This time last year I had just completed my most important and personal private commission: my sister’s wedding dress! Six months of planning, fabric sourcing, endless scrolling through Pinterest and working pretty much every Saturday to create the perfect dress for my favourite person. As it’s her first wedding anniversary this weekend, I’m sharing (with her permission, of course!) some of the “behind the seams” details about what goes into the creation of a bespoke garment, why it costs more, and why we should extend that “special day” mentality to our everyday wardrobes.
Choosing fabrics
Designer Cristobal Balenciaga said he would always let the fabric choices determine what was being made (“it is the fabric that decides”) and it’s important to remember that fabric choice will affect the shape and movement of a garment. As my boss is fond of saying, “these are hands, not wands!” and even the most skilled dressmaker cannot persuade fabric to disobey the laws of physics!
Rosie knew straight away what sort of skirt she wanted: something full but soft, topped with layers of white tulle. We built the skirt from five separate layers of fabric:
- a silk and cotton mix for the petticoat: soft and light but not static, so it wouldn’t stick to her legs.
- A layer of cotton bobbinet to give the skirt shape and body. This would be scratchy if it was worn next to the skin, so the petticoat layer was important.
- A panelled skirt made from silk, custom-dyed a silvery grey to break up the white and add depth. The panels ensure a smooth fit from the waist, while adding fullness at the hem and a bit of extra length at the back.
- Two layers of silk tulle, which is very soft but surprisingly durable and resistant to ripping. This was carefully gathered to add extra fullness at the back.
All these layers were stitched to a peplum made from a stiff coutil, fitted from Rosie’s waist to her top hip.
One of the ways that mass-production of clothing saves money is its economies of scale: fabric costs less per metre if you are buying five thousand metres rather than just five. Fast fashion manufacturers aren’t too fussy about the quality of a lot of their fabrics: online shopping means that customers don’t get to feel the clothes until after they have purchased them, and the draw of the garments isn’t sensual luxury, it’s a must-have micro-trend or a too-good-to-be-true price. A wedding dress needs fabrics that are perfect for those up-close-and-personal moments: tactile guests (and the bride’s spouse, of course, not to mention the bride herself!) are expecting something that feels special.
Natural fabrics have a beautiful movement to them which Rosie’s wedding photographer Emma at Epic Love Story* captured perfectly. I was delighted that the dress looked so wonderful mid-twirl, but it wasn’t a happy accident. Each element of the skirt was carefully planned to achieve this effect.
Firm foundations
Rosie had her heart set on a dress with a cut-out back and a sheer top, and she also had her heart set on one heck of an evening party, so we knew straight away that this dress was going to need bespoke underwear. too. There are some occasions where a stick-on backless bra just isn’t going to cut it.
Lingerie pattern cutting is a very specific skill and not one I have a lot of experience with, so it took three fittings and a lot of pattern adjustment to create the perfect cup shape for the backless bustier that Rosie would wear under the dress. Working on perfecting a pattern is always time well spent, but in a factory setting this pattern would then be used for thousands of garments. For a bespoke piece, the pattern is used only once, and then the whole process begins again for the next garment.
Another important pattern piece to get right was the peplum for the different layers of the skirt to attach to. This had to fit snugly from the waist to the top hip as the bustier would be attached to it with hooks to give the backless foundation garment some stability.
I made the bustier from silk jersey stretched over powermesh, and boned each seam. As well as adding hooks to the bottom of the bustier to attach it to the skirt peplum, I also added clear plastic bra straps over the shoulders for extra security. We checked the whole get-up at the last fitting; as well as ensuring that Rosie could walk and sit without coming unhooked, I also encouraged her to bounce around in an enthusiastic dance to make sure that there wouldn’t be any wardrobe malfunctions mid-party!
While high street garments are fitted at the product development stage, usually on a fit model who maintains a specific set of vital statistics, these fittings probably aren’t as rigorous as they ought to be, judging by some of the clothes that make it into the shops! Anyone who has tried to sit or (ouch!) bend over in a jumpsuit that looked fine when you were just standing in front of a mirror, or has felt an entire outfit travel upwards when you lift your arms (see my post on why sleeves are terrible here) will know what I’m talking about. With bespoke clothing, you have the option to try out anything you need to be able to do while wearing your garment to check that it’s fit for purpose.
Foundation garments might have old-fashioned connotations, but they are a key part of so many formal and red carpet looks. The perfect underwear for an outfit doesn’t have to be invisible, but it should be well-fitting and comfortable!
Something old, something new...
We chose traditional fabrics for the skirt for Rosie’s dress, but we ended up using a modern fabric for the top: an embroidered net with abstract 3D flowers. I positioned each pattern piece carefully on the fabric to ensure I was making the most of the embroidered sections, then removed and re-stitched any flowers that were too near a seam or in an awkward position. I also attached a scattering of the flowers to the the skirt once I had sewn the top to the skirt so the dress would look like a complete ensemble rather than separate pieces. Because the top was sheer, I used couture construction methods like French seams, and a hand-finished bound neckline to ensure the dress would look perfect in every close-up.
Time is money, so speed is of the essence when it comes to fast fashion. Pattern pieces will be cut from fabric in the most economical, not the most aesthetically pleasing way, and finishings will be basic, usually relying on overlocking or topstitching to ensure a neat, if not beautifully crafted, finish.
I hope this post has demonstrated some of the differences between fast fashion and bespoke clothing, and illustrated why bespoke costs more! I find it interesting that while most women will get their wedding dress altered, even if they aren’t getting a completely bespoke dress, they probably wouldn’t consider doing the same for the rest of their wardrobe. Yes, you are likely to be photographed more in your wedding dress than in any other outfit, but (usually) you only wear it once.
Applying that “I deserve to look marvellous” mentality to the clothes you wear most often could have plenty of benefits beside making you feel photogenic. Well-fitting clothes will make you feel more comfortable, and if you’re satisfied with your clothes you’ll wear them for longer, rather than discarding them and continuing the never-ending search for that elusive perfect garment.
Having clothes fitted can be a nerve-wracking experience (although I think in the case of the wedding dress I was more nervous than Rosie!) but it shouldn’t be, if the focus is on the right thing. Everyone’s body is unique, but clothes sizing is generic. If we can remember that it’s the clothes that are the wrong size, not our bodies, then we can take a step towards a better relationship with our bodies and our clothes.
* All the photos-within-a-photo were taken by the amazing Emma, who runs her own wedding photography business, Epic Love Story. You can find her (and more photos of Rosie and Jon's wedding!) on her Instagram.
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