Thursday, April 29, 2010

THE dress

The hardest thing i've ever made; at least it was for me;)

My original inspiration was an Ines di Santo wedding gown that was way out of my budget. So I decided to make it myself at about 1/5th of the price.  I used silk taffeta in a pale pinkinsh ivory color (15 yards of it!!).  The flowers, all 80 of them, are constructed of silk taffeta and silk organza with glass pearl centers.  While the dress is quite fitted, it is constructed in a way that the only visible seam on the outside of the dress is the center back seam where it zips.  It was very challenging to wrap the the ruching around the dress without any side seams.  Each ruched area had to be sewed in place by hand.  The dress is actually three layers; the inside (lining), the center layer contains the fit and has princess seams as well as the inner support bodice, the outer layer is the ruched silk. 

These are the inspiration dresses that I tried on, they were both by Ines di Santo.  The first Ines di Santo dress I tried on had a bubble hem.  It was actually a strapless dress but one of the trails of flowers fell off the skirt so I pinned it on the shoulder and it was really cute but then she told me the price.....$10,000 (beautiful, but way too expensive for my budget).  The consultant then remembered that there was a one shoulder flower dress that would be in the next week, so I went back.......
and tried on this dress.  This is Francine.  I loved the sweetheart neck, mermaid silhouette, and bunches of flowers at the knee and over the shoulder.  This dress was still too expensive ($5,000) plus I wanted my dress to have a pinkish ivory color but it was not available in that color.  So I decided to make it myself.  It took me two days to figure out how to make the flowers and about 250 hours of patternmaking and sewing to complete the project.  I used these pictures that I took at the salon plus the magazine picture that I found to recreate my version of the dress.
This is Francine in their magazine ads.....BEAUTIFUL!
The side by side comparison.

All of the hard work was worth it.  I think the dress looked pretty fantastic on our special day!


click on image for a larger view

Check me out and vote for my design at seven thirty three's knock it off contest.

enjoy,

25 comments:

  1. And it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!

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  2. are you for real?!? THis is amazing! YOu are incredibly gifted. Nicely done:)

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  3. Oh my gosh. I thought the first picture was your inspiration picture! FAB-you-lous!!!!! AMAZING!!!!

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  4. Amazing!! You look beautiful and how wonderful that you made it!

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  5. Wow. Just wow. Both you and your dress look amazing. You should be incredibly proud. Congrats on the nuptials as well.

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  6. Although I am also entered in teh 733 contest I just had to vote for you. What an amazing accomplishment to make your own wedding dress and it turn out so beautifully. I am in awe.

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  7. That is awesome! I entered the contest too but I think you've already won it! Great job!

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  8. You MADE that? How positively STUNNING!!!!

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  9. Wow that's amazing! You are VERY talented! New follower :)

    dominiquescraftcouture.blogspot.com

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  10. WOW! That is INSANELY amazing!! You are super talented!! The dress is gorgeous and you look gorgeous in it!! WOW.
    I found you from seven thirty three's knock off contest! :)
    ~Maria-Isabel

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  11. I am in awe of your talent! Gorgeous dress! I'd love to share this on my blog, encourage other brides to consider making their dress and highlight your talent! -Heather

    500dollarwedding.blogspot.com

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  12. omg- your dress is beautiful! I saw it on 733 and thought it was an ad for a wedding dress! Gorgeous!

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  13. I AM YOUR NEWEST FOLLOWER. WOW YOU ARE AMAZINGLY TALENTED. I AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR DRESS. I WOULD BE HONORED IF YOU WOULD LINK YOUR BLOG UP ON MY BLOG STALKIN' PAGE. THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR AMAZINGNESS WITH THE REST OF US, UNTALENTED PEOPLE. LOL

    http://alaynahoward.blogspot.com/p/blog-stalkin.html

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  14. WOW, you can be proud of yourself ! Breath taking. I am in love with this dress !
    Xo
    Frenchy

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  15. AMAZING! You are so talented! GREAT job!! Stopping by from Knock it Off contest and this deserves to win by FAR!

    eisymorgan.blogspot.com

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  16. Incredible. What a fabulous, unique, special dress for your wedding day! Just superb.

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  17. Wow, what a gorgeous and inspired dress. I admire your perseverance for putting some much time and patience into it. I don't know how you happened to want a pinkish ivory, another nice custom touch.

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  18. Wow, you are so amazingly talented, that is one gorgeous dress!!!

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  19. You have some SERIOUS sewing skill, girl! :) Love the dress- you look gorgeous in it!
    kirstin @ kojodesigns

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  20. Holy cow. I have to say, I like your version better than any of the inspiration dresses! It just flows really nicely, and although it has amazing detail, it's also kind of elegantly simple, too. LOVELY!

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  21. Gorgeous,, you should be extremely proud of yourself it is totally amazing.. And you look stunning : )

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  22. You are so incredibly talented! WOW!!! beautiful!!!!

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  23. You did a incredible job! I've always wanted the challenge of making a wedding dress. I admire anyone that attempts a project like this.

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