Sanibel and Captiva fashion divas strutted the runway yesterday in gorgeous gowns, dazzling dresses, stunning scarfs and sassy shoes all embellished with our favorite accent…. SEASHELLS!
It took two months for Melinda Graham of home decor boutique Surroundings to make this wedding dress adorned with JINGLES, BUTTON SHELLS and white land shells. I would have loved to have gotten married in this dress (especially if I could have ever fit into the tiny size)! It is so incredibly lovely. She even designed flower girl dresses…
She embellished the flower girls’ flip flops as well!
And the flower girl head pieces are laced with shells!
Melinda won first place for this seashell couture gown as you can imagine. Look one more time at the details…
Second place winner went to Marianne Kanzius in a dress she made from complete scratch then added seaglass beads and shells…
 Look at these delicate details. So sweet…
There were more than a dozen other dresses adorned with our beloved seashells to Shellabrate the 75th Annual Sanibel Shell Fair and Show this week. Susan Berg opened the show with a shellacious start…
Long time shell enthusiast Ethel Sinow wore a vintage Lily Pulitzer dress and jacket accented with a seashell handbag…
The Shell Island Garden Club made this beautiful shell scarf to match the rest of Edie’s shell lined dress…
Check out all of the other shelltastic stunners…
Oh! I almost forgot to mention that my dear friend Jane donated one of her fabulous shell mirrors to start the show with an auction item. She too is amazing, isn’t she?
Thank you to the models/designers Susen Berg, Ethel Sinow, Karen Tempority, Mary Buck, Harriet Witt, Barb Kapinus, Mary Bates, Canstance Mara, Kerry Trapp, Marianne Kanzius, Floral Artistry, Shell Island Garder Club, Ding Darling and Melinda Graham for sharing your love of shells. Peace, love and seashells!
beautiful creations made by some very talented people! once again thanks for sharing!
That wedding dress is just beautiful!
Amazing talent, especially the wedding dress. So glad you got such great photos, Pam. Gave me inspiration to start a new shell project. :)
WOW and WOW…that wedding dress is stunning! Who knew? Such imagination, I am in awe.
Gorgeous!!
Almost makes me want to get married again.. :)
OMG-that wedding dress is stunning! I also loved the shoes and the hair piece. Wow!
Fantastic!!! The wedding dress is really amazing!
And even the flowergirl flip-flops are gorgeous!
If I had one of those flowergirl headpieces I would wear it here in Manhattan in the summer! Too beautiful!
YES it DOES make you want to get married again! Does anyone sell this type of clothing on the island? We usually are there by now and I’ve shopped alot of stores but have never seen anything like this! Beautiful!!!
Melinda has a store on the island. I think this is her first shell garment but who knows…she may make more of these now!
Vey cool. I especially loved the vintage Lily.
Beautiful with a touh of simple creativity:) Amazing to see what one can do with shells! But then again woman are pretty amazing with everything…lol
Thank you for sharing:)
Incredible!!!! Absolutely positively beautiful!! To use God’s creations in this way is so natural and so, so creative!!! Thanks for sharing!! It takes my breath away!!
Hi Pam! Just a note to correct second-place winner was not me. You may want to call Teresa at the Community House to find out. My second outfit was the red, white & blue modeled by Joan Justice. My sister Harriet Witt modeled the other one with all jingle shells which is correct as shown. Hope to meet you when we are on Sanibel March 12-21 – not sure how to contact you then. Take Care.
OMG Barb! Thank you for your correction and I’m sorry it wasn’t you! The second place winner was Marianne Kanzius…maybe I just saw “ka” and the fingers flew over the key board…. err dunno but I corrected it and thank you again. I loved your outfits too! That was Mary Bates’ out fit that your sister Harriet modeled right? (it was all a little confusing, right?)
For the record, my sister Harriet Witt modeled my jingle shell long striped outfit with hood. Her friend Joan Justice modeled my red, white & blue Sanibel beach coverup. Thanks for your compliments and I appreciate your thoughts.
Barb, Ive added and corrected- Thank you so much for your help!
Amazing! The wedding dress was beautiful. I’m wondering if it’s for sale? Or if the designer takes orders. There’s a wedding in my family soon and the bride and groom are discussing a beach wedding on Sanibel.
Hi Karel, Melinda sells the flip flops and head pieces at her store on Sanibel called Surroundings. It is a gorgeous store…just like she is and this dress she made. She does not have inventory of dresses embellished with seashells so you would have to talk to her directly. She says you can get in touch with her through her website …. http://www.surroundingsbymelinda.com/
Good luck with the wedding!
Love, love, love this!!! :D
Amazing and beautiful!
Stunning and beautiful. What a dream! Thank you, thank you for sharing with those of us who are in the blowing snow today!!
Boy, it almost makes it worth getting married just to be able to wear the dress. ..almost. :-) Quite a lovely dress.
WOW!!!!!!!!!
This was incredible. Already tweeted it. outstanding artisians galore. How much talent and beauty in one place. Thanks so very much Pam.
Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures. My Shelling Sisters and I can’t wait to get over there on Friday. We’ll be looking for you there!!
Yahoo! can’t wait!
I always look forward to your posts from the Shell Fair. How beautiful. I’m always amazed!!
What beautiful creations! The Wedding Dress was absolutely gorgeous! I sent to my daughter in Canada who just got engaged in January! Thank you so much for sharing! Kudos to everyone!