Bridal, Prom & Other Formal Wear Alterations – What to Expect & What Will it Cost

Bridal, Prom & Other Formal Wear Alterations – What to Expect & What Will it Cost

By Laura D. Field of Davina Dawn Sewing Specialties

As a seamstress, there is nothing better than seeing a client leave with a smile knowing that you made their garment fit them the way they envisioned it to fit.  It’s a joy to see that the final look is flattering on them as well as makes them feel beautiful.

My services include a large variety of alterations and custom sewing, but this article is about altering the gowns.  The client is either arriving with a gown they spent many hours shopping for, an heirloom gown that was passed down to them, or having to wear a dress that was selected for them (re: bridesmaids).  My goal as a seamstress is to provide a fit that works for the dress and client.  Many times they have an idea of what they want, and as a team, I work with my client to reach their goal.  Sometimes, I might make a few suggestions, and sometimes I will suggest not doing something if the change is not that imperative to the occasion.

Many of my clients are repeat or recommended by my past clients.  But I do get many new clients who, for the first time, need a seamstress to alter their gown.  The first question I often get is “How much will this cost?” along with the added comment that “It just needs a few simple alterations”.  It is so difficult for a seamstress to provide an estimate over the phone without seeing the dress in person, the materials it is made out of, and how the dress is fitting the particular client.  Everyone is shaped different, making the same gown look different on each lady who wears it.  And, what might seem “simple” is actually a little more involved than what one would generally expect.

How to prepare for your fitting and alterations:

• BRING the shoes that you plan on wearing, or at least a pair in the same height you expect to wear.  Change in height equals additional alteration costs
• Wear/Bring your undergarments you plan on wearing.  Every undergarment is different and can add inches.
• Bring along the required cash deposit
• BE ON TIME – If you are late, and/or another client arrives on time, you risk the possibility of your appointment being rescheduled and possibly being charged for lost time.  Time is set aside specifically for you, to discuss what you want done, measure, pin, etc., to be sure I know what you are looking to have done so if can be done efficiently.  Call 24-48 hrs in advance to cancel your appointment.

What can you expect when you arrive for your fitting and alterations: 

• Inspection of your gown to see what type of material I will be working with, how it is made, how it fits you, etc.
• Discussion of what you are looking to have done.  This is your gown.  Since I am not wearing the gown I will need to understand what you specifically want done. 
• I will always explain why I can’t do something you had your heart on, and offer an alternative, or suggest not doing it at all.  But in the end, it is your decision.
• I will suggest what I see needing to be done, but you will never be pressured to use that suggestion.
• You will leave with an estimate of your alteration costs.  This is just an “estimate” and could change depending on finding something I didn’t expect, you making changes, etc.
• You will find that I want you to feel confident in knowing that I’m here to do a quality job for you.  You will be given my contact information so that you can reach me via phone or email for any questions you might have after you leave.

When Should I Book my First Fitting/Consult?

• Brides - at least 6 weeks in advance
• Bridesmaids, Mother of the Bride/Groom - at least 2 weeks in advances unless it is a little more detailed than the average dress
• Flower girls - 2-6 weeks.  These little dresses range from simple to as elegant as the bride.  If it is a simple little dress 2 weeks, otherwise 6 weeks for the dresses that have lots of layers, beads, or any extra "fluff".
• From March through July, add an extra 2 weeks.
• Rush Fees are added to dress alterations where enough lead time is not given.

BUT, How Much Does It Cost??

This is a tough question to answer over the phone.  I don’t know until I see you, your gown, shoes you will be wearing, etc.

So, to help a little, this is what I share with those who are price shopping:

•  Bridesmaids, Mother of the Bride/Groom, Flower Girls, and young ladies donning their Prom gowns, the average gown is $150

• Bridal Gowns have an average of $350

Gowns Are Not All the Same:  I did a prom dress for $50, yet I’ve done prom dresses for $200 and some were $350 (the full, princess style gowns).  I’ve done bridesmaid dresses for less and others more.  It all depends on the dress, the client, and what needs to be done.

Bridal gowns do average $350.00.  I’ve recently done a bridal alteration for $150, yet I have a couple of dresses that I’m working on now that are over $600 in alteration costs.  How does it get to be so expensive?  It is all dependent on the type of fabric, how many layers that need to be hemmed, fullness of the gown, how many layers of tulle netting, type of bustle, type of fitting changes that need to be made, etc.  If everything needs to be done along with a lot of changes, the price will be higher than the average.

What I recommend if you are price shopping, is to understand that a seamstress that has been altering gowns for some time won’t be able to give you a blank price/quote.  It’s not that we don’t understand that you are working with a budget, but rather we understand the time involved in taking apart and remaking the gown for you and your unique specifications.  Select a seamstress you feel comfortable working with so that you can enjoy the experience of preparing for your wedding.

What Bridal Fashion Fits You Best?

With so many engagements that have occurred since Christmas, New Year's and Valentine's Day, there are many searching the bridal stores for the "Perfect Dress".  Dresses look beautiful on the models with the sleek bodies that are shown in the magazines and other advertising venues, yet when we try the style on, we just don't seem to feel beautiful in it.

So, let's try to narrow down what might be the best look for you and your figure.

The Lovely Ball Gown, a style that has a fitted bodice, yet flairs out in a very full and bell shape.  A couple figure styles that look great in this style gown are the ladies who are slim, as well as the ladies who have a pear shape figure.
This is a beautiful style dress that is perfect for the fairy tale wedding.  Different necklines and with or without sleeves.  The skirt can be made with a variety of styles: draping layers of fine silk or chiffon to create an elegant look, covered in lace and beads, plain silk or satin, and many other fabric options.  The skirt will be supported with multiple layers of tulle & taffetta or might need a crinoline skirt to maintain it's fullness.
The A-line dress, also known as the Princess dress, has a nicely fitted bodice that fits well to one's rib-cage, yet flares gracefully along the rest of the body.  The nice part of this style dress is that it elongates one's body.  The A-line style dress fits most body types.  You can also get this style with a fuller flair.  It is a beautiful style for any type wedding.
The Princess style will have obvious elongated lines, from the neckline to hem, slenderizing the figure.  The A-Line will use a variety of fabrics creating a different look depending on the choice fabric.

The Sheath also known as the Column, is a very comfortable dress that will closely fit and follow the curves of your shape.  This is a lovely style with one who has a slender figure and those with an hour glass shape.  It's a lovely dress, it can be used with a variety of necklines and skirt lengths.  This is a great style for thin and well proportioned women.  Both tall and short women can wear this dress, and actually provide a sense of height for shorter women.
The benefit of this dress, is that many different fabrics can be used to provide different looks.  A great dress for any type of wedding...formal and informal.  A very modest style if worn with sleeves.

The Empire waist dress has a narrow bodice where the skirt portion starts just under the bustline.  If made with the lovely flowing polyester, chiffon fabrics, it is a beautiful option for thicker waistlines and pear shape hips.  This style looks lovely on many figures, although it is not a good design for the well endowed woman.  If you want to show off your hour glass figure, this would not be recommended.  With shoulder straps and with sleeves, this dress is a very elegant yet modest fashion.
This dress can be made with a couple layers, and depending on the fabrics chosen can change the look drastically.

The Mermaid style is a figure forming style that hugs the body which flairs out from the knees, or slightly above, to the floor.  This is designed looks lovely on a tall, slender figure with curves that desires to show off her figure.  Worn well by a woman with confidence.
Light fabrics will gently hug your figure, yet the heavy satins will hug your figure and accentuate any flaws you might have.
This style might have one of three style flairs: 1. The round flair will provide volume at the base of the dress.  2. The trumpet flair will provide volume behind the dress. 3. The Spanish flair, a flamenco look, will gather slightly in front and around the dress in layers.

I caution one to not go for the dress that will accentuate the flaws you find uncomfortable to share.  You want to feel beautiful, and when selecting dresses for your bridal party, remember their figures as you select their style.  Remember, you can always get different dresses in the same color.

So, consider your figure, browse the many bridal magazines, and select all that you like.  And remember, you might not be able to find or afford the dress you desire from a book, but you might not look well in them either.  BUT, you can make any change you want to your dress that you desire. 

You can also refashion a dress you are given, find second hand, on clearance, etc. to the look you desire.  Remember, this is YOUR special day.  My goal when I work with brides, as I alter, create bustles or refashion their dress, is to make their dress look the way that they want it to look.

~ Putting Thread to Fabric ~

Laura
Davina Dawn Sewing Specialties
http://www.davinadawnsewing.com/

A Delighted Bride and Mom

One of the many joys I am blessed with, is when a bride requests something unique for her dress.  Most often my job will be to take in the bodice or the waist along with the hem.  Sometimes I will be asked to add some trim, remove a flower and reshape the shirt, or simply remove the sleeves.  But my most recent job was different than most, yet provided the most fullfillment  It was taking something old and creating something new for the bride.

The bride's mother saved her own wedding dress, in hopes that one day her daughter would wear it at her own wedding.  What a joy it must have been when her daughter said she wanted to wear it.  The only thing that would be different would be that she wanted her dress to be restyled to a more modern look.

Those of us who got married in the last 70's through early 80's remember the high collars and puffy sleeves, and other Gunne sax style dresses.  The dress that was to be restyled had the high collar that zipped up in the back, which the bride decided needed a little updating.  The bride provided a picture from a bridal magazine, sharing what she wanted her dress to look like.  To provide this look, I removed the collar and netting that was on the neck, shorten the zipper creating a "V" shape in the back, and reapply the original lace that was on the original dress.  Both the bride and myself were excited to see that would could use all that was on the original dress without having to use anything new.

The work was tedious, yet such a delight.  I love to create unique items, including refashioning any garment of clothing when I have the opportunity.  The easiest part of my job was to understand my clients desire, which she was able to clearly communicate  her wish.  She knew what she wanted, had a picture to help share her idea's, and I was able to move forward with her request.

The dress is now complete.  The bride arrived with her mom today for the final fitting.  And the most full-filling part of my job was when the bride smiled and shared how happy she was, along with her mom sharing that I did "magic" to her dress.

There is nothing more satisfying than a job well done, where the client leaves with a huge smile of delight.

Enjoy the after pictures!

Refashioned for a modern, elegant look

It is such a delight when a client comes in with their idea of what they would like to have for their wedding dress. 

My most recent client arrived with her mother's wedding dress.  In her desire to wear her mom's dress, she also wanted to refashion it to be more modern for her own personal style preference.

The request was to remove the high collar and full back zipper and transform the dress into a more modern yet elegant style.  I removed all the trim and neck netting, shortened the zipper, secured the bustle buttons, and changed the back to a v-shape providing a very elegant look for the bride.  After all the work was done to remove the old, the next step was to use all the original lace trim along the new lines of the bodice lines.  The bride requested that the lace overlap the edges, providing a lacy effect along the edges of the dress.

One knows that the bride has made a wonderful decision when clients, who come by for their own alterations, see her dress on the dress form and share how beautiful the dress is.

I personally love the old fashion look, so when she brought the dress to me, I was thinking it was beautiful to begin with. Once I understood what the bride wanted, I was able to take her mom's beautiful country style wedding dress and transform it into a more modern, elegant style that I was honored to create.

~ Putting Thread to Fabric ~

Laura - Custom Seamstress

http://www.davinadawnsewing.com/

Something old, something new, something unique just for you

It was a pleasure to be interviewed by a local reporter to be included in this years 2010 Bridal Guide, provided through our local paper, the Concord Monitor.

Although my sewing services are varied from meeting the needs of many, from infants through adult as well as your home, this particular article focused on my services that I provide to the bride who wants to wear her mom or grandmother's dress, or use their own dress for something special after the wedding.

From refashioning an old dress or one you find on sale that you want to make more "you" to Christening gowns, wraps and more.

~ Putting Thread to Fabric ~

Laura - Custom Seamstress
Davina Dawn Sewing Specialties

Here is the article, written by By Victoria Shouldis/For the Monitor January 19, 2010:
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Get the perfect fit out of an heirloom gown

Here’s the problem. You’ve got your mom’s wedding gown or your grandma-on-your-father’s-side wedding gown and you’re planning on getting married. Naturally, you’d like to make use of that heirloom gown.

But there’s a problem. Or two. It turns out you and grandma had different body types. Or you know, you love the gown, but not necessarily on you. Or you love elements of the gown, but not the whole package. Or maybe the gown hasn’t been preserved exactly correctly, so that a lovely dress that was once a pure white is now something of tinged-yellow.

What can you do? Do you have to toss the heirloom dress and buy something brand new, perhaps beautiful but lacking in the character that comes with history and family stories? No! You can visit a talented seamstress instead.

Laura Field is a local, talented seamstress. She has been running her Davina Dawn Sewing Specialties shop out of her home in Concord for nearly a decade, specializing in everything from new gowns to alterations to exquisite clothes for dolls.

The good news? Field has some solutions for that old family gown.

The bad news is that a gown, in general, only has so much give, so an alteration to make, say a size 4 dress into a size 6 is possible but beyond that is unlikely. (Making gowns smaller is a bit easier, but again, with major size alterations come changes in proportion and appearance of the dress, so there are limits there, too.) Field also notes that you can’t just go by label sizes.

“What is called a size 10 today might have been labeled a size 14 20 years ago,” Field said. So you have to go by actual measurements and not just label sizes.

So a gown can be let out a size or so; Field can also substantially alter that old family gown, to, say, remove some of those flourishes that the modern bride doesn’t care for, or the more restrictive designs that were all the rage in eras past.

“Often times brides have me change things like those lace, high-neck collars,” said Field. “Many people don’t like those.”

Okay. But what if that beautiful, family heirloom wedding gown just isn’t going to make that transformation into your wedding gown? How can that treasure still be a part of the ceremony or other family tradition? Field has a proverbial wedding chest full of solutions.

“Christening gowns. This is a very common use for family gowns – I take the family gown and turn it into a beautiful gown for a baby’s christening,” said Field. “And then that gown, in its new form as a christening gown, can be passed down to other generations as a christening gown.”

Field said gowns can be transformed into non-wedding wear: suits for the bride or even bridal bags or gifts for the bridesmaids.

Field also has tons of ideas for incorporating that old gown into something, well, new, for the wedding ceremony itself. The gown can be turned into tiny pillows for the ring bearers to use. The gown can be incorporated into a new gown’s veil. Or it can even be transformed into a shawl, designed to wrap one both in soft comfort and family history.

Drawing from her own specialization in doll clothing, Field also suggested a very non-traditional way of preserving and honoring, say, grandma’s old gown: doll replicas.

“Some people might want to do this especially to honor a couple in the family who’ve been married for a long, long time: we can take the wedding gown and turn it into a replica of itself on a small doll,” said Field. “Then that treasure can be kept and passed down as a memory in a curio cabinet.”

With many of Field’s ideas, the seamless (pardon the pun) transition of old gown into the new gown is one that will not be readily apparent to the eye. But families will share their stories – as families do – and soon, everyone at the ceremony will know, say, that that veil contains a piece of grandma’s wedding gown, or that that gown the first grandchild was christened in was once the gown that great Aunt Cordelia was married in.

“What’s great about incorporating the old into the new is that you satisfy that old, traditional bride’s creed: something old, something new, something borrowed,” said Field, who is busily wrapping up work on her daughter’s wedding gown. (She’s also bringing food and being asked to play flute at the ceremony.) “We don’t quite have the something blue part, though.”

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Wedding Alterations

A wedding is to be such a special time in a brides life. With so much planning, one would only hope that the Bride would not only enjoy the preparation, but also her special day. So often the bride has so much to do, that the stress builds up.

There is so much joy when I can work with a bride, creating for her the final look for her wedding gown. In some cases it begins with my making her dress, but most often it comes from altering it to her specific needs. My goal, for every bride that comes my way, is to make the adjustments that she would like to her specifications. Sometimes it is just a hem, other times it might just be creating a bustle, and there are times where there are many adjustments that need to be made.

Since alterations are an added expense, I share with the bride that what is most important is to have the proper undergarments she plans on wearing with her when she comes for her first fitting. This is extremely important when deciding how much something may need to be taken in. The proper undergarment will not show when you wear your dress and will make your dress look seamless and you feel beautiful.

There are times when a dress doesn't need a special undergarment. One bride came my way, wanting me to take her dress out because it seemed too tight. After looking at the dress and seeing that it already had all the support the dress needed, I asked her to take off the undergarment and put the dress on without it. When I returned to the room, she was smiling ear-to-ear, seeing how that one simple change made her dress fit her to perfection. She was sold an item that was unnecessary when they sold her the dress. This is an unfortunate thing that happens to brides, because in some cases the undergarment is needed, yet in some cases it is not. This was a rush order request that ended up being a simple consult, saving the bride rush fees in addition to the alteration costs that she originally wanted, plus, she was able to return the undergarment since it still had the tags on it. She and her fiancé was extremely happy realizing how much money I had saved them.

The other important item to have with her is her shoes. Sometimes a bride has still not found that perfect pair, so I recommend that she bring a pair of shoes, in the height that she plans on wearing. This helps in making sure we get the right hem length if I'm hemming, but also if we are adding a bustle, it is important to have the right floor length. Depending upon the number of alterations that might be needed and their budget, some brides will purchase heels to accommodate the length of the dress. My only caution here would be "comfort".

One way some brides save and bring someone old into their wedding, is to take their mother's or grandmother's dress and have it refashioned for themselves. If they can wear the dress, but want a few things tweaked to make it their own and more modern, it is an option that only embraces the alteration costs.

There are so many options available to a bride. My job is to listen to what the bride desires and make the necessary adjustments to make her feel beautiful on her special day.

Here's the brides: May your day be yours, the way you desire, to love and to cherish, your man of the hour.

~ Putting Thread to Fabric ~

Laura - Custom Seamstress
Davina Dawn Sewing Specialties
http://www.davinadawnsewing.com/

For the love of my daughter

There is something special about being asked to make a custom dress for one's wedding, but when your daughter asks, there is something even more endearing that reaches deeper into my heart.

Our oldest daughter had been planning her wedding long before she met her husband, by selecting patterns, fabrics, and more.  The best part of her planning, was that she easily found her fabrics before the local stores stopped carrying the elegant bridal fabrics that one now has to purchase online.

Heather's dress was made with a beautiful soft satin underskirt that felt beautiful against her skirt, a cream-on-cream brocade fabric for her main dress, contrasting satin sleeves, with a braided trim around the neckline, bodice and down the front of the opening of the outer skirt.

Her dream was to have a renaissance style dress, with the maid-of-honor and bridesmaids to match, using her favorite color of sage green, which we selected crepes, organza, sparkle organza and satin linings.  All dresses were to be slightly different from each other.

The maid-of-honor (sister) had a dress using a satin lining, sparkle crepe fabric for the main dress, and sparkle organza for the dress overlay and sleeves.  She chose to use spaghetti straps to allow her unnecessary worries.  This dress was designed so that the sleeves could be easily removed for any future formal occasion.

Bridesmaid 1 (sister) had a more modest style A-line dress using sparkle crepe fabric for the main dress, sparkle organza for the sleeves, and silk/satin lining. 

Bridesmaid 2 (cousin) had the same style dress as bridesmaid 1, but a plain crepe fabric was used for the dress, and a plain organza for the sleeve, and a silk/satin lining.

The pattern selected for the bridesmaids, was very different that what is shown, as I created a sleeve pattern to make the sleeve edges to be similar to the maid-of-honor's dress.

It was a privilege to make my daughter's wedding dress, where she felt like a princess, in addition to the other bridal party dresses.

~ Putting Thread to Fabric ~

Laura
Davina Dawn Sewing Specialties
http://www.davinadawnsewing.com/