Bodycon dress

From loose and floaty to skin-tight now, with pictures of a custom made bodycon dress that I finished last week for a customer. Made from a lovely thick weight light charcoal jersey, this really a dress which hugs every curve and shows off the figure inside!

(you can see where my mannequin's 'hips' finish by when the ruching on the seam starts - if I'd time I'd have worked out something to add more structure to the lower half to show of the curves better, but c'est la vie, you'll just have to imagine it not doing that on the real person!)

The neckline is finished with a gathered flower made from the same material, with a few discreet black beads in the centre.

 

Replacing an old favourite.

We've all got them, somewhere in our wardrobe - that favourite that we've had for years, that we turn to regularly, that never fails us but which is coming to the end of its life and starting to look a little worn.

This dress came about from one such garment that had been a faithful friend for 20-odd years, that a customer brought in to me with the challenge of creating a replacement that fitted in the same way and made her feel as good wearing it. It's not an identical copy but keeps the overall style and fit.

Made from jade double-knit jersey, it has moulded cups, spaghetti straps and a thigh-high split on her left-hand side.

Have you got an old favourite that you wish could go on forever but just isn't going to do so? If so, why not consider getting a replacement made, it might be a more practical idea than you think!

Jersey dress with an interesting collar

I seem to have had a cluster of customers commissioning garments to replace old favourites which have worn out, which is always quite a nice task. After all, I make clothes to be worn not to sit in a wardrobe out of sight, so to make something that the customer knows she'll wear is lovely!

Today's blog is to share one of these commissions, what looks like a simple jersey dress but with a collar/neckline that looks almost like you're wearing a shrug over the top of a strapless dress:

The customer ordered two, one in a bright red viscose jersey and one in this beautiful patterned cotton jersey. I know she was pleased with how they've come out, and I hope she enjoys wearing them!

Second prom dress of the year

My second prom dress of the year is also in cotton jersey fabric but that's where the comparison with the red dress in previous posts stops. It's just as gorgeous but completely different.

This dress is floor length, with a deep 'v' neckline front and back, individually applied Swarovski crystal stars on the under-bust band both front and back and a leg-split topped with a crystal star.

Full-length shot:

Showing the front and back together (you can just see the star at the top of the leg split):

The star at the top of the split:

The girl this is made for is really thrilled with it, which is always gratifying, and it does look absolutely stunning on her (I know, I'm slightly biased, but it really does!)   
 

Prom dress season...the first one done

I know I've not blogged for a while, but April's been a bit of a strange month. I've been mad busy, with lots of things on the go at once, but I've not actually got to the end of any projects and had a finished object to show off (and the one I have, I haven't photographed yet).

But today that changed as I finished the first of two prom dresses that I've been working on. This one is made in red cotton jersey, which is a fabric which gives a lovely drape and fit to a dress (jersey seems to be a trend in prom / evening style dresses this year):

The asymmetrical strap is positioned so as to serve the purpose of holding the dress up properly as well as looking good. The 4 flowers each have 3 Swarovski crsytal beads in the centre, and are all detachable so that they can be repositioned to suit the wearer's fancy on the day.

This has been a lovely dress to work on, and it was really satisfying this afternoon to sit down to make the flowers and be able to take the final pictures!