Photo: Jay Carroll

Dress by me (mom's wedding gown made over). Suit by Duchess. Love by Laurel and Paul.

Let's do this.

Laurel will be wearing her mother's wedding dress.

It used to have long sleeves, an uninspiring little sash, and quite a high neckline.

High in the back as well as the front.

 Much better. Someone put a glass of champagne in this young lady's hand--because she is ready to go!

I have potential.

Okay, maybe my taffeta's a little rumply, and I know my high collar's not quite the fashion anymore.
My ribbons and lace have probably seen better days. But, what do you say? A little nip here, a tuck there?
One more night on the town? For old time's sake?
Vintage dress made into ruffle bolero for Emily. Go get 'em, girl.

Less is more...

The lovely Kelsey brought me her mom's wedding dress to see what I could do. It had (of course) a high Victorian neckline and long prairie sleeves, but also a heavy overskirt in yards and yards of synthetic stretch knit. An ominous tag inside the dress informed us that it was "highly flammable when washed" (!). This project was truly a process of subtraction, editing away the neck and sleeves, re-appliquéing some of the lace around a new scoop neckline and along the shoulders. To refashion the skirt, I made a new skirt layer out of ivory silk organza, which preserves some of the dress's original drama but at one tenth the weight. The synthetic stretch knit was permanently retired--hopefully to the same place where pet rocks, shag carpet and The Hustle went.

Third generation dress.

This is Emily. This is Emily's dress. It is, miraculously, a fusion of her mother's and grandmother's wedding gowns. Grandma's gown supplied a very sweet satin panel for the bodice (see those little satin "petals" in the center?) and some fine 1940s lace. Mom's high necked, long sleeved dress became the template for a sweetheart bodice gown with cap sleeve style lace straps. I added yards and yards of tulle underneath the skirt to give it some pouf, and the gathered lace straps are made from the salvaged sleeves.
For a bit of polish, I added covered buttons down the back, made from the slipper satin of Grandma's dress. That lace waistband was, on mom's dress, a ruffle that wrapped around the shoulders, prairie-style. Much nicer this way, don't you think?

I love this dress!

This one is a favorite of mine. For Heather's dress, I redesigned her mom's (lovingly handmade) wedding gown, which originally had a high necked lace bodice, long lace sleeves, and a straight, fitted skirt made from silk pebble crepe. The neckline became a scoop front and back. I found some matching ivory silk crepe to remake the bodice underlayer. I dismantled the lace sleeves and cut apart the lace flowers to scatter across a new sheer skirt layer (organza, gathered and full). The finishing touch--an ivory silk charmeuse sash informally knotted in the front. Heather was a good sport and did a little mini photo shoot with me in front of the beautiful doors of the First Presbyterian Church. It's steps from the shop--I walk by it every single day!--but I only recently noticed how lovely it is. At the last minute a stiff autumn breeze kicked up, so I also snapped a shot of the dress caught up in the gale. Love, love, love.

The Before Picture

I'm making a dress that employs a technique I haven't used for a long time. Once upon a time, I used to take vintage wedding gowns, dye and dismantle them, and create new dresses. Many discarded bridal gowns were originally made for people much, much smaller than the average modern girl. They also tend to be high-necked, high-waisted, long sleeved, and otherwise straitjacket-esque. So making a new dress means simultaneously sculpting and stripping down. This "before" picture is for a maid of honor dress that will be resurrected from this lace and silk organza '60s wedding gown.

It was inspired by this dress, which my client saw in my portfolio:Next steps: removing the sleeves, dropping the neckline, and hacking off the train. Then I'll rebuild the skirt, create a new waistline, refashion the bodice from "size Tiny" to "size Normal," create room in the back for a new zipper, and...after that I'm not sure. The thrilling (terrifying) thing about designing this way is that there can't be a plan...the dress evolves. I'll post an "After" picture and then we shall see.