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| Photography: Aran Jefferies of Latitude Photography |
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| Photography: Aran Jefferies of Latitude Photography |
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| Photography: Aran Jefferies of Latitude Photography |
Contributors:
Photography: Aran Jefferies of Latitude Photography
Accessories: Monsoon Childrens, F&F, Anna Vickery
Styling: Anna Vickery, Emma Jefferies
Models: Isabelle, Elsa, Faye and Elise
It was inspired by: A lovely lady we made a dress for back along telling us about her little dotty tulle flower girl dress from her wedding in the 80’s - The dress was so beautiful she couldn’t part with it, and it has lived in a wardrobe at her house ever since. The dress has been tried on by her girls as they grew up and still gets bought out every now and again just to be admired - it even had a trip over to our studio. I thought how lovely it was to treasure a special heirloom piece in this way, quite sentimental for me, I can’t say I felt the same about my straight peach satin 1980’s bridesmaids frock (sorry!)
The Mood Board Featured: Little girls doing things in dresses - climbing, swinging, playing, running around - although these are to be dresses to be kept they are to have fun in first.
The fabrics used: The softest tulle we can find, tulle is used in lots of our grown up dresses and it’s surprising how many different qualities you can get and how they behave/feel. 100% cotton for linings, silk organza and chiffon and an off cut of fine corded lace - don’t worry we can still get more.
The silhouettes: It’s all about the full twirly skirts with fairly simple bodices. I also really wanted to include a t-shirt style bodice for older girls as we find this is a popular choice for 7 years and over. The girls Cape is also an off-shoot from an Alexandra King adults style.
The colours: On this collection I wanted to keep colours quite neutral, so people could focus on the dress shapes. Having said this I can’t resist a flash of colour in a ribbon belt, but it is great to be able to change these so easily and make feature colours ‘pop’ against the lighter backgrounds - I always get carried away buying ribbon for belts/trims. If anyone is interested we can get most of the fabrics used in lots of different colours too, feel free to get in touch with requests.
Details: Polka dots, both in the tulle and cotton on the Faye dress and ribbon trims on the others (Well who doesn’t like a good polka dot?) Liberty print bias binding on the Elise dress, I couldn’t resist it and it shows how a small amount of print can be used as a detail in this way. Vintage lace trim, it’s always nice to use one off bits and pieces on what after all are pretty unique dresses.
They are made for: Although the dresses are advertised as for bridesmaids and flower girls they will be lovely for any occasion, think party’s and christenings, they will definitely get lots of wear before they are put away to keep.
Influences during the design process: As I was designing and making the collection I had the girls which were to be models on our photo shoot in mind, all children of friends, and couldn’t help but think of things like their hair colour and character. Disaster nearly struck on the day before the shoot when 2 out of 4 of our models were poorly with a sickness bug, but luckily enough a neighbour of the photo shoot venue (a fantastic country homestead with recently renovated kitchen extension owned by a friends parents) came to the rescue and had 2 little girls of the right age - so the Elise dress was to be the Maggie and the Faye was to be the Lila, but never mind there will be other photo shoots and dresses….
Working on the collection, the fun and difficulties: Even working on little dresses the volume of tulle required can be quite overwhelming! I cut it out in my old home studio (aka spare room) on the floor and struggled to cut it straight, how I love my new cutting table and wish I had it sooner. The shoot was the weekend after I moved house and the way the images turned out so fresh and clean looking seems like a reflection of this, to me anyway. It was a fun morning seeing the dresses look gorgeous on the models and was great to see how comfortable they were in them.
My favourite piece: It’s too hard to pick, I’m really pleased with them all - I love the way the organza skirt on the Elise stands away from the under layer and is so sheer and light and the fullness of the plain tulle on the Elsa, I think this would work well in virtually any colour. I also enjoyed being able to make matching accessories for the dresses as finding matching things can sometimes be tricky and I like to be able to offer this option as part of a handmade package.
The Collection is Available: The collection is available online through the Alexandra King website and Etsy. I also undertake custom orders please contact anna@alexandra-king.com. Every dress is designed and manufactured in Somerset, UK.