The Dress Thread

[Axls Rocket Queen]

It looks like that could be easily fixed though, because of the way there's bands of fabric over the bust. I could probably pick the seam open and move everything up a tad if I need to.

That's a good solution because that model is long in the torso. The seam just above the bust is the perfect place to lift it, but you'll probably have to reshape the side seam a bit too as the widest part of the hip (her bum, basically) will sit higher on you and you don't want bagginess around the high hip area. The only other thing to consider is the back. Is that band also at the back? If not you could easily put a seam there too but I have no idea what's going on at the back in relation to the black/white design. Check a back view before buying.

You could also lift it a bit at the shoulder seams too. Maybe splitting the difference between the black band and the shoulder seam would help?

I actually want to do that exact thing on her. Design wise it's not that flattering to have that black band sitting where it is and that corner angle where it is. Luckily they put seams in the exact place you need it. I love it when that happens.

Looks like it's the same in the back!

So it could be done. I've a fairly high waist/short torso for my height so might luck out and not have to do anything with the rest of it I'd have to see what it's like on and see if it's worth messing around with. I frequently have to alter tops and dresses like this because of the small-shoulder issue

[Redhead74]

It looks like that could be easily fixed though, because of the way there's bands of fabric over the bust. I could probably pick the seam open and move everything up a tad if I need to.

That's a good solution because that model is long in the torso. The seam just above the bust is the perfect place to lift it, but you'll probably have to reshape the side seam a bit too as the widest part of the hip (her bum, basically) will sit higher on you and you don't want bagginess around the high hip area. The only other thing to consider is the back. Is that band also at the back? If not you could easily put a seam there too but I have no idea what's going on at the back in relation to the black/white design. Check a back view before buying.

You could also lift it a bit at the shoulder seams too. Maybe splitting the difference between the black band and the shoulder seam would help?

I actually want to do that exact thing on her. Design wise it's not that flattering to have that black band sitting where it is and that corner angle where it is. Luckily they put seams in the exact place you need it. I love it when that happens.

Looks like it's the same in the back!

So it could be done. I've a fairly high waist/short torso for my height so might luck out and not have to do anything with the rest of it I'd have to see what it's like on and see if it's worth messing around with. I frequently have to alter tops and dresses like this because of the small-shoulder issue

Looks great to me. If all you have to do is lift it from that bust seam then thats fab. If you have the time free a little perhaps from the shoulders too might help, but it may not need it because it looks low slung to me at that bust seam. The stretch fabric means the hips might be fine, that depends on your waist measurement. Everyone's different so you could be lucky there. And the back design lines are great, any taking in will mean that the white lines still meet at the side seam.

I know what you mean about altering things. I basically alter EVERYTHING I buy. My waist measurement is smaller than standard patterns so I always taper everything at the waist a bit. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's a pain in the arse (pants with waistbands, for instance) but if its a piece I love I really don't care how much effort I have to put in. I'd rather the thing fit and I can then enjoy it for a long time to come. I also have a thing about hem lengths. I know what works on my shape and fortunately I have to shorten a hem as opposed to needing extra length. Most ready to wear fashion is now definitely being made to accommodate tall people and so everyone who isn't tall pretty much has to shorten their clothes to find that perfect hit point for their height.

[Axls Rocket Queen]

I can usually get away without touching hemlines, unless they hit me at a really awkward point, because for my height I'm all leg. Pretty sure I only wear jeans a couple of inches shorter than my 6'5" boyfriend but shoulders and waistlines often need shifting because my torso is so short.

With a lot of tops it's a case of alter, layer over a tight vest top, or bare half my bra to the world

[Redhead74]

I never have to shorten jeans but I often shorten a dress by an inch or two because I find that a dress looks much better a couple of inches above the knee for me. It's all about leg shape IMO. I have fairly muscly calves due to the ballet I did in my school years and so skirts generally look better above the knee on me. Below the knee I never go more than 1.5". It's such an easy alteration too and means the difference between flattering and dowdy. Every female needs to know the correct hit point for a hem for their height and leg shape.

[Johnny Drama]

I never have to shorten jeans but I often shorten a dress by an inch or two because I find that a dress looks much better a couple of inches above the knee for me. It's all about leg shape IMO. I have fairly muscly calves due to the ballet I did in my school years and so skirts generally look better above the knee on me. Below the knee I never go more than 1.5". It's such an easy alteration too and means the difference between flattering and dowdy. Every female needs to know the correct hit point for a hem for their height and leg shape.

Interesting.

[Axls Rocket Queen]

Ordered the dress, it should be here tomorrow

[MB.]

I bought two shorter dresses and a beach dress, miracles do happen .

All Ana Alcazar (never heard off before, but they had nice dresses).

I also dropped 1 1/2 size (one dress is a size 6 (USA) even. That felt really good!

Inspired by this thread btw.

Edited May 22, 2014 by MB.

[Jackie Moon]

down with pants!

Up with skirts!

[Axls Rocket Queen]

Please excuse my smudgy mirror and absolute wreck of a room

We like?

[Lio]

Looking great, ARQ. So, are the armholes a problem ? Can't see them in the pic

[Axls Rocket Queen]

Hair kinda took care of it huh?

They're not that bad, and the material is pretty stretchy and kinda stays where it's put, so I wouldn't even need to alter it much, should I decide to.

[Lithium]

Please excuse my smudgy mirror and absolute wreck of a room

We like?

[Johnny Drama]

1. Fucking clean up. That looks a nightmare.

2. I'd totally let you put your finger in my bumhole if I were a cat and you were wearing that dress.

3. Your armholes are showing. lol

[ThinkAboutYou]

looking good in the dress ARQ

[Gracii Guns]

ARQ, that dress looks great.

I've made a few more dresses last week, will post photos later.

I'm told that every bride has moments where they wish they had chosen a different dress. I certainly have, but decided just to finish making the dress which I'd already started and be done with it. So...if I was a gazillionaire, or was better at sewing, I would pick this dress which Kim K wore on her US Vogue shoot. The abundance of fabric makes it look sumptuous and luxurious without the need for much detailing. It flatters her figure very well. Many curvy brides go for a corset bodice, which to me looks unnatural and not sexy at all IMO (and I have worn a corset as outerwear in the past, will never do it again).

[Redhead74]

She looks great in that dress Gracii. It's kind of similar to the dress I made for my niece for her deb. My niece insisted on a tulle skirt though. They ALL had tulle skirts! Every single one of them, it was quite hilarious. Must be a 16 yo thing.

Sorry for the sideways pic, I don't have time to fix that.

[Axls Rocket Queen]

She looks great in that dress Gracii. It's kind of similar to the dress I made for my niece for her deb. My niece insisted on a tulle skirt though. They ALL had tulle skirts! Every single one of them, it was quite hilarious. Must be a 16 yo thing.

Sorry for the sideways pic, I don't have time to fix that.

But you have time to comment on nearly every thread in AG?

Lovely dress, not my personal taste but it looks great on her. The whole 'debut' thing is a mystery to me though.

[Gia]

She looks great in that dress Gracii. It's kind of similar to the dress I made for my niece for her deb. My niece insisted on a tulle skirt though. They ALL had tulle skirts! Every single one of them, it was quite hilarious. Must be a 16 yo thing.

Sorry for the sideways pic, I don't have time to fix that.

You made this Red?

It's Beautiful

[Lio]

Ot is beautiful, Red. Thought it was a wedding dress, though

[MB.]

Red, That dress is beautiful, very well made!

[Redhead74]

Thanks guys. Much appreciated.

She looks great in that dress Gracii. It's kind of similar to the dress I made for my niece for her deb. My niece insisted on a tulle skirt though. They ALL had tulle skirts! Every single one of them, it was quite hilarious. Must be a 16 yo thing.

Sorry for the sideways pic, I don't have time to fix that.

But you have time to comment on nearly every thread in AG?

Lovely dress, not my personal taste but it looks great on her. The whole 'debut' thing is a mystery to me though.

I do? I'm pretty sure I only post in:

- general chat

- mccoys thread

- love/sex occasionally

- male fashion

- shoes

And recently the one about Elliot Rodger

That's 5 that I can think of. What are the other posts I'm supposedly making?

[Gracii Guns]

That dress is gorgeous Kim, your niece is very very lucky to have you for an auntie. I like the tulle as well, it looks more whimsical and girly rather than lots of heavy satin. The tulle will move nicely when she's dancing.

Kim, I have a question. It's likely that you have to dress the bigger bride from time to time. (This especially applies to women who are erm, cuddlier than me). Regardless of whether it suits them, I'm sure many are determined to wear a strapless bodice. How do you/they keep their boobs in the right place? I've tried strapless bras (and good, expensive ones at that) and they just keep sliding down (the bra, not my boobs!). Do you just corset them in really tight so they can't move?

[Redhead74]

That dress is gorgeous Kim, your niece is very very lucky to have you for an auntie. I like the tulle as well, it looks more whimsical and girly rather than lots of heavy satin. The tulle will move nicely when she's dancing.

Kim, I have a question. It's likely that you have to dress the bigger bride from time to time. (This especially applies to women who are erm, cuddlier than me). Regardless of whether it suits them, I'm sure many are determined to wear a strapless bodice. How do you/they keep their boobs in the right place? I've tried strapless bras (and good, expensive ones at that) and they just keep sliding down (the bra, not my boobs!). Do you just corset them in really tight so they can't move?

Aaaah, this is my favourite aspect of my job. There's nothing more satisfying than making a dress to fit a big bust perfectly. A strapless dress is all about boning. Regardless of whether it's for a big bust or a small one. I absolutely hate strapless bras and our customers at work do not wear a bra with their dress regardless of how big their bust is. The boning provides all the support. Obviously the bigger the bust the more boning is required to offer the necessary support. Most of the customers allocated to me are D, DD, E or F cups. I've even occasionally get the odd G or J cup.

For the boning itself we use modern polyester boning. You can stitch it directly onto the bodice, which we make out of a type of canvas. On top of that the silk is draped in the required design or lace is moulded over the canvas. I actually took the below pic a few weeks ago because we are a bit unhappy at the moment with the quality of the canvas we are getting. It's losing its rigidness in between the boning after steaming and as a result I took this pic as evidence to show our supplier. But this is the basic internals of a strapless dress.

The canvas forms the main structure of the bodice and onto that we stitch the boning. If you have design lines that interrupt the continuation of the boning you have to stitch it by hand onto the next section. This is probably better shown by some of the pics I made for my niece when I was making her dress. The boning was machine stitched onto the midriff section with enough extension to hand stitch onto the bust section (again sorry for the sideways pic, I'm on my iPad and can't correct it easily):

Then I made the bust section separately:

Then attached the bust to the midriff and finally was able to attach the boning to the bust seams (so that you don't see any of the stitching on the outside silk).

That's the front. I did the same to the back. Boning goes all the way around front and back. My niece is not big busted so she only needed 4 pieces of boning on the front, plus 1 at each side seam and 6 on the back. 12 pieces in total. But a larger busted girl would have 8 pieces on the front, 1 at each side seam and 6 on the back. 16 in total.

That's how a strapless dress stays up.

If there's anything else you want to know let me know and I'll take appropriate pics when I'm at work of what you want. It's so much easier to understand with pics, words alone are just confusing.

PS, and thank you kindly for the compliments.

[Crash Diet]

I'm rather picky about dresses. I actually don't wear many, if any it's to a formal occasion such as a funeral or a wedding.

Here are some dresses I would wear if I had a reason to.

http://www.jovani.com/couture-dresses/157424-10168

http://www.bcbg.com/Elise-Point-d%27Esprit-Feather-Trimmed-Dress/TPE64048-001,default,pd.html?dwvar_TPE64048-001_color=001&cgid=dresses-by-category-gowns-evening#start=135

http://www.bluefly.com/abs-by-allen-schwartz-ocean-blue-silk-blend-floral-print-sleeveless-halter-dress/p/325600901/detail.fly

http://www.bergdorfgoodman.com/Donna-Karan-Eve-Printed-Strapless-Caftan-Gown-Gowns/prod95310062_cat285305__/p.prod?icid=&searchType=EndecaDrivenCat&rte=%252Fcategory.jsp%253FitemId%253Dcat285305%2526pageSize%253D30%2526No%253D0%2526refinements%253D&eItemId=prod95310062&cmCat=product

http://www.bergdorfgoodman.com/Carolina-Herrera-Diamond-Swirl-Print-Gown/prod93510049_cat285305__/p.prod?icid=&searchType=EndecaDrivenCat&rte=%252Fcategory.service%253FitemId%253Dcat285305%2526pageSize%253D30%2526No%253D90%2526Ns%253DPCS_SORT%2526refinements%253D&eItemId=prod93510049&cmCat=product

http://www.bergdorfgoodman.com/Kalinka-Short-Sleeve-Ribbon-Chiffon-Gown-/prod95460011_cat285305__/p.prod?icid=&searchType=EndecaDrivenCat&rte=%252Fcategory.service%253FitemId%253Dcat285305%2526pageSize%253D30%2526No%253D120%2526Ns%253DPCS_SORT%2526refinements%253D&eItemId=prod95460011&cmCat=product

I <3 these dresses, how they look. Not typically, what most would expect I guess but we all prefer different styles/colors.

cool dresses and you have taste, but

Carolina Herrera Diamond Swirl Print Gown$4,990.00

WHAT THE ACTUALY FUCK?

5 thousand bucks for a dress?

(yes, i'm fully awaere, that 1 million dollar dresses exist too)

[Redhead74]

Carolina Herrera

Diamond Swirl Print Gown

$4,990.00

WHAT THE ACTUALY FUCK?

5 thousand bucks for a dress?

(yes, i'm fully awaere, that 1 million dollar dresses exist too)

$1 million dresses are incredibly rare. Not even a couture Dior gown will set you back that much and that's about the height of heights. But $5K is not that much. That's average even for a well made ready to wear gown. Couture gowns cost more than that. Unfortunately. Not to say that it's normal, it's soooooo fucking not normal to spend that on a single garment. But if you want something that is highly constructed and isn't made in china, that's pretty much what things cost nowadays. Couture dresses where I work (and that's not even world renowned) are between $5K and $11K. It's total nonsense but the weird thing is that people actually buy them. It's actually staggering. I wouldn't, but people do. I'm not complaining, it keeps me in a job.