RE-STYLED WEDDING GOWN

 I had the pleasure of working on another project that involved taking my Bride's Mother's wedding gown and re-styling it so that she could wear it.  Originally she planned on wearing it on her big day, but after finding a gown at a bridal shop that just spoke to her, she decided she would like me to re-style Mom's gown for her rehearsal dinner.         

                                                                           

This is Mom's circa 1980's wedding gown.  Having gotten married in this same era myself, I knew when she told me the year her folks were married that I'd be getting a very large gown....large sleeves, large (and long) train and a large full skirt.  

Marissa was open to ideas from me on how we could re-style the gown.  The good news was the gown was in great shape!  Very little yellowing (a bit on some of the sequins and pearls) and no stains.  Based upon the classic heavy beading of that era, I felt we definitely needed to utilize the bodice.  I knew that I could remove the neckline and sleeves and make it into a strapless bodice.  As for the skirt, we landed on a hi-low circle shape skirt.  Once I knew the design, I was off to the races. 

The majority of my workload was in the disassemby of the gown.     I chose to start with the bodice. I removed the sleeves and the netting for the front and back bodice.  

        
  I had it easy from a fit perspective since Marissa and her Mom were virtually the same size.  Other than adding some additional structure to the bodice due to the fact that it was strapless, the circumference was perfect!       I chose to change the shape of the waistline by eliminating the deep point at the center front.                                                                   The largest amount of workload came when I had to remove the ruffles and appliques from the back train....that literally took hours.  Once that was finished, I created the pattern for the shape of my skirt and then laid that on top of the existing gown to cut the new skirt.   As you can see, the skirt has the same layers as her Mom's....satin underlayer, chiffon overlay.   There was a gorgeous lace on the train that truly was lost in all the ruffles.  I showed Marissa that I wanted to use that at the hemline once I removed the ruffling and laid it flat you couldn't even recognize it.                                              
  

I have to say there was work in the bodice.  Obviously, I had to re-set the zipper.  I also added boning, cups and silicone tape since Marissa was going to need that structure for it to effectively stay put.  I also sewed on the beautiful satin buttons down the length of the zipper.  

The final steps were to handsewn on some of the lovely appliques which were scattered over her Mom's skirt.  Just a touch.  I'm hoping to get some pictures from the rehearsal dinner night, which was last weekend, but in the meantime, since this project was a 2022 project, I was excited to share.