Katelyn and Ben

This week we have the beautiful Katelyn, and her wedding dress for her marriage to Ben.

They were married in Mount Macedon, in a delightful garden ceremony, on a perfect autumn day.

Katelyn came to me with thoughts of a very refined and elegant wedding gown. She had tried her mother's gown on, for its simple line, and wanted to combine lace with a long, clean line for her own dress.

We went shopping for laces, as the range is wide, and texture is a very personal choice: I never assume that I can pick the right lace for a client, because it's such a fine line between one person's "beautiful", and another's "Nanna's curtains". 

Happily, Katelyn found one she loved: a soft tulle base with an embroidered floral pattern, with filagree shapes that stopped it from being too fussy or kitch. 

I wanted to take advantage of Katelyn's understated elegance and try to represent her clear-mindedness, and calm nature. Her gown was therefore a very simple line: a darted "tunic" for want of a better word, tailored to fit her perfectly, with a small fullness at the back of the skirt. This was balanced by a classic boatneck with a deep dramatic v-back, to mirror the fullness of her skirt. The main dress was made from silk faille, as featured in Simone's dress.

The lace was the major feature though, and was laid over the faille. I cut the lace in the same patterns as the dress, but only down two thirds of the length of the skirt. Below that, I decided, that in order to make the design really interesting, I would cut out all the lace patterns and re-apply them in my own design. This was to create an organic, individual and artistic piece rather than the plainer, mass-produced look achieved by just layering flat panels of lace.


This was really fun: I dont usually get commissions to make really tricky, fiddly garments, with such detailed work required. I wanted to use all the beautiful scalloped edges of the lace around the hemline, and so worked from the hem up, to meet the bulk of the lace coming down from the bodice. This was also all cut away around the edges, to feather down into the appliqued pieces below.





I then hand-sewed all the pieces on, checking the drape of the fabric all the time. Fortunately, the skirt was cut on the straight grain, so the lace could be aligned fairly accurately, even when not hanging from the dummy.
I have now tried this method with a bias skirt; it was a very different story. Coming soon.

The sleeves were a single layer of fitted lace, set-in, with the seam allowance bias-bound, inside.


The high boatneck was perfect for Katelyn's petite frame, and the deep scooped back was the only really dramatic bit: a lovely surprise when the bride turns around. We reduced the impact of the lace by limiting the scalloped edging to the hem, and not adding to the neckline, as this would start to overwhelm Katelyn, and make her look too frilly.
She really wanted the classic pearl-button line down the back, which I think really helps to centre the design, and gives it a focus.









So here are some shots from the Big Day, thanks to Katelyn and Ben for sharing, and
Erin&Tara Photography, for their beautiful shots. All following photos are via their blog. 

 

via Erin&Tara Photography

Hollywood Glamour

This week, I'm delighted to share Cath's wedding dress with you.

Cath was married in the spring, in Melbourne to her partner Andy. 

Now, Cath is a self-confessed 1970's glam-tragic, and I had made a fabulous satin catsuit for her the spring before, which was pretty fun. Cath mentioned she was getting married in 2011, and that we should "talk". 

Flash forward six months and we were back at the drawing board, Cath sharing her ideals and wedding dress anxieties, me being pretty excited about the potential design awesome-ness to come. Because Cath wanted Culottes for her wedding. Thats right, amazing-pants, high-waisted, Katherine-Hepburn-eat-you-heart-out, pleated voluminous culottes. And a blouse.

I was, needless to say, breathless, at such a prospect. 

Unfortunately, this did not transpire. For a few reasons related to "bridal ideals" and the reality of wearing hugely floaty pants, Cath decided on a more simple dress idea. 

Her aesthetic was based in an old-school Hollywood glamour,  draped Grecian elegance. With feathers.

Marion Davies, via J!-ent Online

Rita Hayworth, via Helloooooo

Judy Garland in Ziegfeld Follies (1946)

Cath wanted a simple long sheath, with a split up the side and a draped shawl/collar to give it some pizzazz and glam.

She bought me a very long length of bamboo fabric from which to make her dress. It was a beautiful sateen weave, that shimmered and had a wonderful drape.

I made her dress with a simple darted construction, with set in sleeves and a boatneck. Lined, with a split up one side for fun.

The tricky part was draping the collar. I tried several (hideous) tailored methods, until I finally understood what Cath wanted. I then just went a bit crazy with the fabric, tossing toiles and caution aside. I draped and knotted until the result was this:

Cath was delighted in the end, and added two diamante brooches at the top of the spilt and on her shoulder, to set off the whole look.
The success in this dress, for Cath, lay in her association with all the inspiration she had from those glamourous times, and her dress, albeit in a more modern style, transported her for her big day.

Thanks Cath for sharing your photos, and for being a wonderful and patient client too! 

Simply Elegant Ivory

What better way to bring in the new year, than with another lovely bride from spring?

Simone came to me through a recommendation from a friend.

She had a simple and elegant idea for her December wedding gown, that was almost fully formed.

Simone is a singer and was wedded to her partner Luke in lovely country wedding in Carlsruhe, Victoria: very intimate and personal. She chose a dress style that she knew really suited her, with details that she loved.

Her ideas were based around a plain, long line dress, in ivory, with a twisted bodice and small cap sleeves.

For her fabric, I chose an incredible silk faille, which came from Italy. Faille is a much under-used silk fabric, as far as I can tell, with very few suppliers even stocking it. I would describe faille as being like a very heavy silk crepe or double georgette: the yarns are twisted like a these lighter fabrics, which gives it extra weight and superior drape, but it's opaque, and has a fuller body, so that it hangs beautifully, whilst also not clinging or needing an under-layer.

This particular fabric was from Clegs, and we chose the off-white, as usual!

A note about white: Colour is a very subjective thing, but for brides it would seem straightforward: white or white, right? But there is an important difference.

The vogue now (as apposed to 20 years ago) is for "ivory/natural/cream", which means a white fabric which has shades of pink, yellow or other "naturalising" tones to the final colour. A "pure" white will look blue in comparison, like you are standing under a fluorescent light.  Unless you want a very white-blue looking dress, it's always better, and so often more flattering to choose the creamier, or warmer whites on offer. Also, keep in mind, that in Australia, our very harsh light will make all shades of white/ivory, look brighter and bluer, so always check your fabric choice in daylight, to make sure you don't choose the blue one.

Anyway, Simone was very trusting, and went with the design and fabrics that I presented to her, which was lovely to get right first time.

© E.Christian. Simone Gill Wedding dress design, all rights reserved.

Knotted bodice and gore skirt with train.

I made a toile for Simone, and then went straight into construction, as everything was pretty much on-track.

I have to say, I loved making this dress. It was such a pleasure to have client who knew herself, and what she wanted, and I could go forward with confidence that she would (probably) love it.

Also, the faille was to-die-for: My rule is that basically, the better the fabric, the better the result. I even think it makes my machines sew better!

I made the skirt in three panels front and back, and added a little train at the back. The bodice front was really fun, and I ended up getting a lovely line with a seamless wrap-front-and-cap-sleeve construction, which was very restrained and looked just how Simone wanted it to.
I continued the gathered "belt" around to the back to add texture, and focus the dress.

Another important note about this dress is that whilst Simone wanted a very slim-line gown, in a soft fabric, she didn't want it to cling. Therefore this dress was cut on the straight grain, and because of the integrity of the fabric, it was easily tailored on the panel lines in the skirt to create the fit, without the bias "cling".

"Natural" silk faille wedding gown

Knotted faille bodice with cap sleeves

Back skirt with goddet

And here they are on the Big Day: thanks to Simone and Luke for sharing their photos, by Jeff Sheppard @ SoulPhotos.

Swinging Sixties

Another lovely bride today; Fiona married her partner Emma on a very wet Melbourne day this spring. 

Fiona asked me to make her dress when she found some beautiful silk taffeta from Tessuti. The very nice ladies there recommended me to her, thanks ladies.

Fiona was primarily concerned with fit: she had trouble finding clothes in the right shapes for her, and felt that her wedding day was a perfect opportunity to splash out on a custom made dress.

Fiona had a pretty good idea of which elements she wanted in her dress, and the fabric as well, so my job was mostly about resolving and harmonising these ideas into a successful design that flattered Fiona and made her feel great. 

Her major design references were tailored dresses, some from the 1950's and 60's. A high waisted line, with pleats or gathering, a cross-over bodice and "interesting features" were ideas that we played with. 

The context for Fiona's wedding dress was:

1. Spring

2. Public garden and indoor reception in an historical venue

3. 50's/60's style inspiration; elegant and no-fuss.

Because the fabric Fiona bought was so stiff, I was a bit concerned about getting the design right, in order to avoid that "I'm-in-a-crunchy-collum-of-taffeta" look. If the skirt was too slim-line, it would just crunch up all the time across her hips, and if it was too full, it would look like a marshmallow. 

My first round of designs were about pushing Fiona's ideas a bit further, and perhaps presenting her with some new options. I also didn't like to just slap a wrap bodice on a straight skirt and call it "custom design".

I wanted to get some dynamic, vertical lines running through the design, and take advantage of the beautiful, porcelain-like silk, by layering or folding to create features that allow the light to penetrate the fabric.

Wrap-front dress design with layered and folded skirt features.

Refined design for toile, with wrap front, and skirt drape.

However, with the fitting of the toile, Fiona decided she wanted a more simple skirt, with box pleats or something similar, and a fuller skirt.

I re-worked the design, and we moved forward with a more vintage, tulip-style skirt, as shown below.

http://fascistfashionelitist.tumblr.com/

The bodice was based on a pleated and folded design, which wraps over the bust, into the princess panel lines. And I used a vintage belt buckle that finally came into it's own after sitting in my button box for about 10 years; see, hoarding has its merits.

 I made the skirt with inverted pleats in the front, and a "gathered pleat" at the back. Whilst Fiona wanted the sharpness of box pleats, I wanted to continue the softness of the more natural bodice lines, into the skirt. I also wanted to work with, not against, the organic-ness of the fabric pattern, and so tried to "soften" the crispness that pleating usually lends to a silhouette, with little gathering sections. I kept the skirt slim down the side seams, and put all the fullness in the hem, to balance the bust, and at the pleat points front and back, to avoid the ballooning-hip tulip look. 

To finish her outfit, Fiona had a friend make her beautiful fragile cardi/wrap, and she wore amazing green heels in "crocodile leather". 

These are some of their quick snaps in between downpours.

Thanks to Fiona and Emma for sharing their lovely, rainy pics with us, and to Fiona for trusting me and going with all the "draping" and designing lingo. Congratulations ladies!

Next time: old-school, long-line wedding gowns: simplicity reins.