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

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.

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.

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!