making modern a vintage 90’s bridal gown.
Transforming vintage gowns and making them modern is what I’m known for.
I give gorgeous gowns like these another life.
the before
I love altering heirloom gowns, such as this one that the bride’s mother wore on her wedding day, and collaborating one-on-one with my client to offer a truly unique service.
This gown has the most incredible beading detail - I could truly see why it was so special to my client and her mother.
Other bridal tailors said this project was impossible, and I love that I was able to find a way to make this dream gown happen.
I started by removing the sleeves and taking out 3 yards of excess tulle off of the lining, giving the skirt a sleeker and less full look. How lovely and gorgeous is this sleeve design open (below) with the lace, beading and cut outs? Truly one of a kind details on this gown.
Then I opened the side seam to give the bodice more room, and regathered the skirt at the waist seam underneath the gorgeous lace overlay. I reworked the excess beaded lace and handstitched it across the side seam to hide the fact that the side seam was taken out. I honestly love how the bodice fits her, and how it looks like it was designed to fit this way, instead of being completely re-engineered from gown with sleeves.
Here are the before and after results of the work above, compared to the final gown:
This dress was transformed into a sleeveless one and needed boning so the bodice would stay all night, fitting like a glove. Since this bodice is heavily beaded, this meant creating and stitching all of the boning into the gown by hand. I love adding couture details like this to gowns, something I learned how to do interning for top British design house Erdem.
Patternmaking the Sleeves
I drafted a removable sleeve pattern made of tulle, and cut out all the gorgeous lace applique from the original leg-of-mutton sleeve. Then I rearranged the lace into a nice pattern. Using techniques learned at British fashion house Erdem, I made two symmetrical sleeves, sewing all of the lace onto layers of tulle.
I repurposed the larger pearls from the dress to hang the sleeves on and created tulle loops so the sleeves could easily be removed for later into the night. I love how you can see all the stitching that went into these sleeves along the side seam (pictured below).
Finally I needed to get creative with adding length to this gown. To tie into the gorgeous sleeves, I added a tulle ruffle to the liner to add some length. I love how this all tied into the gown, especially when the gown is bustled, pictured below.
“From the very first inquiry meeting, I knew Lizzy was the perfect person for the job. She wasn’t pushy, and it was clear she had the expertise to transform my dress. I always understood what was going on which made me feel confident and empowered throughout the process. It was fun bouncing ideas around, and she had so many good ones! I got my dream dress. Thanks Lizzy!”