Weddings

Lace Calme Et Volupté

This summer I had several projects which involved lace. A young client wanted a top for a skirt she had bought for a “cottage core” wedding. The wedding was to be held at Babbington House in England. I found the perfect lace at Gelmor Lace - a family owned company dealing exclusively with authentic french lace for 3 generations. They also had the lace trim which I used to finish the neckline and sleeve edges.

french alençon lace with half bralette in silk charmeuse

The bride wanted to incorporate elements from her mother and grandmother’s wedding dresses. The buttons on the back of the top were from her grandmother’s dress. I used eyelet trim from her mother’’s dress to finish the seams on the inside of the top.

back - lace wedding top with satin-covered buttons 

A client came who was to be a guest at her nephew’s lavish wedding in Rome. She wanted me to replicate an outfit from my website. It was from a trunk show 10 years ago which proves that classic design never goes out of style!

Blouse - Silk chiffon with lycra.  crystal buttons - skirt - Aleçon lace with silk crepe-back satin lining in blush

A very dear and loyal client needed a dress for her daughter’s wedding. (I had made her maternity clothes when she had been pregnant!) She wanted to wear a dress she had gotten from one of my sales a few years back which needed some alteration.s. She also needed a jacket to go with it.. The very talented Michael at B&J Fabrics found the flower motif chiffon-embellished net to which I added the blue details to further coordinate the 2 elements.

Silk shantung puff skirt dress with Navy embroidered design -   silk chiffon on net bolero jacket

back view -  silk shantung dress with net and silk jacket

front - silk shantung strapless dress with flower appliqué and silk ric-rac trim

A client who was made princess of 2 Indonesian islands receives many gift from the royal family of fabric and clothing manufactured in their country. It is expected on her return that she will be wearing them incorporated into her wardrobe. I made this lilac ensemble to go with an embroidered vest of a material akin to plastic. (in picture below)

Irredescent cotton voile shirt using fabric selfvage at center front and unraveled edges as decorative elements.  Gimp trim was also applied.  skirt is a vibrant cotton.  Fabrics from B&J.

Detail of cotton voile irridescent cotton blouse.

client wearing the outfit in Indonesia 

Fabric brought back from India by client- Indigo-dyed cotton paisley

Cotton Vlisco fabric brought to me by a client for a dress she wore at the Gordon Parks Foundation Gala. When I held the fabric up and draped it on her she said she wanted a dress with that exact look of casual draping.

Cotton wax print Vlisco fabric- printed in Holland 

Wax print dress from studio - now in client collection - I found the same floral motif in a tablecloth my husband’s mother made in the 60’s

Vlisco wax print dress with pockets in traditional pattern

in client's collection - vlisco print of hand holding flowers - I found the pattern more appealing and less obvious when placed upside down and at an angle on the body.

vlisco wax print cotton one shoulder dress - hands holding a bunch of flowers

Vlisco wax print skirt with designer's own blouse - japanese cotton with selvage detail- after Matisse-

moving into early fall- a 2-tone denim jacket with antique Austrian buttons over a linen dress-in-progress for client - jacket also has coordinating brown denim trousers.

Cotton denim jacket with zip front  - linen dress with front buttons

The summer went by fast! Lots of work and also new grand nieces, visits with friends and family and lots of bike rides

Thanks for stopping by - Remember to Dress for pleasure❣️

Weddings!

Over the last few months I have been working on several projects for weddings. I was lucky to design 3 Mother of the Bride/Groom dresses, a wedding dress for a Cathedral wedding and a wedding reception dress for my lovely niece and model. The last was a fairy tale wedding in Sintra Portugal which I also attended.

Sintra wedding - Ellie is wearing green silk peony dress- hand-painted by Eve Vaterlaus

The large floral print silk was chosen for it’s vibrant greens for a wedding in Ireland.

Mother of the Bride dress in silk shantung - with half cummerbund belt.

Large flower print bursting with vitality, as is it’s owner - for a wedding in Bermuda - the body and weight of the fabric leant itself to a simple figure-flattering shape.

Mother of the Bride dress in 6-ply organza

This wedding dress was a challenge to construct. The Bride was inspired by a Halston dress designed for Liza Minnelli. I love the contrast between the shimmering silver sequins and the fragile slightly irridescent silk chiffon. Luckily, Michael at B and J Fabrics was able to find the gorgeous chiffon which was super light, yet able to bear the weight of the dress.

virtual wedding at St John the Divine - silver metal sequins on silk chiffon with silk chiffon bodice/sleeve

This dress was draped on the client out of a single length of silk chiffon

Silk Chiffon burnout Mother of the Groom dress

The wedding of my niece was held in a fairytale castle on a perfect moonlit night in Sintra , Portugal.

Looking back on Summer

It was such a busy summer I haven’t really had time to post, so I am just now transitioning into Fall and wrapping up some projects from the months before.

June was wedding month and I made the wedding dress for my beloved niece (and model!)

The wedding was in Cooperstown New York with a beautiful lake as backdrop on a gorgeous late Spring afternoon. Of course everyone danced and celebrated well into the night.

We worked on the dress for a whole year which was a fabulous luxury.

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detail of French Lace (sequined beadwork) on wedding dress

detail of French Lace (sequined beadwork) on wedding dress

Trunk show in May

My trunk show, given by 2 of my dear clients and friends was a big success and a lot of fun.

2 of my new cardigans in ponté knit with appliqués modeled by the 2 hosts

2 of my new cardigans in ponté knit with appliqués modeled by the 2 hosts

Yves Klein blue silk and wool suit

Yves Klein blue silk and wool suit

African Dutch wax-print dress with kimono sleeve

African Dutch wax-print dress with kimono sleeve

New Dance Costumes!!

I was invited to design new costumes for an older Trisha Brown work called “Working Title”. With very little time I used as my starting point fabrics I had already in the studio. After receiving a green light from the 2 artistic directors of the company I felt free to compose the costumes by instinct using as reference everything I learned from working with Trisha and her style of movement and playful spirit.

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At rehearsal

At rehearsal

An Antique Dress

I was asked to work on a dress and revive it as much as possible for inclusion in the beautiful upcoming catalog of Cora Ginsburg

Cora Ginsburg where I worked restoring a dress from the 1800’s

Cora Ginsburg where I worked restoring a dress from the 1800’s

The dress I was asked to restore was a “Fancy dress” most likely worn for a Ball at a private house in England in the 1820’s

I replaced underskirt with tea-dyed silk tafetta, repaired torn net overskirt with silk crepeline and added original silk band to underskirt

I replaced underskirt with tea-dyed silk tafetta, repaired torn net overskirt with silk crepeline and added original silk band to underskirt

Detail of bow on 1820’s dress

Detail of bow on 1820’s dress

In Memoriam

My beloved Father passed away just 10 days after we celebrated his 97 birthday in August. He was able to attend the wedding of his granddaughter and reunite with his 93 year old brother who he hadn’t seen in 20 years. He was my biggest inspiration and fan. A man of boundless heart and imagination. His brother, my uncle passed away just 2 weeks later. we Miss them.



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wedding sketches on a sunday morning

I love making wedding dresses.   It is always such a collaboration between the bride and myself.    It is a process of getting to know the bride- her life style, personality, likes and dislikes.   I want the bride to feel completely comfortable and herself on her wedding day. . . .and of course, beautiful.   The dress should feel organic and inevitable, as though it grew out of her life story.   The bride should feel simply gorgeous! There are as many wedding dresses as there are brides and I love taking that journey of creative exploration .   They, also, seem to love the process. . .

Alenćon Lace bodice with silk chiffon skirt and lightly beaded chiffon sleeves

Alenćon Lace bodice with silk chiffon skirt and lightly beaded chiffon sleeves

Lace Bodice - off the shoulder silk mesh wrap and silk mesh many-layered skirt

Lace Bodice - off the shoulder silk mesh wrap and silk mesh many-layered skirt

Silk Chiffon with beaded details and appliqué silk flowers - embellished cuffs

Silk Chiffon with beaded details and appliqué silk flowers - embellished cuffs