Red Silk Gown - Old Hollywood Red Carpet Glamour

Today it seems fitting to talk about this dress. This was the last dress of 2012 that I made and I was totally head of heels in love with this garment. It ended the year perfectly and this floor length red silk satin gown renewed my love of couture and design.

The lady in the red dress is a very special type of person.  One that inspires you, understands and respects the work you are carrying out and one who knows how to wear a dress. This helped along way to produce a dress that was stunning on and off the wearer. 

The dress is made up of two parts, the slip underneath is trimmed with a French Chantilly lace and has a boned bodice. The fine silk drapes over the body lightly to smooth the figure and help the top layer drape jut how it should.  Fine straps made in the same light silk make this a dress in it's own right, so very ballet inspired. 

The main gown then simply wraps over the slip with a single covered silk button to fasten and a matching self belt. This one was trimmed with an original 1930s Art Deco buckle which finished the dress beautifully. I loved the lace edging peeking through and the sweep of the dress as it walked and caught in a breeze. 

So very Old Hollywood and thank you very, very, very much to the lady who asked me for a wow factor red gown for her fabulous Christmas party. 

Other than to Wing,  my Valentines love goes to this dress for inspiring me to design just beautiful dresses. xxx

Katie and her Forties Hollywood Dress - Part 3 The Dress

The dress awaiting its debut.

The back trimmed with a concealed zip and 36 matching covered buttons.

The bodice, the neckline is cut around the lace pattern and to make sure the bodice was symmetrical, one shoulder has an appliqued motif cut so that it matches. The lace at the waist and hips has also been cut and hand appliqued in place. The puff shoulders are structured with tulle ruffles inside.

The back of the skirt. The top layer was to sit separately from the under dress so that it moved freely, little tacks kept it from going adrift.

The lace applique over the back of the skirt to make the pattern.

A close up of the lace applique. Each motif had to be carefully hand cut from the border of the lace and hand stitched into the pattern.

Using the lace we made a cord and then looped this into the button loops to fasten the back.

The sleeves, French seamed and trimmed with matching covered buttons. Edged in lace appliqued to the cuff.

The soft tulle underskirts edged in satin

 The final dress, the mannequin and my photo taking skills really don't really do it justice.

I know you may be thinking the bodice is a little reminiscent of another bridal gown this year? There was quite a bit of debate about this neckline, I was dreading it and my initial thoughts were NO NO NO, NOOOOOOO! As you can see the initial design had a high neckline, no V but we hadn't set anything in stone and we wanted to see how the dress developed.
I really didn't want to do anything that even vaguely looked like the KM dress. Not that I don't like it, it's the most stunning example of couture and craftsmanship that anyone will see but knowing this, my feelings were that anything that looks like it will be a cheap copy. Plus it's someone else's dress!

So, could I really say to Katie 'no you can't have your wedding dress how you want it' and cause stress over the shape of a V? Well no, the Royal family can't have the monopoly on V necklines. Katie's was inspired by the 1940s which the whole wedding revolved around, a wonderful Wartime theme and whatdaya know, they had V necklines in the 1940s too!

The cut of the dress with the hourglass fit, soft tea colour and Katie's incredible look with Forties red hair and lipstick, there was no way this was going to look anything cheap or copy like. Sometimes you have to trust a bride too, they are ones who are going to make the dress come to life. And she looked stunning, and by far the best Katie to me!

Here it comes to life, more photos from the incredible wedding tomorrow ........................................

A sneek peek at Katie in her dress - photograph by Matthew Wiseman

A little note on wedding dress buying ......

For me, it's a really great way of working when you have lots of interaction from a bride, I know some people may think it's annoying but really it's like you have an extra helping hand, and being involved in the design of your dress makes sure you get it how YOU want it. I generally will only say no to something if I think it will look bad or won't work, or obviously if it's copying.  Having a good relationship with the person supplying your dress is quite important and you can trust them to be honest with you too. 


So when getting a dress made or even buying a dress from a boutique it's important that you think about it, ask millions of questions if you really need to and speak out if you are not completely happy about something. If you are getting overwhelmed (I sure did) just walk away and take a break from wedding dresses until you clear your head a little. I know some of us know exactly what we want and others haven't the foggiest, and that's ok.
A good supplier or designer will be wanting you to be reassured, for you to trust them and for you have the most amazing day in your perfect dress. Don't ever feel like you're being a pain.  ( please don't ever be rude though, you may have your dress sliced in half! :) )

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!

19th May Wedding Dress

Just finished today, this has taken a long time to create and I must say that it is one of my very favourite dresses I have made so far.

The initial inspiration for the dress was a host of 50's cocktail and wedding dress chosen by the bride, all with different details that she wanted in her dress. It was a really great way to design the dress and a way for her to have everything she wanted in one perfect dress for her day. I'm especially pleased with the pleated sweetheart and the tiny line of piping at the waist that adds the all important finishing touches.

The dress will be worn with an underskirt edged in the shocking pink binding to match and maybe some little lace gloves.

Courtney's Ascot Dress

A beautiful actress from the US comissioned this dress for Royal Ascot and I am so pleased she did. This colour combination is just gorgeous. She is wearing a stunning hat made by 'by harriet', it's going to look amazing at the races.