Its a Ball ! The jouney and the destination !

 The journey began for this extraordinary evening ball gown on a paper sketch done by my client. Took nearly 2 weeks of non stop work..some really sleepless nights ...some completely sleepless nights !!! and a lot and lots of swarovski bling :) !!!

It had the two of the most difficult fabrics to work with . Pure charmeuse silk and Pure silk crepe chiffon . Lots and lots of hand sewing involved as the fabrics are alive and kicking, with a mind of their own .. The dress had a stole that could be worn with the dress as a stole or with it as a halter by hooking it in with a loop in the corset . The scarf had 6 inches of fringing done on 50 cm each side 5mm apart... by loop method which takes longer to do as its a more finished look.. I used 4mm swarovski crystal beads for extra shine in AB cut in both coloured and clear cryatal 5328

Each panel in the dress had two layers sewn till a split separately doing a rolled hem to the split notch and then mounted the chiffon on the charmeuse silk by hand . It  took 3 hours in total of preparation work just to stitch two panels together!

The dress also had an inner corset (which unfortunately I just didn't have the time to take pictures of) was heavily boned on each seam as well as on individual panels. It was completely sculptured to the clients body! I had to have a calico for this one! :) !

I added swarovski bling in my own way as the client was quite happy to leave that part to me. The entire embroidery was done by hand using a special stitch to keep the ( crystals 3128 5mm AB and foiled) in a chain next to each other . The dress looks far more impressive in reality than in the pictures as I couldnt capture the bling in as photo ....when danced  in.. you can see the lighter cobalt blue fabric of the charmeuse silk peeking through the darker top chiffon layer ( my client gave me a lovely demo) .

The only fly in the ointment  was the zip .. I am not complaining about the clients request of having a chunky zip on the side seam, but really of my own work as I couldn't make it completely seamlesss. I wish I could have made it look completely seamless just like an invisible zip!  I will do it one day all seamless with the chunky zip which didn't particularly suit the fabrics ......(possibly I am being over critical as the client was really happy )

And last but not the least I must mention these special THANKS!!

The dress wouldn't have been completed had a dear friend Oxana not lent me a helping hand at all the embroidery and fringing. A special thanks to Micheal Wrench from  Crystal beads LLP http://www.crystal-beads.co.uk/wholesale-swarovski-beads/index.html for providing me the crystals at lightening speed delivery, at extremely shot notice.

Dr Anna Marie Brocklebank :)

Where do I begin :) !

I have had one of those lace dresses with the shortening through hidden cut line bridal alterations.

I discovered that although in principle I had to do the same alterations as the one I mentioned and wrote about earlier in the year with the title "Not for the faint hearted" but  I had to do a few more steps to ensure that the cut and netting was not visible after the alteration was completed.

This is an alteration I have done on Tamara Bridal dress by San Patrick many times this season. I make the cutline as close as possible to the scallops near the high hip . Then take out excess lace and repatching all around.Then comes the embroidery that needs to be meticulously done again.

Unfortunately all these lace dress alterations mostly turn out to be a loss statement as the hours of intense labour required can never be really charged justifiably but when you see the appreciation and the faith people get in you by seeing the finished result is all really worth it !

With the first hello .......Love Story !

Its been fifteen years ( possibly more) that I have been in the fashion industry. Its had its ups and downs but thankfully the ups have been more than the downs. The more I think of how I ended up where I have ended up (not that this is the end by any means) makes me believe in fate. A purely science student graduate in  BSc Biochemistry to do another 4 year degree in Fashion Design not by choice ending up loving it !

I learnt to be a fashion designer and I was lucky enough (as my course was so thorough) to learn to make things from scratch not just pattern cutting, sewing or sketching and draping but all of the above. I feel very privileged to have had such an experience.  

My work has taught me what I always lacked .. it has taught me patience. I always keep on trying to improvise my own techniques. The more I learn the more I love. Its something I feel I will never tire of. Its been a busy bridal season and just today I felt like writing about my love affair with my work.

 

Thinking Old but new Project.

I hope I get a completely new project soon . All the alterations are going well but I need to cut something from scratch and start a  new pattern for my own sanity. 

I was thinking of falling back for the time being on a bespoke project which I had  started for a client a long time ago but then left it as I was completely swamped with work. Its a pattern and design I did from scratch. Its the knot twist dress. I nearly finished it but then it needed to be lined in the same fabric so the project came to a halt. I will start work on that soon and also work on another pattern that was requested by another client to copy an existing dress with a few modifications. 

Here are a picture of the dress in progress but will put up pics of it finally finished in a few weeks time....

And finally some Retail therapy!

This may sound borderline crazy to some but my retail therapy is quite different from an average person.I am absolutely crazy about finding gadgets to help me in my work. I get a thrill from each new gadget that I discover. I have wrist magnets,antenna magnets (picks up pins from floor) ,lipstick chalks and the most amazing sewing bag! My gadgets are my pearls and diamonds :) !

I could go on and on about them but these are a few favourites for the time being

A dream come true bag that keep everything organised when I work in the shops

My faithful hedgehogs : my wrist magnets!

This makes hem marking and leveling a doddle !

Lets celebrate :) !

I just feel compelled to write about this on my blog  :I cannot understand why women old and young are so hard on themselves about their bodies.. Ladies please give yourself a break  :) .Our bodies go through a lot in our lifetime..so lets celebrate it rather than complain about it. As long as we are alive healthy and kicking nothing is worth fretting over .

I do blame certain magazines and media which projects this image of the perfect woman..which makes most of us feel rather inadequate about ourselves. I keep on telling all my clients that these pictures have been photo-shopped and air-brushed to the last bits of their existence... absolutely no scars and blemishes allowed ......and why cant we all have a few wrinkles?!! ...

Lets promise ourselves today that we will start to enjoy being in our body from today; embrace our curves and bulges ! there is plenty in life that will test us so lets chill and be happy within ourselves for who we are :) ..

Polka Pox!!

Here we go ! My polka dotted fever has finally erupted into my Polka Pox Dress!:) (I may have gone a bit mad in the last 24 hours )

Its taken two full days and its nearly all finished . Its a double full circle skirt front and back with the hem lovingly done with a corded bias tape piping all done from scratch! o and all of it hand hemmed too ! My humble homage to Polka dots ! Enjoy ! :) 

Here is the skirt waist being gathered with a double row of stitching

The skirt all put together

The hem done with a corded piping all along after leveling the skirt when the dress was nearly all done.

The finished dress for a lovely client :)

Lady Anna Marie Brocklebank enjoying her new dress :) !

The Queen of Bustles!

Its finally arrived in full swing !! this year a little late (in my opinion) but the wedding season is finally here ! woo hoo!.. I have almost been working non stop on wedding dresses, mother of brides, mother of grooms and bridesmaid outfits, oh and a few flower girls too!.(definitely not complaining!..thrilled to be busy!)

I recently did a few new bridal dress styles this season, that I discovered how to bustle and I have been named as the "Queen of Bustles" ( by a dear work colleague)  as I always find a way to do even the most challenging ones :) (I am told) .( I hope I don't sound too full of myself! Its a lovely warm feeling to be appreciated ;) )

Here are a few examples of single bustles ,double bustles, inner and outer separate bustles and hem bustles to dresses done this season! enjoy :) !.....(but I think I will soon be back with my bespoke POLKA POX PROJECT!)

Polka dotted fever!

I nearly did an emergency stop a few days ago, when I saw someone wearing a polka dotted dress waiting to cross the road ! I really wanted to make a dress with polka dots. A big one with a full circle skirt that would pay a homage to the polka dots!

 I went to the fabric shop straight away (after the near episode on the road) and bought a fabric with bold polka dots, keeping my fingers crossed that the client I had in mind would fall in love with the delightful polka dots just like me.

Well ! The gamble has paid off! and I may be soon working on a Polka dotted dress! Its a dress you have seen in my bespoke portfolio many a time as its my client's favourite pattern.... but this time its going to have a slight twist to how I usually finish the hem.. I am not saying a word.......

All I have to do now is to find time in my diary.......Impossible is nearly nothing ...eh..??!!

What a feeling!

I absolutely love love love doing bespoke projects. The best outcome for all the hard work and late nights is the response of my clients. Its really gives me a buzz! I recently started asking the clients for pictures of them on the occasion they wore the dress to . Its really brought me great joy to see how happy they all look and I will be updating this on my Facebook page for sure when I get the pictures . Here are the ones I have collected so far.

The red dress with the stole worn by Lady Anna Marie Brocklebank 

The floral summer dress worn by Lady Anna Marie Brocklebank

The wedding dress worn by Elsa on her wedding day

 little Leah's flower girl's dress

Angel's short lilac dress with swarovski crystals as worn on the wedding 

Its Lady Anna Marie Brocklebank again in one of my creations :) !

Anna wearing another one of my creations!

Where do I begin ....The Reversible Dress

The Reversible dress took quite a while as I had  to rethink quite a few aspects of the pattern to make it work. Not only did  I have to match all the checks (which used up a lot of my brain's grey matter) as much as I possibly could, in the plaid material I had to make the collar reversible as well...I did meet with quite a few challenges on the way .

I won't go on an on about it but here are the three things I had to work on the most:

• I  had to add a hidden hook and bar to adapt the collar into being reversible.(bar sandwiched in the collar tip and hook sewn under the top button) 
• The sleeve was a set in sleeve. It was hard  to make the patterns meet at the shoulders keeping true to the ease given to curve in  the sleeve head.
• The hem was mostly in bias so bagging it out take hours. First you have to let the hem drop atleast overnight in order to level the hem , then cutting  it all around to the new level and stitching it together.

The dress was nearly finished at this stage needed the hem bagged out and just a button left to sew on each side 

The end result is a dress (with a reversible zip ) that the client wanted to wear to a party or a funeral ....or from a funeral to a party ;)..(please excuse the pun)!

Doing alterations with a choice of price...not quality

 If something needs to be altered it needs to be done properly. There are more than one way this can be achieved. Regardless of the amount a client has spent on an outfit, one has to follow proper procedures to alter it.

I come across so many outfits that have been unsympathetically altered before. I am sure that given a choice, one would rather have it done a sympathetic way rather than the most cheap and cheerful way. One can still do a cheaper job, with care to the actual outfit. It does not mean that doing things cheaper will make it a bad quality of finish.

Added centre back seam: this was a budget alteration

When I fit clients I give them more than one option for certain alterations: for example of a dress in need of grading down a size, you can take  in the dress by introducing a centre back seam rather than taking it in on both the side seams and shoulder. Its a cheaper option and It does change the fit of the outfit to a degree when we take a compromise like this, but its the clients choice and the overall effect is not too far of. It has actually made clients save things that they loved and thought not worth it, to have altered.

took in on side seams,shoulder and sleeves.

 The quality is something that should never be compromised on.Simpler alterations can be done without making a mess of the overall finish quality of the outfit.

The zip was redone and an amount was taken in all along the centre back for a better fit. 

The Project ..so Far

A work in progress

 It took a whole day but I managed to cut both sides of the dress. I had to add a cut-line at the centre front and centre back as the fabric was not wide enough to have a double circle skirt . Each plaid piece was cut once on fabric each time in order to have a complete mirror image on the other side. I also had to match the sleeve heads as best as I could so that the plaid went uninterrupted .All four seams are matched according to the pattern of the fabric in the skirt.

Added a seam in the plaid material in accordance with the print

Now I am working on the bodice panels. They need to be mounted on self fabric or fused or both otherwise the weight of the skirt will pull the seam apart . As each dress is like a first sample  it takes longer as one discovers how the fabric behaves as the project unfolds. This is a plaid taffeta pure silk dress with the reverse in pure black silk dupion.

It will take a few days to get to a stage where it will start to come together..

A New Project ! Yippeee

Finally! after all the crazy big alterations this week, that seemed never ending, I have decided to work on a new project.( I need my sanity after all the unpicking !:) and restitching madness.. ;)

I have never use ready-made patterns . I always make my own patterns. Each pattern is like a new baby. I never quite know what I would achieve with the toile or with a flat master pattern which I would alter after draping.(I also copy exisiting dresses by taking out the pattern, there are quite a few ways to achieve this.This project is a pattern taken out from an existing dress)

The  project is a dress and I will put up pictures to show how hard making a dress really is. Its not a very difficult pattern but it needs a lot of TLC at certain stages. With the pret a porter market growing and everything becoming less expensive, I fear that people do not really appreciate how hard it is to make a dress to a high quality of finish.

For now there are a few sneak peeks of the project ...

 O and just to keep you wondering its a reversible dress with a collar and cuffs and a double full circle skirt front and back!!

Why getting a dress made is more costly than something off the rack?

There was a time when everyone used to sew and make their own clothes. There was uniqueness in everyone’s wardrobe. That trend has long gone. Now it’s more costly to make something than to buy it off the rack pret-a-porter.

A dress off the rack, even though,has gone through the same processes, costs less. It was made in a factory and parts of it were assembled and made by different people. It costs what its costs as everything is broken down to as efficient and cost effective a manner as possible.

When something is bespoke the process is just done specialised to one person. That dress is cut and made only once.  It’s a unique dress that only you will have in your wardrobe and will fit only you. A toile is made to take out the pattern and make sure the fit is perfect on you.

Pattern made from sctatch

Whereas a factory can make a few thousand dresses in a day a bespoke dress takes several days and sometimes weeks and months to make. Not everyone can fully appreciate why a made to measure costs more but the end result is definitely worth it!

Copied cleint's favourite dress  by taking out the pattern

Life Never Has a Dull Moment!

Its so much fun to work with clothes and ..yes.....women. At times it could be tedious but really, its good to work with beautiful fabrics and share stories of all sorts!..from the men in someone's life to the kind of underwear one prefers to wear  I have heard it all ;) ..

I would really recommend being a fitter/tailoress to anyone who wants to be one . Its hard work and crazy hours but its also full of laughter and tears of mirth as well. I get to meet so many different types of people and such a variation of stories Life never had a dull moment!

Impossible is ( nearly ) nothing

 So many outfits are favourite in our wardrobes. Some get out-dated waiting for that special occasion to be worn, but I have a solution. If they are worth the money recycling them into fresh looks is not a bad idea. Even if someone has gained (or lost ) weight it’s all doable . If you want frills or cuts or peplums ...impossible is nothing. I have even done a wedding dress when I added a lace mount to hide rust marks as it was originally a Vintage bridal dress

 I do so many re-modelling of dresses on a regular basis. It changes something that was once loved and then forgotten to an outfit rediscovered, enjoyed and loved once more.