An Un-Recognizable Vintage Re-Make

 

When Jessica brought me her mother's 1970 something vintage wedding gown, and told me what she wanted to do with it, part of me was appalled! But, another part of me was very intrigued!

This gown was one of those very dated wedding gowns - lots of wide lace at the high neck, big sleeves, you catch my drift, right?

 

 

The fabric had aged to a wonderful candlelight pantina - just beautiful! I was in love with the lace at the neckline, cuffs and hem. Absolutley gorgeous!

 

 

But it was hardly a modern girls dream dress. Jessica had actually already purchased her wedding gown, and wanted this vintage gown of her mothers' made into her rehearsal dinner dress. She wanted to use the lace and the original fabric to create a completley new dress.

So....

I removed the bodice lace. Removed the sleeves. Removed the skirt. Basically took it apart and started from scratch. Re-made the bodice into a strapless; cut and re-shaped the skirt into a fitted mini; added that gorgeous lace around the bodice neckline. We decided it needed thin straps for support, as well as the additional foundation I added (it amazes me that these vintage gowns have NO foundation , let alone a lining to most of them!). Some tweaking here, some adjustment there, and

 YA-LAW!!!

 

 

Amost completley un-recognizable! Jessica is a very tiny girl, so the final dress does not fit on my dress form, and I didn't think to get a final photo of it on her :(

 

The lace is still gorgeous, the fabric is still that lovely candlelight color. But the dress is so completley different! Just goes to show what you can do with a little creativity!

 



BG Disorder

Seems that there is a disorder for everything these days, right? There are learning disorders, eating disorders, drinking disorders, work place disorders, sleeping disorders, physical and mental disorders, social disorders, well - you get the picture. I could go on and on.

Dare I present to you another disorder to add to the growing list. I call it Bridal Gown Disorder, or BD Disorder, for short.

This disorder happens when a stressed out bride forgets what her wedding is really all about. This usually happens because too much importance has been put on superficial aspects of her upcoming wedding. Symptoms of this disorder may include, but are not limited to - showing unreasonable impatience in the ETA of her bridal gown. She may call several times a day to see whether her gown has arrived yet at the bridal shop. When said dress does not arrive on ETA, the affected bride may go ballistic and begin making threats and demands.  At this point, it is usually fairly easy to calm the bride down, and reassure her that there is still plenty of time for her dress to arrive and still have any needed alteration done.

However. Should your calming voice and words not do the trick, you may choose to have your seamstress give her a call to give added assurance that the gown can and will be ready in time.

Another symptom on this disorder is when the bride tries her gown on for the first time. Normally, this is a happy, perhaps tearful event, in which the mother and bride share 'a moment' when they both see the bride in her glory. It is a moment of shared memories, and hopes for the future. Normally, it is a very special time. If the bride has this unfortunate disorder, though, any tears shed will be tears of another kind. Perhaps she see's herself differently than she had hoped. Perhaps the dress doesn't fit, yet, as she expected it would. Perhaps, the dress isn't what she thought it would be. Whatever the reason, she will find reason to be unhappy with the dress. Again, reassurance is needed. Your seamstress can be quite helpful at this point. She can help to reassure the bride that fit issues can be fixed, design issues can be looked at, discussed and worked on. Most of the time, the bride can be reassured adequately at this point.

A third symptom of this distressing disorder is much more difficult to deal with. Often, at this point there is nothing that can be done, but to let the bride go. This symptom shows itself, usually at the final fitting; although you will usually get glimpses of it at earlier fittings, and thus be able to prepare for it.

At the final fitting, your bride may show lack of enthusiasm when trying on her gown. Upon having it on and standing before the mirror, her lack of enthusiasm will manifest itself in frustration and even anger. She will find fault with everything about her gown. She will find invisible threads that are distorting the smooth look of her gown. She may find a bead out of place, or a seam that is too visible. She may find that the lace at the hem does not graze the ground at the perfect angle, or that while the dress fits well, it doesn't show off her cleavage just right. The sash may be just a tad too short or too long.  A pick up may not be in the right place. There may be too much rusching on this side, not enough on that. You get the picture. The best thing to do at this point is to reassure your bride that the imperfections she is imagining are just that - imaginations. Compliment her on how beautiful she is in her gown, suggest some lovely jewelry, have her put on the veil. It will be a good idea to get mom involved at this point, in helping to convince the bride that everything is really ok.

Hopefully, your bride will leave the shop, gown in hand, feeling that she will be the most beautiful bride to ever walk the aisle. But there is also a good chance that your bride is so deeply submerged in her disorder, that nothing you or anyone else can say or do will help her to feel better. Her only 'cure' is to get through the wedding, and wake up the next morning and realize it is all behind her, and that nobody noticed those tiny imperfections she was so sure were going to ruin her wedding day.

Your reward, however, for surviving her disorder in one piece, is a glass of wine and a warm bath. And maybe a hot fudge sundae while you're at it.

Alterations on an Antique Gown

When the bride first brought this gown to me, I was rather unimpressed. It was obviously old, certainly considered an antique. I would venture to guess that it was perhaps made in the late 40's, early 50's. I've not been able to find out any information from the label.

But, I digress. . . .

As mentioned, I didn't see the beauty in this dress when I first saw it. We discussed what she wanted/needed done. The basque waistline needed to be moved up 2 inches. It needed taking in several inches. Some boning was needed for support, as well as cups. A hem would be discussed at a later visit.

So, I took it home and promptly forgot about it until it's scheduled work day showed up on my calendar.
I took it out of the bag and put it on my dress form to look at more closely.

As you can see, the bodice is done with tiny half inch diagonal pleating. The skirt, at first glance, looks like it is formed of narrow bands of ruffles. Upon closer look, it is actually many, many pick - ups.

As I started to remove stitching at the back of the dress (at the zipper), I had a slow realization that I was being awarded the priveledge of working on a gown made in  true couture fashion.

So much hand stitching!

Here, you can see some of the stitching around the zipper.It was hand stitched  in  2 places before being machine sewn. The zipper facing was overcast by hand and then hand sewn to the underlining.

Here is the thread covered 'eye' for the hook at the back. When do you ever see that in clothing these days?

Each of these pleats was hand sewn to the backing fabric.

As I work on this gown, I am seeing the beauty in it. It is a style from an era long gone. Each stitch was sewn with such precision and care. Little details in the construction are so much different from what I have learned.  I find I have much to learn from working on this lovely gown. I wish I could find some information from the label -

I will continue to search, as I continue to work on this unique gown. I will post more photos as I go. Perhaps you will be as intrigued as I am by the construction of it.

Why Ms Iris! What A Lovely Bustle You Have!

Ms Iris came to me about a week ago. I had anticipated her coming, and had gotten all in readiness for her stay. We had met previously, so I had certain, shall we say, expectations of how our visit would go. Hmmm . . . little did I know. . .

Ms Iris is a lovely lady from Matthew Christopher's 2010 collection. She is quite charming, sweet and demure, yet sophisticated with elegance and wit.

When Ms Iris first enters the room, all eyes are drawn to her delicately framed decollete', where her petals frame her bodice. Her crisp ivory taffeta announces her arrival with a fresh swish of fabric.

 

One gets a sense that Ms Iris is the perfect lady.

Then, she turns around . . .

and we see her true personality.

Though still quite lovely, and very much a lady, we start to see a certain, well, vanity.

Her petals spread out around her, seemingly in an effort to swallow all within reach. Her stuborn-ness comes alive when I try to fashion her lovely petals into a bustle. She definitely needs taming, and we are now in a battle to see who will win.

Though I would never allow her to hear me say it, she is a bit . . . well, bottom heavy.

So, before I could attack her bustle, I knew she would need a little reinforcement. I added an extra panel of her silk taffeta to her 'underside', where the upper ribbons would be sewn. My goodness! What a stink she put up! You would have thought she'd never had anyone see her underskirts before!

First, I attached 3 heavy grosgrain ribbons to her petal center. She fought me every stitch of the way, until I had bloody fingers, broken needles, broken thread, and sweat dripping down my forehead. She had been hiding a good inch to 1 1/4" of thickness beneath her petal. But I won this first battle, with my trusty weapon - a needle nose pliers. Then, I attached 3 more of the ribbons at the back seam -

where they will hide under her 'secret' panel when her bustle is down.

Here are her ties done up -

and here, I have re-directed a couple of her petals to camouflage my dirty work, as she would call it.

Once this major battle was won, she seemed to calm down a bit and wasn't quite so obstinate about her make over.

She still needed pockets, which she fought me on for awhile, but again, I won. By the time I got to attaching her new buttons . . .

she seemed to have accepted the fact that no matter what I might do to her, she was still going to be the most beautiful lady in the room.

Winter Comes to Georgia

The past 3 or 4 days have been spent in preparation of the coming winter 'storm'. Those of you in northern states laugh at our seemingly silly preparations and the joy we seem to take in them. I was once one of you! We moved here in November of 1982 (a century ago, surely), and that winter I experienced my first Georgia winter storm. I, too, laughed to see people rushing to the grocery store to stock up; buying sand bags, salt, large sheets of plastic, extra water, gas, bread, milk, oreo's and ofcourse, beer. Being from Minnesota, I found it truly unbelievable to see this near mass hysteria. Little did I  know . . .

There are no snow plows in Georgia. Because, you see, Georgia rarely, if ever, gets snow. Even during the big threat of a winter storm. The real threat is ice. It comes down in needles of sleet, to cover everything it touches. Tree's will become so heavy with ice that entire tree's will topple over. Not to mention power lines. If it is outside, it will be covered in a sheet of ice. Roads become skating rinks. Outdoor furniture will resemble ice sculptures. If there is snow, it becomes a thick crust of white. It's really quite beautiful. Hard to believe it can also be so deadly.

So, when the threat looked like it may be real, this time, I began to make my own preparations. It became even more real, when I found out my DH would be gone! He tutored me  Saturday, on starting and running the generator. Yes, I was one of those crazy people who ran to the grocery store for milk. And wine, ofcourse! I picked up heavy plastic to cover the big patio window (for insulation), a big new flashlight (since mine has disappeared, once again to my husbands shop), batteries, a lighter for candles, salt to melt ice on the stairs, and extra drinking water. I filled the bathtub full of water for my dogs and cats to drink, or for heating for washing. I was ready.

My husband left (Nashville, for a class he couldn't reschedule), and I settled in. The sleet began last night around 7:00. Shortly it turned to huge flakes of snow, then back to sleet. It was time to go get the generator ready - just in case. I also covered my big window with the plastic. I had made a big pot of Turkey sausage chili that I could warm in the crock pot if I had to use the generator. And I waited. Our electricity goes out at the drop of a hat. Always has, probably always will. Except, this time - it hasn't!

I woke to a slow cold drizzle of sleet and freezing rain, which covered the 1-2 inches of snow on the ground with a glaze of ice. Knowing I wouldn't be going anywhere and that nobody was coming to see me, I did the unthinkable. I stayed in my pajama's all day! I sewed in my Pajama's!! I have never done that before. It was so liberating! 

I knew I had to get as much machine sewing done as possible, because the power could go at any time. I've got plenty of hand sewing to work on, should the power go out, but work that has to be done on the machine must get done first.

First, I put a lace - up back into a wedding gown -

Then I started major work on a lace gown.  First, I removed 3 strips of lace and the zipper, to take it in almost 4 inches at the back -

I still need to hand sew the lace back down the center back; take it up at the shoulders -

Take it in at the bodice sides -

                                          In at the skirt sides -

                                                  the hem -

and the bustling. Probably 2 more days. Provided I have electricity!

At 5:30 I put down my pin cushion, unplugged the iron, called for my sewing assistant, and headed back downstairs.

I was so grateful to still have power. Funny how much we depend on electricity in out lives.  We take it so much for granted. Today I am very thankful for it.

I warmed up some of my chili, poured myself a glass of wine, and gave a silent toast to myself, for a good days work.

Yes, I like cheese on my chili.



If You Liked the 16 Pt Bustle - How About This!

I love bustles! They can make a wedding gown go from just pretty to fabulous! I especially love tiered french bustles. They look so elegant. They are perfect for very full skirts. The 16 point bustle I did  a few posts ago was just such a bustle. Full skirt that made a beautiful tiered bustle. 

Today I bustled a gown that topped the 16 pointer. This is another Justin Alexander Couture Gown. It is much fuller than the earlier gown, thus needing more bustle points. 

Figuring out where they would all go ended up taking more time than I expected. Lots of measurement taking, marking,  re-measuring, and rechecking. In order to get an even look all the way around, it is important to mark the bustles symmetrically on each side from the center back.
Each bustle is marked with color coordinated pins which are then replaces with matching ribbons.

 I was a little concerned that I would have enough different colored ribbons so I wouldn't have to use any of them more than once. Fortunately I had recently purchased a huge supply of ribbon, and had plenty!

Here is a view of the bustles all tied up -

And here is the finished view -

4 1/2  hours, 32 feet of ribbon, and 24 bustle points later, the bustling is finished on this gown.

Back From the Bunny Hole

Remember my adventures in the bunny hole from a few posts ago? I believe I can safely say I am back from the bunny hole. The gown I was working on at the time is finished and delivered.
To refresh your mind - I had been working on a gown for a bride who had received a completely free wedding. The gown she had picked out was a lovely ivory draped and pleated Pronovious gown. It had a halter neck, very fitted to the hips, where it flared out with gathered godets at the sides, flowing into a huge - HUGE train. The first thing she wanted was to change the neckline to a sweetheart strapless. It needed taking in about 1.5 inches at the back; added padded cups, hem and figure out a bustle for this huge train. Oh - and she wanted a lightly beaded belt that was on a different gown. She also got free bridesmaid dresses, flower girl dresses, 2 mother of the bride dresses, shoes, veil, jewelry, cake, flowers, catering, event center, and yes, honeymoon. It was never mentioned to her that alterations were not included in the package. But it became quite obvious that she assumed they were. Perhaps I should have mentioned it sooner, but in all honesty, I didn't realize she was getting everything free of charge until after our first fitting was done and she was gone. At our second fitting, she was feeling quite sick (almost fainted on me) and it didn't get mentioned again. She was to let me know with in 2 weeks after our 2nd fitting how she was coming on her weight (hopefully she would not have gained or lost anymore and I could then go ahead and do the alterations, again). After 3 weeks, I finally contacted her to find out what she wanted me to do as far as taking the dress in again or not. She insisted she didn't have time to come for another fitting so she told me to just do what ever I thought I should do, but to make it unique and special in a way that would be different than any other gown. Hmmm . . . we had only discussed alterations, not design changes.  She asked me to just drop it off at the bridal shop and she would pick it up this week. The wedding is this coming Friday. And could I take it in just a tiny bit more than what I had pinned?
I did the alterations as we had discussed., but no design changes.  I have no idea whether it will fit or not, because, as I mentioned, she didn't come for further fittings. It was at this point that I became quite, well, irritated. She was expecting me to make her dress into some dream version of a dress that even she wasn't sure of. She expected it to fit perfectly, but wasn't willing, or able, to do her part. And she was expecting me to do all this for free. Hours - and I do mean hours. 22 to be exact. That I could have spent working on other gowns for much more appreciative brides.  Frustration set in as it never has before. And while I sat in my chair by my window with her dress in my lap, I decided to just pray about it. And I immediately found peace. I knew what I had to do. Whether or not I could do it cheerfully was another matter entirely. I finished the alterations and delivered it to the store.  I then sent her a message that I hoped she was feeling better, and I hoped the dress was done the way she wanted, and my blessings for a beautiful wedding and happy marriage. I didn't mention any payment. God helped me to see that as He had gifted me with my business, so I could gift her with my services. It was the least I could do to show Him my gratitude. It may not have been done with the most cheerful of hearts, but it was done in obedience. The cheerfulness will follow, I believe. In the meantime, here is the dress -

Here is the front view, finished; changed neckline, cups added, belt added, hemmed, taken in twice, left unbustled in this photo.

                                         A close-up of the bodice with the confiscated belt.

                                                                 The train full length.

The train is bustled here. There are 6 traditional bustle loops across the back of the skirt going to a single button at the right side, and 4 traditional bustle loops from the center back to the left that go to a single button at the center back.
The heavy satin underskirt is held up with 3 french bustles underneath.
It really is a lovely gown, and she will make a lovely bride. I do hope she is feeling well on her special day, and I pray daily for my own  attitude. It is a work in progress.

Down The Rabbit Hole . . .

There is a line in Alice in Wonderland, where the rabbit is running around tyring to find his way screaming, "No time to stop no time to wait, I'm late, I'm late for a very important date!"  Or atleast it goes something like that. Such is my life the last few weeks. I feel like I've been playing catch-up for about a month now. Nothing has been late, but I feel as though I am right  on the verge. Which is why I haven't been doing much posting.
Let's start with where we left off - remember the bustling I promised? Ok -I now have pictures.

Here is the train bustled fairly loosely.

Here it is bustled tigher.

And here is why it is different than what I have done before. This train is HUGE. Very full. To do individual ties for a french bustle, would take many many ties which would get tedious to do up as well as confusing. so, I attached the ribbons, but they are threaded through thread loops, to gather the fabric together, then the ribbon is tied to the coordinating ribbon on the underskirt.

This is the center bustle. I attached the ribbon at the center, then you can see where each end is threaded through a thread loop.

Here is where the two ribbons come together and tie to a third.

This is a view of one of the side bustles. It is threaded through 5 thread loops spread out over about 2 feet of fabric. It will tie to a coordinating ribbon on the underskirt, pulling all the fabric together.

All together, I attached 5 sets of ribbons. Each set is a different color and or fabric of ribbon, so it is easy to see which ribbons go together.

All this to say that when the bride tried it on, she didn't like it. Here is why -

As you can see, from the front, it looks like the dress has wings. Not very attractive. Together we tried to remember exactly how I had originally done it up. It wasn't until after she left and I was playing  with it again that I think I finally came up with  it. All the fabric was pulled over to the right side, on the outside of the dress, where each fold will be attached to a single button on the side. That will leave one piece (which doesn't quite reach to the side) that will have to be attached at the centerback. I'm not liking the look of it attached here, though. I may see about pulling this last fold up underneath into a french bustle instead.

But it is much more flattering from the front!

I first met with this bride about 6 weeks ago. She was a tiny size, and I had to bring the dress down atleast a size to fit. Hemmed about 6 inches, added padded cups, changed it from a halter to a sweetheart strapless, and of course the bustles.

When I met with her last week, she had lost weight - not that she had any to loose. If a strong wind blows, she will disappear. And I have to take to take the dress in more. About 2 more inches at the back, and now also at the waist through the hip area at the side. She has been on medication that has caused her to completely loose her appetite. I told her I am not touching the dress for 2 weeks, at which time I want to hear from her on whether or not she has gained any of the weight back or (God forbid!) lost more. The wedding is in November, so we still have a bit of time.

Ok - back into the bunny hole. I am off to another fitting. It never stops . . .