Designing Your Unique Bridal Gown

Designing Your Unique Bridal Gown

Designing Your Unique Bridal Gown

You've pictured your wedding gown in your mind. You know what color it is, what the fabric feels like, even how the beadwork is arranged. But you've searched every shop and can't find the perfect match. It's time to try something else: a dressmaker.

Not every bridal gown is found on a hanger in a shop. Many women who know what they're searching for find their unique dress in the hands of a seamstress. Surprisingly, you can get exactly what you want for less time, and money, than you might expect.

When most women think of having a seamstress make a dress, they think of the crinkly, brown paper patterns found in drawers at fabric shops. That's definitely not the case, said Sylvia Deabler, seamstress and owner of Bridal Alterations by Sylvia. Dressmakers are far from limited to patterns found in shops.

"Most everything they want do, it's possible to do," said Deabler, who's been a professional dressmaker for 35 years. From intricate beadwork and pearls to fabrics like raw silk, taffeta or satin, an experienced dressmaker can create nearly any design a bride can imagine.

"You can choose a variety of things and have it look exactly the way you want," she said, "versus buying a dress that's already made and you like part of it and you don't like the other part of it."

For discerning brides, being able to choose each element of the most special gown of their lives is an exciting prospect. But before meeting with a seamstress, you should have an idea of what you're looking for.

"Most of them go through the brides books, and they pick out pictures," said Kathy Sawers, a San Antonio dressmaker. "They've got to have some idea of the style they want and the fabric."

Some brides will combine elements of many different gowns they've seen: the collar of one, the train of other, the bodice of a third. With a custom gown, almost anything is possible. But though the possibilities are limitless, warns Sawers, you should be aware of what things are most flattering on you.

To find out what looks great, you should first try on gowns in a bridal shop. Both Sawers and Deabler agree that it's important you know what your gown will probably look like on you before having it made. Once a dress has been custom made, it's too late to change your mind.

But the advantages often outweigh the risks. For brides who need an unusual size, a custom gown is the answer to their prayers and a solution to their budget.

"Some brides are really petite girls and they're afraid to get a size four, because no one will be able to make it fit them," said Deabler. "Some girls are really tall and they have to pay $50 an inch for extra fabric for manufactured gowns. That's a lot of money involved."

Money aside, most brides realize the importance of the gown and want something unique. "They've looked at pictures and they want the neckline and this one and the sleeve of that one," said Sawers. "This is a one-time thing and they want what they want."

A custom made dress also guarantees a perfect fit, since alterations, naturally, are included. "The advantage of having a custom made dress is it fits your body and no one else's," Deabler said.

"It doesn't matter what shape or size you're in," said Barbara Deckert, a professional dressmaker and vice chair of public relations for the Professional Association of Custom Clothiers. There are many things a dressmaker will do to make the dress fit you, and only you, she said. "There are a number of alterations that can't be made retroactively."

And because most professional seamstresses have been making dresses for years - Sawers has been sewing for 20 years, Deckert for 12 - the quality is exquisite. They agree that a custom gown will be better made than a retail dress.

"You put more detail to it, you put more stitches into the material, you put more time into it," said Deabler. "It's a labor of love, instead of a garment put together in a factory. Those go from one hand to another hand. It's not like somebody is working on your dress and putting time. It's more a labor of time than money, when you have a dress custom made."

"I hate to look at rack clothes. A lot of time they're falling apart," said Sawers. "When I put something together, it's put together to stay."

"There's no comparison. Most ready to wear dresses are like disposable dresses," Deckert said. "You can't let them out - there's nothing there."

With quality must come patience, so brides who want an original gown should choose a seamstress and a style long before the wedding. Some dressmakers are able to help brides up to a month or two before the wedding; others, like Deabler, like more time to prepare.

"If they're planning to have a custom made dress, and they're getting married in a year, they should at least consider 9 months, depending the type of dress they want," Deabler said.

Sawers usually needs less time to prepare. "I like to know at least two or three months ahead of time, and get the fabric and get started," she said. On average, both agree that a simple gown can take as little as a week to sew. The more elaborate the dress, however, the longer it will take.

Surprisingly, despite the amount of labor sewing a gown entails, the prices are reasonable. In some cases, having a unique wedding dress made is less expensive than buying retail.

"You're eliminating the middle man," said Deckert, who added that because dressmakers usually work out of their homes, they have a lower overhead than bridal shops. "I'm not saying that you can make a $6,000 dress for $600. But maybe you could make it for $2,000."

Sawers estimates that the average gown she sews costs about $800, but the price varies greatly. Generally, she charges per seam, but intricate handwork, such as beading and motifs, raises the price.

No matter the cost, dressmakers say they put their hearts into the gowns.

"My priority is making sure that they're happy for their day," said Deabler. "I like to see my brides happy. I want them to be happy with they leave, and happy with what I've done for them."