May Day 2015--Queen's Dress

I love building dream gowns and this was one of those kinds of dresses.  Edyn came to me with a basic idea of what she wanted: something that looked like Queen Emma with dramatic hemlines and wide necklines with lots of embellishment. Edyn's Kumu wanted the dress to be form fitting so her dance would have more expression and would be emphasized. Edyn's mom wanted drama and rich colors.

Here are some of the inspiration images:

And here are some of the original design sketches:

And some of the first fabric options:

But this is what we finally came up with, the final design sketch:

The final fabric choices.  Gold for the body and Raspberry, Vanilla and Olive accents for the floral embellishments:

And the dress:


Back view but she is holding her train up.  The train is 8 ft long and is removeable so she can dance without it.

In action:

After the show:

Edyn on the right and me on the left

May Day 2015--Ladies in Waiting

My daughter watches me make dresses year round for other people and I rarely have an opportunity to make one for her. When she made May Day Court this spring the thing foremost on her mind was the dress that I would make for her.

My daughter (left) and her friend.

My daughter and the other representatives for Molokai.

 I made the satin dresses for the Island Ladies in waiting with the exception of the yellow and red dresses.

Lace Wedding Gown

Here is the wedding dress I made last month on the lovely Mrs. Rachel Watkins Toone.  Best wishes to the new couple!

Kahuku Prom 2015

Only had about a week from the end of the play to Prom but I managed to squeeze a few dresses in.  I did one custom dress, 5 dress alterations, a shrug, and 2 sets of suit slacks.  Here's a few pictures.

Beautiful Talianne loved her dress so much last year she asked me to make another.  She brought me her design ideas and I custom drafted the pattern for her and made her the dress of her dreams.  She looked stunning in the black and gold lace gown.

These lovely girls found their dresses in Chinatown and just needed a few adjustments.  The sister in blue wanted a shrug and a little taken in from the sides and the sister in red wanted some sleevelets.

I couldn't leave out my son! We purchased his suit at Nordstroms Rack and really lucked out. It was a great price and fit him pretty much right off the rack, only required a simple hem.

Beautiful Nu'u

I was honored to work with Kahuku's homecoming queen this year.  She didn't have much notice but fortunately she already had a good idea of what she liked. This custom full length princess seamed formal has a lace overlay, scalloped neckline and cap sleeves.

May Day Queen 2014

My sewing project this week was this beautiful dress for May Day Queen Jordyn Tuliloa, a near replica of the dress worn by the actress portraying Princess Kaiulani in the movie of the same name.

Queen Jordyn as she walks onto stage

Back view after being crowned and receiving her lei's

 The skirt was changed to mermaid style to accentuate her hula and fabric was changed for the same reason. The dress was made of Ivory taffeta and gold lame contrast and lace trim. It is fully lined with a built in corset and petticoat and an invisible zipper down the back. The double poofed, off-shoulder sleeves are supported with a net interior lining. The large rosette at the front and 3 mini rosettes at the back are hand made. The front rosette is made from one 45" long bias strip. All rosettes have silver beads at the center.

Back view of dress in movie

A little over a month ago Jordyn's mom brought me these two pictures, clips from the movie, and asked if I could replicate it. I looked for a pattern that was similar but found nothing so I set out to make it from scratch. The entire pattern was hand drafted and fit to Jordyn. Due to other engagements I was unable to do the bulk of the work until the week before May Day. I was grateful that the Tuliloa's were understanding of my schedule restrictions and trusted me when I said I could get it done.

Front view of dress in movie

When all was said and done I spent over 50 hours on the dress. This includes the time I spent researching, shopping for fabric and notions, making patterns and mock ups, constructing the dress, conducting fittings and hand finishing the whole thing.

I loved working on this challenging project and was so pleased that it was received with rave reviews by her parents, extended family and community.

I love my job!

Custom Formal Aloha wear

What a doll! This young lady is fantastic! I enjoyed getting to know her better and for the opportunity to make her this custom dress. I sure hope everything went well for you Jaz.

This dress is made from a Satin print and is fully lined. The pattern was simple and went together very quickly. No alterations to design or fit were necessary.

Bridal Alterations: Mari

Congratulations to Mari on your recent wedding! Thank you for asking me to help you with your alterations. To make the dress perfect we took in the side seams, fixed a pucker in the lace and did some work to the train and hem. Best Wishes to you!

Bridal Alterations for Stacey

I enjoyed working with the Beautiful Stacey to make her wedding dress perfect. We took in the side seams and darts, adjusted the sleeves, took up the hem and repaired a few small holes in the lace. While we were at it we decided to add a simple bustle to make dancing a bit easier. Congratulations Stacey and Best Wishes in your new life together!

Prom Alterations and a Custom Dress

I've been very busy this week spitting out Prom dress alterations and a custom dress. I have sure enjoyed working with these girls and hope they enjoy their special night.

Miss Kaitoku had modesty sleevelets added and the hem adjusted.

Kahuku Prom

Taylor

Taylor purchased her dress online through Amazon. I added over the shoulder and full back--with keyhole at center back--modesty sleevelets. I also took in 6 inches! through center back. Lastly, I steamed the dress to get out all the packaging wrinkles (the dress arrived in nothing more than a plastic bubble wrap envelope). The dress was very long for her but to avoid having to hem it she wore 4 inch heels. Wow! Doesn't she look beautiful.

 Aleena

Aleena found her dress at Ross and wanted to add some simple cap sleeves. The only material should could find that was close to matching was netting. I made her cap sleeves out of three layers of netting with the middle layer being a sparkly glittery netting that really made the dress and Aleena shine. 

Tiare

Tiare also ordered her dress online. It fit her beautifully with the exception of the hem. I took it up 4 inches through the waist. We chose to do the hem through the waist because the dye in the skirt is graduated and we wanted to retain as much dark on the bottom of the skirt as possible. At her request I also added some simple over the shoulder gathered modesty sleevelets. What a lovely young lady!

I have a few more prom dresses coming up for next months Kamehameha Prom. Stay tuned . . .

Prom Dress Alterations

Prom Dress orders have been coming in like wildfire this week. I've been adjusting hems, taking in side seams and adding modesty panels and sleeves for these young ladies. I will be meeting them over at the temple for pictures on Thursday and will post pics then. I'm so excited! They all look so beautiful!

Hemming Up Miss North Shore Oahu

Not the best pictures of my handiwork but fabulous pictures of Kahuku's own Miss North Shore Oahu. Congratulations Dezarae!

For more about the work I did on this dress please see my post Emergency Pageant Dress Alterations.

Emergency Pageant Dress Alterations

I got another panicked call this week: another mail order dress that didn't fit. Mari from Kahuku received the dress in the mail on Monday and desperately needed it ready for her daughter's pageant on Saturday. We quickly pulled our calendars together and made arrangements to meet.

Her daughter looked lovely in the aqua gown but the problem was immediately apparent: the dress was 5 inches too long even with heels on! The triple layer chiffon with a specialty hem treatment was the second problem. This dress could not be taken up by the hem. We quickly decided the simplest solution would be to take it up through the waist.

So this week I took the dress apart. I totally dismantled the skirt from the bodice. I took out the zipper. I chopped 5 inches off the length from the waist. I regathered the dress onto the bodice. I replaced the zipper. And then I restitched the lining in place. Viola! It fit perfect and she won Miss Congeniality!

Congratulations Dezarae!

Mail Order dresses can be a great deal especially from reputable dealers. (Dezarae bought hers from Amazon). But even the best dresses often need an alteration or two. When ordering a dress be sure to order it early enough to get alterations if necessary. Dezarae was so very lucky I had any time to fit her in. If you have ordered a dress and need some alterations give me a call, formals are my favorite kind of work!

Custom Bridesmaid Dresses

I just finished four beautiful dresses for four beautiful sisters.  The Logan girls were getting ready to celebrate their brother's wedding in style wearing coral satin dresses. Though most of them were using the same fabric and the same style pattern all of them wanted their own spin on it.  Abby wanted a long dress with pleats and a tie. Liz wanted a calf length dress and 3/4 length sleeves. Eliza wanted a short dress with a big bow in the back. Hannah wanted a sheer band at the hem and a sheer tie at the waist.

We began talking about styles and making plans at the end of June. At our first appointment I took measurements and we discussed particulars. Our second meeting, the first fitting, was a few weeks later. Each girl tried on her unfinished dress so I could test out the fit and make sure everything was moving in the right direction.  There were a few adjustments that needed to be made and these were made note of at this time.

This week during the final fitting each girl tried on her finished dress to make sure it was perfect.  I taught them how to properly tie the bows so they wouldn't flop. We also talked about proper care and maintenance of a satin dress (DO NOT USE A HOT IRON!). At this final fitting we noticed a couple of simple adjustments were needed on one of the dresses.  I took that one dress home, made the changes--just a few stitches really--and returned the perfect dress a few hours later.

The one exception to all of the fittings was Abby. She lives in Utah so I was never able to meet with her personally.  She took her own measurements. When the dress was ready for the first fitting her brother took her the dress in Utah and she tried it on there. She took lots of pictures and marked it up with needed changes and we talked on the phone about what she wanted and needed. When the dress came back I made the changes, crossed my fingers and sent it back to Utah with her mom. We made sure it got there early enough to get it altered there if necessary. I am anxiously awaiting the report on that dress.

The wedding is this weekend and I've been promised pictures.  The girls looked fantastic at their final fitting so I can't wait to see them fully decked in their fancy shoes, jewelery and up-do's.

update: Here's the photos I downloaded from Facebook.  Thank you Logan's and I'm glad you had such a great time and felt so beautiful!

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Getting ready for a wedding, a BYUH formal or Kahuku Prom? Are you interested in having something custom made? For more information please see my Custom Formal Attire Price List.