One of my favorite projects over the many years I have been a dressmaker is remaking a vintage wedding gown. It may have belonged to the bride’s mother or grandmother or even the groom’s family. I have known families who invested in one gown and it became a tradition to use it for several generations.
Sometimes, it’s an emotional attachment to the gown. Maybe the bride has always admired her grandmother’s long and happy marriage or her mother has passed away and this is a way to include her in the festivities.
Whatever the reason, I always feel honored to be part of the process and it can be a very involved process at that. The bride is almost always bigger than the original wearer of the gown. There can be issues with the wear and tear of the gown, especially if it wasn’t preserved properly. And then there’s the problem of style. The bride has to feel like it is now her dress and not a “hand-me-down.”
A gown I worked on recently was beautifully preserved, although a bit crumpled from being in the preservation box since 1955. The dress was satin with a lace overlay, and a net skirt. The bride wanted to keep the original design as much as possible but it was way too small across the back for the bride. Also, the Chantilly lace was a bit fragile. Fortunately, the lace capelet covering the shoulders still fit her so I “only” had to recut the side back panels. I found a lace that was the same pattern as the original, although the rose motif was a bit smaller and I had to tea dye (several times) the satin to match. After fitting the gown, I gave it a good hand press and it looked beautiful on the bride.
Barbara Stone is the owner of Barbara Stone Designs, a full-service tailoring and dressmaking business at 5200 Churn Creek Road, Suite P, Redding, CA, 96002. She can be reached at (530) 222-1340 or bstonedesigns@sbcglobal.net.