Tartans

 After visiting the costume museum and viewing Princess Alexandra's Victorian era tartan party dress, using plaids for the Winter collection was a must.
The silks are so highly saturated in colour and gorgeously festive rustling as you walk. It's Victorian, Royal and traditional on one hand but tartan also is about rebellion, punk and  identity too. It's certainly not just reserved for Princesses.
I wanted to use a real Scottish wool tartan for the skirt, the weight is wonderful and heavy like a kilt in the form of a Fifties swing skirt. The added blush nets underneath for structure give a really cool colour contrast which makes the red pop even more.
I imagine this skirt with a white sweetheart bodice too which would make awesome festive party attire!

Our homage to Norman Rockwell which inspired this skirt too.

So here's our tartan offerings for the Winter. Warming, nostalgic and fabulously Victorian. There are so many versions and ways to wear this pattern, I wish we had our own in my family. How amazing would that be to make a collection from? Who else has their own tartan and how do you style yours?

Winters Here ...... Finally!

Rhinestone Studded Princess Hood

Blue velvet Princess coat

Black lace Illusion dress

Blue silk velvet princess dress with rhinestone studded trim

Silk organza sheer illusion dress

The 'Debutant Debby' updated tulle prom dress for the Princess collection

Silk tartan Halter dress

Blue silk tartan princess dress

Herringbone tweed princess coat

Soft tweed shift dress

Wool tartan full circle skirt

Saffron pink silk cocktail dress

Silk asymmetric debutant Princess dress

So here they are, the new dresses for this season. All ready and waiting to be hand made to your specific requirements and worn out on show for the world to see. I have lots more pictures and details of each dress to follow and in the meantime, have a peruse through our shop. Each garment takes up to two weeks to make to order and you can choose any tartan you like, quite exciting if you are lucky enough to have Scottish roots and your own pattern.

Model: Nicole Handley
Accessories: Janine Basil and Alexandra King

Start Wearing Purple

Nicole, a super gorgeous friend (above) asked me to make her a dress recently for a wedding she was going to in her home town Canada. I was really flattered to have been asked, it's a strange thing with friends, you try not to ask too much of them I suppose, the offer of a dress is always there but you don't want to push your nearest and dearest into feeling awkward about a having to wear a dress that may not be quite their style.

Luckily Nicole knew exactly what she wanted and it was one of my dresses and when she put it on, with me more nervous than usual (another reason making for friends is awkward) it couldn't have been more perfect. She has this luminous bronze skin that made the purple pop like I've never seen before, like it was radiating purple violet beams and fitted her like a glove. 

She was very kind and brave to model for me, she photographs amazingly well as you can see and it's only the clenched fists that give her away from being a pro. I will be pestering her to model from now on x

Start to Finish - creating the Dove Grey Silk Wiggle Dress

 This dress was a commission I designed and created specifically for a customer, a real couture garment in all manner of speaking and the way of working I like best, focusing on one dress for one woman. 

The occasion for the dress is a day at the races and the inspiration, elegant 1950s wiggle dresses to match a fantastically designed hat in grey and black lace. 

The fabric was a heavyweight pure silk satin, very drapey and very very difficult to control when it comes to hand pleating. Many a time I had to walk out of the studio as the silk kept slipping through my hands and refused to be pinned. It makes up for it in it's beauty. 

I have photographed the dress from start to finish as I always find it amazing how a dress evolves from a flat piece of silk into a structured dress.

The muslin base of the dress is where we start and make sure the fit of this is perfect before anything else continues. The light boning is then added to give structure and form.

The outer silk bodice is cut, sewn and added to the muslin base..........

 The chiffon lining is cut (from the same pattern as the bodice) and is pinned in place to the muslin base bodice. The outer silk is quite heavy in this dress and due to the muslin base there is no need to add another heavy lining which would add unneccessary bulk. The dress is for the summer so it is also important to keep the wearer cool.

The skirt and facings are cut and sewn and added to the bodice.

The facings are hand stitched in place to the chiffon lining and a lining for the skirt is cut and added.

The main section of the dress is nearly complete. It needs hemming and a very good steam to remove the creases created from working with the silk. 

The sash is added and pinned in place ready to be hand stitched for the finished dress. The chairs are for me to sit on whilst hand stitching the waist so I'm at the correct eye level (and I don't hurt my back too much). 

 

Coral Pink Grecian Bridesmaids

 

Italian Actress Sophia Loren wearing Bvlgari jewelry and photographed by Richard Avedon.Vogue,December 1969.

Anna has been very busy over the past few months working on these beautiful Grecian goddess dresses for Lisa's bridesmaids. The colour is bold and when Anna showed me the silks in the stunning colour soaked chiffon's and crepes from Beckford Silks it confirmed that this was a geat choice. (Beckford silks fabric selection is small and perfectly formed with the highest quality silks and dying service that is second to none.)

The dresses were custom made to the brides specifications and made to measure with a few fittings for the bridesmaids to make sure the length and fit was perfect.
A full length design was requested and the flowing skirt was created by hand draping from the empire line giving the lean line to the dress. Anna trimmed the dresses with a contrasting gold metallic ribbon which works well with the coral and she hand stitched the amazing silk chiffon roses on the shoulder.  These would also look gorgeous on a belt or as vintage style wrist corsages and the finishing touch is the adorable neat bow to the back.
The gold and corals remind me of fabulous 1960s Italian evening gowns worn with gold heels and wonderfully plaited hair, think Sophia Loren.
Overall the look will be four statuesque Grecian Aphrodite's accompanying the beautiful bride on her wedding day. I can't wait to see the pictures!

A day at the Races

This custom dress has just been posted off on it's way to Ireland ready for the races and ladies day. When I received the photo of the lady in question I instantly knew what style to get in my head and wonderfully it was Audrey, Parisian Chic and Fifties all the way.
Navy was chosen and in the flesh it's a vibrant indigo navy with a fine, bright white Guipure lace to contrast at the waist, neckline and cuffs. This was tricky to fit as there is no give in Guipure lace so it very carefully had to be hand stitched with notches that were cut and restitched binding together at the curve. The two colours work perfectly as a classic combination and should keep the fashion spectators happy at the races.
This is just a little preview and I can't wait to see the finished look.