Never outdress the bride... but get close!

This is Sue, and she wanted a stunning dress for her best friend's wedding in Manchester. I have to say, getting a bespoke dress for these kind of events is THE best way to not only get a gorgeous dress that fits perfectly and is comfortable for a long day, but to also make sure you never have to deal with the often-dreaded scenario of someone else wearing the exact same thing!

Work in progress

We started by looking at vintage-style dress patterns. Sue (like many ladies) wanted sleeves and a tea-length hem. She chose a Vintage Vogue style with a faux wrap bodice which gives a gorgeous neckline, and short sleeves that I lengthened for her.

I created a mock-up of the bodice part of the dress so that I could make all the adjustments needed to ensure a perfect fit, and Sue choose this beautiful cotton fabric with printed gold highlights.

And doesn't she look divine? Swamped with compliments on the day, she now has a unique and personalised frock in her wardrobe on hand for any event.

Ruby's birthday frock

I was approached by Ruby to create her vision to knock 'em dead on the dancefloor for her 18th birthday. You only get one of those, so we sat down together and talked over her initial sketch to
work out the perfect design.

Ruby had already bought some red duchess satin and some gold oriental brocade from the local fabric shop, so I was able to get straight on with creating the perfect pattern.

The finished dress has thigh splits either side of the brocade panel, which is self-lined, and the flared sleeves are trimmed with a thin strip of the brocade also.

I had to be very careful when drafting the neckline, (there's a fine line between plunge and indecent!) and with some carefully placed darts in the bodice we made sure that there would be no scandalous 'wardrobe malfunctions'.

The finished dress really reflected Ruby's personality - bright and run and ready for a night of birthday fun, and there was definitely to be no mistaking who the birthday girl was!