This tale started in late October of 2012. I received an email with the subject line “dress ref by amelias” from a girl named Jenny. She wanted me to reconstruct a dress (which she didn’t own yet) to look like a dress she saw on Pinterest…
I will have to admit, I was a little hesitant to accept a client who wanted me to make a Pinterest wedding dress. I was not going to send an arts and crafts type project out of my studio. The one thing she had going for her was the referral from Amelia’s. We emailed back and forth for a few days and I got a clearer picture of the type of dress she wanted. Then we discussed what she should purchase from etsy.
Jenny brought the dress in on November 10th. We were making good time, the wedding was in early March. I sent her to get it cleaned and we started work on December 8th.
The game plan was to redo the bodice completely. She wanted a lace covered halter top. I removed the tulle and excess fluff from the skirt. The bottom tier of lace was also removed and the dress was leveled out like a maxi dress.
The new bodice met two needs. Jenny wanted bohemian-style low backed halter that wasn’t loaded with boning or lined with polyester. I wanted to construct a top that would support the dress and keep my client covered from all angles (aka no side boob). I used white broadcloth to line the lace bodice. Rather than use boning, self-bound the seams to add structure.
From that first email to the date that she picked it up, it took 113 days. This is the end result. She got her dream dress, I did not send an arts and crafts project down the aisle. It’s a project we can both be proud of.
Proto credit: Ashley D Photography
Here’s the slide show of the process from start to finish