Fashion Industrialist Redux

The first goal when we chose the bridesmaids’ dresses was to find a style that would be flattering to all three young ladies. We had discussed the possibility of using the hunter green fabric and making three distinctive gowns with styles that worked best for each of our bridesmaids, but the girls were very happy to be dressed in the same style gown. Thankfully, they chose a classic – the A-line – which looks well on just about any body type if fitted properly. The trick then was to adapt this garment to fit young ladies who were separately tall and willowy, short and curvy, and in between with a full figure. 

A second goal was modesty. We chose a pattern we had previously used for the bride’s prom dress and, because that dress was strapless, we added wide straps from a second pattern. We also raised the neckline half an inch. It’s amazing what a little half an inch can do! We went from a peep of cleavage to complete coverage. When the garments were finished we did a “bend over” test and a “twist and turn” test to see just how much gapping there was. Of course, I advised the girls not to bend over anyway as there’s always the risk of gapping, but we wanted to see just how great that risk was. I think we did a good job of retaining the elegance of the gowns and making them comfortable as well as providing plenty of coverage.

We combined these two patterns to make our bridesmaids' gowns.

Finally, we chose fabric that was easy to work with and decided against any ornamentation. The gowns were constructed of hunter green crepe satin with a complimentary band of mint satin at the neckline. We toyed with the idea of attaching a glittery piece of jewelry to each gown but eventually opted for simplicity.

I made two mistakes that almost resulted in disasters that I’d like to share here so seamstress brides might avoid them.

One, with our first bridesmaid I made the outer part of her gown first and tailored it to fit her. Then I made the lining and attached it to the dress. You wouldn’t think an acetate lining would add much bulk but we were hard pressed to zip up her gown after the lining was in! Thankfully, I’d left about three quarters of an inch seam allowance so I just ran a new seam and tore out the old one to give our poor girl room to breathe! So, my advice here is to make sure you leave room for the lining no matter how lightweight the lining fabric is.

Two, after I’d made all three gowns I hung them up in their garment bags. I hung them by loops of ribbon pinned to the seam allowance to avoid stretching the straps. I’d finished the gowns in late November, and in January we had all three girls come over and try on the gowns to see how long it would take all of them to get ready. Much to my dismay all three gowns were exactly half an inch too long! And I’d been so careful about not hanging the gowns by their straps! I can only assume the fabric relaxed over the course of several months but it’s something I would be aware of if I ever did this again. It only took me three days to re-hem the three gowns but had we waited until closer to the day I’m not sure I would’ve found the time. My advice: either let the gowns hang awhile before hemming them or be sure to have your bridesmaids try them on three weeks before the wedding to double check hem length, then you can make any necessary adjustments.

The only other thing I was less than satisfied with was that I had wanted to give each gown one last pressing and I never got around to it. Because of this, I saw every wrinkle and pucker. I just hope our guests were not as critical as I was. If I had it to do over, I would’ve had an iron and ironing board in the dressing room on The Day and assigned someone to take care of this chore for me. It wouldn’t have taken five minutes to do each gown. It’s easy to think of these things in retrospect.

All in all, taking into account the cost of the patterns, the fabric including the muslin, notions, and garment bags – all of which were purchased either on sale or by using discount coupons -- the final cost for our bridesmaids was $50 per gown. Because I had erred on the side of caution and purchased extra fabric in case of major mistakes, I was left with enough fabric to make four pocket squares for the groom and his groomsmen as well as fifteen large table squares to decorate the tables at the reception.

And I was still in possession of my sanity. :)