LOWON POPE

Cafe Society

2011-12-10T14:01:00.001-08:00

Audrey Kelly Cafe Society Bride

2011-12-10T11:38:00.001-08:00

http://www.weddingchicks.com/2011/12/08/starbucks-wedding/

A Banff Modern fairytale

2011-11-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

http://www.uniqueimagesphotography.ca/blog/jeremy-stephanie-banff-wedding-photography/

Marjorie wows her groom and family in Los Angeles.

2011-10-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

http://www.nextexitblog.com/weddings/century-city-intercontinental-wedding-photography/

Kato's real life fairytale ...... When the stars align there is magic.....

2011-10-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

http://exposureroom.com/members/wedtv/f608daa42a4b4ef989a4401068a61daa/

Lowon Pope Wedding

2011-08-05T04:25:00.000-07:00

Lowon Pope Wedding Take a look at our FACEBOOK PAGES

Our Exquisite Bride Sabrina.....

2011-07-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

Let's dance until dawn.....

2011-07-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

Let's fall in love.....Our wish for all our elegant brides is to hold on to the moment and to bath in the feeling of love.

2011-07-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

Fluid Elegance

2011-07-09T17:03:00.000-07:00

sister skirts

2011-05-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

wedding bell lace

2011-05-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

amongst the trees

2011-05-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

Harlow with sleeves

Everyone is talking about Pippa's gown from the Royal wedding;

we designed our Harlow 20 years ago... now with sleeves!

We have had many requests for sleeves- these are sleek

bias cut with slits.

lace detailing

2011-05-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

A lace overblouse can change the look of your gown!

Love in the Afternoon... revealed in the window

2011-05-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

Grace

2011-05-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

Another new classic: gathered lace halter that converts to a cowl...

...and also has pockets!

Modern Fairytale

2011-05-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton was a modern day classic and we have every reason to believe that this time it will be happy ever after!

If truth be known, I did get up at 4am for the broadcast, wearing a 30's hat and evening jacket over my black pyjamas while making an English fry up! I later watched snippets with clients during the day and then hosted and dressed for dinner to watch again with friends.

The reality of Catherine's gown was actually a combination of my two predictions- she looked classic Grace Kelly from the front and was architecturally put together. The back had origami folds combined with pleats that hid the detachable train. The handmade lace showing British flora was stunning. The most beautiful part of her outfit was that every piece was symbolic right down to her earrings that were from her family's new coat of arms. It was very well thought through.

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The fairytale continues for all brides that are looking for a perfect gown that will lead them to their fabulous celebration.

Venus gown with Glam veil

Royal Wedding

2011-04-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

Our prediction for Catherine Middleton's wedding gown:

A very fitted Audrey Hepburn or Jackie O style gown, covered by lace 3/4 sleeve coat with a very long train OR an Origami gown with detachable lace train.

I may be totally wrong but it is fun to play this guessing game.

All our brides are royal of course. Here are a couple newer styles modeled in our studio.

"Love in the Afternoon"

"Demure"

2011-04-15T11:07:00.000-07:00

tiaras at the shop

liberty belle

2011-04-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

New Harlow gown with modern lace detail

garden bride

2011-04-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

1918 gown with ribbon detail by Iris Jewellery

spring serenade

2011-04-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

Hepburn gown at our Jefferson Ave studio.

embroidery detail

Our window this week.

2011-04-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

Some new designs for Spring.

2011-04-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

2011-03-10T14:26:00.001-08:00

2011-03-10T06:34:00.001-08:00

Toronto Life Wedding Guide

2011-01-11T05:25:00.000-08:00

"Fin de Siècle"

Tango gown, incorporates a 1930s shawl

"Bohemian Rhapsody"

1914 gown, beaded embroidered net

2010-12-09T05:44:00.000-08:00

2010-11-29T14:35:00.000-08:00

Lauren, one of our beautiful brides wearing a beaded strapless gown from our exclusive collection.

2010-11-11T05:41:00.000-08:00

2010-11-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

2010-09-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

Our beautiful bride Svetlana.

2010-08-28T07:27:00.000-07:00

Our latest version of our cowl. Tie in front can be tied in many ways.

Tales of a Reluctantly Blissful Bride-to-Be: The Dress: By Lana Lowon of Lowon Pope, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

2010-05-06T04:28:00.000-07:00

Tales of a Reluctantly Blissful Bride-to-Be: The Dress: By Lana Lowon of Lowon Pope, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Celebrating the Moment

2010-04-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

ROMANCE VERSES REALITY

Tracy Nesdoly
Special to the Star

The first time a man (well, a boy, really) sent me flowers, I thought "uh oh" rather than "aah." Call me cynical, but it seemed he had a vision – of me, and of "us" – and the fact that it was a vision and therefore not "real" scared the bejesus out of me. I was afraid I wasn't going to add up. Our relationship lasted about as long as the roses.

So I am a cynic, or a chicken. Romance always seemed unstable – exciting, yes, but also terrifying, quicksilver, fleeting, the giddy kid sister to true love's weightier, more solid spirit. Romance is ephemeral; it is an idea of a thing and not the thing itself.

For some, the pulse-racing and adrenalin-spiking nature of it is an addiction; for others it disappears as soon as someone turns on the lights. As one accomplished Lothario frequently says, "Intimacy is the death of romance." See someone's dirty underwear on the bathroom floor or hear the rumblings of their digestion one time too many and romance goes out the window. Maybe it is replaced by deep love. Maybe not.

But so intoxicating and compelling is it that romance is itself big business, and the engine that drives much of popular culture. It is what puts music on the top 40 of all time. In the movies, the stars pulling in the biggest salaries are the heartthrobs: Tom Cruise before the sofa-jumping, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan.

Harlequin, (a Torstar company, as is this newspaper) is the world's biggest purveyor of romance books, and reports that the hunger is so great, it sells four books every single second of every single day. But the appetite does not "sicken and so die" despite all that. British romance writer Dame Barbara Cartland (not in the Harlequin stable) made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest-selling author in the universe. That's a lot of romance.

The definitions of romance all reiterate the sad part: it is a fantasy, a story, something that, as Merriam-Webster so harshly puts it, "lacks basis in fact." Even Cartland, the romance writer to end all romance writers, was oddly practical about the whole thing. "A woman asking, `Am I good? Am I satisfied?' is extremely selfish," she said. "The less women fuss about themselves, the less they talk to other women, the more they try to please their husbands, the happier the marriage is going to be." As chauvinistic as this sounds – marriages also work when the husband tries his best – her comment belies a truism about romance: Do your best to keep the story going. Romance cannot withstand too much reality.

For all the swooning associated with it now, the genre didn't originate that way. Romance was born in the medieval era and focused on a hero doing heroic things. The stories were fantastic adventures about a chivalrous knight, often with superhuman abilities, who would go on a quest of some sort, fighting off monsters or giants while abiding by strict codes of honour. In the end, he might win the favour of a lady, but the adventure was what got hearts pounding, not the notion of everlasting love.

It was the French who put the girl at the centre of things, and fairly recently (well, the 1700s), so that love, fidelity (especially in the face of adversity) and courtship got the blood moving. And yet, even the hearts-and-flowers version is tied to its origins: the hero still seems better than any other mere man; the pursuit is of something perfect and unattainable, very much like the Holy Grail of the medieval age.

Shirley MacLaine was once asked what the big deal was about her brother, the handsome and dashing Warren Beatty, who, before he became the suburban daddy to four children, was probably the world's best-known swashbuckling (that was a sword he was swinging, wasn't it?) bachelor. He was handsome, yes, but so were any number of other hunks in Hollywood. Why was he, of all people, the one to pin a heart on?

"He is a mirror. He reflects women back and they fall in love with themselves," said Mac- Laine. But within this cynical assessment lies something that is true about both romance and love: in the throes of it, you feel that you are actually seen, and not only seen but adored for all your quirks. The hero sees your best self and no other; it's as if all those gnarly bits don't exist. And so they don't. For a brief time you are your best self, your most fascinating self. This is the addictive bit.

One serial romantic we know unfortunately leaves women as soon as they see him for who he really is, not as the hero he'd like them to see.

"Romance is when everything smells better, tastes better, seems brighter. Everything is just more, somehow," says Lana Lowon, who, with her partner, Jim Pope, runs a most romantic business: they specialize in bridal gowns. "We want to make sure the groom sees the woman he proposed to, not a girl in gift-wrap." In other words, they create dresses, working laboriously on the fit (there are no zippers, just the excellent cut and flow of the cloth) that allows a client's best self to be seen.

And isn't that the best part of buying clothes – the costumes you wear to live your life? In putting on a new dress, suit or pair of pants, don't you look in the mirror and imagine yourself wearing this, picturing yourself in exactly this outfit nailing an interview or commanding a meeting or holding a chilled glass of champagne and smiling at the handsome man across the room? Or is that just me?

"Sending flowers isn't romantic by definition," says Lowon. "What is romantic is that he remembered something about you and found something to give you that shows he did." How wonderful, really, in this cold, harsh world, that your passing comment or your own particular and peculiar interests are noted and acted upon by someone you like. No wonder people fall in love.

"You know what romance is to me? What a wedding is? What love is?" says Lowon. "It is about celebrating the moment, even though the moment will change. It's hope. That's what's so beautiful. It's hope."

Hope that the moment, this time, will not change. That life really will be lived happily ever after.

2010-03-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

2010-03-28T19:06:00.000-07:00

2010-03-04T06:28:00.000-08:00

Spring is here at last

March window 2010

2010-03-04T06:20:00.000-08:00

2009-12-27T13:21:00.000-08:00

The window redone. with graffiti art chair By Max Pope

2009-12-13T08:33:00.000-08:00

Lowon Pope are number one on BlogTO!

2009-11-17T07:58:00.000-08:00

The Best Bridal Stores in Toronto

2009-11-16T06:27:00.000-08:00

VINTAGE LACE GOWN. ONE OF A KIND .

HOLLYWOOD GLAMOR

2009-07-14T05:29:00.000-07:00

2009-06-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

Fashion Watch

Toronto ibegin

2009-06-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

2009-06-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

2009-05-22T06:18:00.000-07:00

2009-05-21T06:27:00.000-07:00

2009-01-25T13:21:00.000-08:00

Toronto Life Fashion Guide

2009-01-25T13:05:00.000-08:00

beaded cowl

2009-01-25T13:03:00.000-08:00

The Works

In the heart of the fashion district since the 1990’s, Lowon Pope Design appears at first glance as a bridal boutique, its front displaying creamy white gowns. It is, however, much more than a one-time purchase for brides-to-be. Dubbed as an alternative bridal shop, the creations at Lowon Pope extoll all that is glamorous and sexy, carrying gowns cut in simple lines without all of the ornate poof. Still offering original designs from over 25 years ago, it just goes to show that their couture garments have a certain timelessness with them. With meticulous attention to detail, the designer duo Lana Lowon and Jim Pope will meet with clients about eight times prior to the gown’s completion. Giving each client a four fitting minimum allows the partners to match the dress to the personality.

Made Just For You
Using high quality fabrics like four-ply silk, brides can mix and match textures of their choice, incorporating lace, satin, and crepe into the dress. Selling jewellery and accessories as well, the cases show off jewel-encrusted barrettes in the shape of starfish and butterflies; tiaras, hairpieces and other accents can be made through special order. After the big day, Lowon Pope can alter the bridal gown into evening or daywear, ensuring the garment gets its due mileage. After so many years in the business, Lowon and Pope are always reinventing themselves, introducing a line of separates aimed at thirtysomethings. With all this care and attention given to brides, non-brides too can enjoy some personalized fashion.

Payment: MasterCard, Visa, Interac
Directions: Queen streetcar
Cross Street: Queen and Bathurst
Hours: Mon-Wed: 12-6pm, Thurs-Fri 12-7pm, Sat 11am-6pm

Type: Women's Clothing, Bridal/Formal Wear, Accessories

As Seen In Wedding Bells

2009-01-05T06:49:00.001-08:00

LOWON POPE A small selection of our Gowns

2008-11-02T11:37:00.000-08:00

2008-10-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful bride.

2008-09-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

A BEAUTIFUL WEDDING.

2008-08-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

Dee, one of our delightful brides.

2008-04-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

Lowon Pope: Our take on traditional Gown

2008-04-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

Shantung silk with train and scoop neck

Right Bias cut Daisy Lace Garden Gown..

WE LOVE SPRING TIME AT LOWON POPE.

2008-03-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

http://homepage.mac.com/jimpope4/LowonPope/PhotoAlbum29.html

Click above to see older post on our Mac site...

SPRING COMES TO LOWON POPE 1918

2008-03-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

Tulle' and lace over silk underdress. Our tribute to 1918.

Silk dress with antique Piano shawl .We call it Gloria swanson.

A link to a nice write up...

2008-03-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

Stylist for Hire

PRETTY NECK LINES.

2008-03-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

2008-03-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

Very plain sheath bias cut dress with chiffon detail at the bust
We call this design the 1914. glass beaded net with an underlay of 40mm silk

2008-03-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

Lowon Pope the new floor arrangement of the shop

Recently seen in Wedding Bells

2008-02-29T11:05:00.000-08:00

acccented with beading at the neck

The Harlow wedding gown.

2007-03-02T08:42:00.000-08:00

4Ply silk Satin with long overlay Chantily lace train

Silk Satin backless Halter .

2007-02-09T07:55:00.000-08:00

2007-01-27T08:26:00.001-08:00

www.theweddingco.com/theshow/video/fashionshow/large/

2007-01-27T08:26:00.000-08:00

http://www.theweddingco.com/theshow/video/fashionshow/large/

2007-01-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

http://homepage.mac.com/jimpope4/LowonPope/PhotoAlbum10.html

2007-01-10T13:19:00.000-08:00

2006-12-15T10:50:00.000-08:00

2006-12-01T05:56:00.000-08:00

gowns

2006-11-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

http://homepage.mac.com/jimpope4/LowonPope/PhotoAlbum10.html

Well we still don't have a web page but we do now have a blog . Now we can get all those comments on our Fabulous dresses and maybe happy brides can submit comments...