Train Roots: Dream dress from Grandma - Part 1

August 2010, a darling young woman with a huge smile wondered in on a Saturday during open hours to begin gathering information about the custom dress process. She was hoping to use her grandmother’s dress from 1951 and had a photo collection of a ruched and pleated dress with various gathered details that she was hoping to transform her grandmother’s into. Despite the classic full skirt and train that made up her grandmother’s dress, I was afraid there would not be enough fabric to indulge all gathers and full skirt she was dreaming off. As I was measuring the fabric yardage in the grandmother’s dress I remembered a vintage dress I had purchased a year ago. Hidden in my armoires’ I revealed the dress that was exactly the same silhouette of her grandmother’s, merely two shades different in color and made from the same satin. Combining the two dresses would give Kelly the dress of her wedding dreams!

Before Reconstruction - stock dress left, Granmothers right

Ecolavish winnings

A few months later in November, Twice Blushed would be participating in the Ecolavaish fashion show.  Throughout the show many items were given away to the audience, one of which was a gift certificate to put towards a custom reconstructed Twice Blushed gown.  Kelly attended the show and was the lucky winner of a Twice Blushed Gift certificate! 

After the New Year I begin creating the mock-up of Kelly’s dress.  As I was working on the pattern I decided it best to make an entire full functioning dress instead of just the cotton mock up to test the pattern.  This way I could nail the execution of the pleats and make sure I had thought through all of the sewing and construction techniques in the proper order.  Kelly was quite surprised when she came for her first fitting and saw the full dress.  She first thought it was the real deal!  While moving through the fitting Kelly mentioned that she was going home to visit her grandmother who was not doing well and may not be able to attend the wedding.   We took a few photos of the full practice mock-up dress which allowed Gran to see what her 1950’s wedding dress would be transformed into for Kelly.   That full mock–up served more than just the purpose of a fitting.

Mock up gown

 In February 2011, Photographer Jason Fukura and I were planning a play day photo shoot.  I invited a few of my photogenic friends and current brides to play dress up.  This is a great practice session for the brides to get dressed up, trial run their hair and determine their best side and smile before the big day.  Kelly joined us and wore her full mock up dress for the photos.  The photos turned out wonderfully and I began constructing her real gown the next week.  (Mock-up made of cotton- silk satin blend and is available for purchase.)

I spent approximately 10 hours on the following; separating the bodice from the skirt of the 2 vintage dresses, taking out the skirt seams and pressing out my stock dress to determining grain lines, assessing stained areas along both hems, determining the best way to lay-out the pattern pieces to have any left-over fabric (just in case), finally cutting out the dress.  After roughly 30 hours of sewing the dress was complete.   The entire ruched and pleated top half of Kelly’s dress was constructed from my stock vintage dress and the skirt of her grandmother’s dress minus the train was kept mostly intact but shifted to hang on the bias and transplanted to the new dress.   Of course the buttons from her grandmother dress were set onto her new dress.  It was a perfect marriage of dresses. 

 

After two fittings of nips, tucks and setting the hemline with the petticoat, Kelly’s dress was embellished with rhinestone broaches and finished. Her dress was a wonderful labor of love for all involved. Best of all her grandmother was able to attend! …Kelly believed that having the mock-up photos to show her Gran was an additional motivator to make the trip, another happy ending.

 

Grandma and Kelly sharing a photo of Gran from her wedding.