amuse-Bouche ethos perfectly.
I thought I’d share some of the images I collected when putting together moodboards for my first Amuse-Bouche shoot.
These vintage boudoir belles are gorgeous, elegant, playful & cheeky – everything I wanted Amuse-Bouche to encapsulate. I can’t get enough of vintage boudoir photography, and you’ll see from these where much of the inspiration for the look and feel of the shoot came from, as well as some of the poses and props.
I see this beauty every single day. ‘Absinthe Robette’ by Privat Livemont has been on my bedroom wall for over a decade and I never tire of looking at her. I love vintage advertising posters generally but for me, this lady is really special.
This Mucha nude is just beautiful. I could go on and on about how glorious, curvacaceous, organic and feminine this is, but you already know that. I could go on about how the ideal female form has changed over the years, and how many women today more closely resemble this gorgeous Mucha model than the size zero modern ‘ideal’, but you know that too. I’m not looking to wade into the debate here but suffice to say, it was important to me that my models represented natural, healthy and attainable beauty for the majority of women.
I’m currently in the process of setting up my Etsy store and I’ll be sure to let you know via the blog when that’s all done.
I tend to source fabrics and materials in limited quantities, particularly if they’re genuine vintage as opposed to vintage style. This means that some pieces will be available as a one-off and others are available as limited edition. I’ll make it clear on Etsy which pieces can be made in any kind of quantity; though usually this will be the vintage style pieces in more modern fabrics.
Of course if you see a one-off piece that captures your heart, contact me and we can work towards creating something in a similar style for you.
I offer a bespoke service too so if you would like something created just for you, perhaps to complement your wedding gown or corset, for any other special occasion or just because, please feel free to contact me. I love to talk lingerie so I’d be delighted to hear from you!
My work varies in both style and materials used, with a common theme of elevating knickers from the everyday by adding unexpected and interesting flourishes. Because of the varying nature of my work it’s very difficult to give accurate guide prices – it largely depends on the intricacy of the individual piece and the rarity of materials. As a very rough guide, knickers will start at £20 and camisoles at £30. Garters, again depending on materials, start at £10.
Huge and heartfelt thanks to Team A-B for making my debut shoot such a pleasure and success. I’m delighted with the photos; they’re exactly the style, atmosphere and palette I was hoping to achieve. The ‘boudoir’ style is perhaps considered a bit of a safe bet for lingerie, however when moodboarding I looked at lots of original vintage boudoir photographs, Art Nouveau artworks and lots of gorgeous inspiration boards of vintage-style weddings from one of my favourite sites, stylemepretty.com and I wanted to convey that sense of vintage glamour in a modern and accessible way.
Thanks are due firstly to my wonderfully talented photographer, John Devlin, who worked tirelessly to get such great shots, making the most of the stunning architectural features of the location and coming up with lots of great ideas and suggestions on the day. Thanks John for your patience and generosity, very much appreciated.
Thanks also to my beautiful models, Liz, the other Liz and Eloise, who were an absolute pleasure to work with and who all look stunning in lingerie. Thanks girls for providing the gorgeous curves, and for the ‘ooh la la!’ – you’re amazing!
The make up was provided by the very professional team at glam-xl.com – thank you Jo and Niki for your fantastic work.
I’m delighted to have found such a beautiful location on my doorstep, at Number 15 in Glasgow – many thanks to Laura for the warm welcome.
Huge thanks and endless love also to my incredible web designer, Alan McNeill. Thank you Alan for your invaluable time, input, feedback, patience and support.
I’m very lucky to have you all on board.
On my ‘About’ page there’s mention of making non-traditional wedding lingerie for friends, which led me to start Amuse-Bouche. Just over a year ago I enrolled on another sewing course, having studied costume making for theatre some time before. My course coincided with my beautiful friend’s upcoming wedding and she very kindly allowed me experiment with wedding lingerie for her own big day. There’s nothing like a bit of pressure to deliver the goods – quite rightly this was one choosy bride! – and I wanted to make something that was uniquely her, that complemented her corset so she could wear it again in a boudoir setting, and something that tied in with the elegant black, white and red theme for her day. She was married in a stunning red silk gown in the most amazing and moving ceremony. There was actual applause as she entered the room, she was breathtaking. I’m delighted to say that she was thrilled with her burlesque-inspired wedding knickers and I’m reliably informed that they, and the corset, got a first anniversary outing (which perhaps pleases me more than is strictly appropriate).
The feedback was fantastic and very soon I was being commissioned by other friends, and friends of friends, and before long I was spending all of my spare time happily sewing and sourcing beautiful fabrics and embellishments.
I’ve added some snapshots here of the very first pair of Amuse-Bouche bridal knickers. They’re bias cut red silk, with an oversized bow on the back, and a black and white cameo charm on the front. As mentioned these were designed to match the wedding dress corset, to allow the bride lots of wear out of the corset long after the wedding day.
I’ll be adding new photos to the main website in the future, and here on the blog I’ll share some snaps of my past work and works-in-progress. It’s a relatively eclectic collection of work so for the launch I felt it important that the main site reflects my core style, and to to that end I’ve selected a few examples of work I think best represents the Amuse-Bouche ethos.
