Leslie in Aqua

I have made many costumes for Leslie.  Each one, different from the last, and yet uniquely hers.  I always ask my clients to provide a word of phrase that we can use to narrow the visual focus of the gown, and Leslie asked me to choose for her.  Good thing I kinda know her dancing!  I told her that for me, the best thing about her dancing was her partnership with her husband Lee.  They are really lovely to watch together, and their power for me is in how they relate to each other in their movement.  I suggested that we try to emphasize their partnership in her costume.  She brought in a crocheted sequinned shawl in a beautiful soft aqua, and told me that this was the color she was imagining for her gown, and I thought that sounded great as well.  Plus she brought me a pile of photos from magazines of things she liked that might be encorporated into a gown.

Her personal style always has a "1950's school girl" vibe for me, and so I was not surprised to see a retrospective of Princess Grace Kelly's fashions represented, (lower left corner) and, note the soft aqua satin of the gown pictured.  Just above that image, (left top) is a gown with high-contrast lace applique in black on a pale mauve.  That jumped out at me right away, as a great chance to feature the black of Lee's dancewear on Leslie's gown, drawing a neat visual parallel.  Certainly, there is an abundance of floral imagery in this pile of clippings, and lots more of the dark figure on light ground.  I particularly like gown on Lucy Liu, (tiny image in the center) as a great example of dark floral on light blue.  All these things fit neatly into Leslie's desire for pale aqua, and my goal to emphasize her partnership in her gown.

She is beautifully proportioned and fit, but not my tallest client, so we wanted a long clean look for this gown, to allow us to see nice lines without any horizontal distraction   She also wanted her embellishment to spill well onto the skirt of her dress, so we decided on a lycra gown, to accomplish both the long clean lines and lengthy detailing, without having the embellishment disappear in folds of frothy skirt.

Not every gown goes along smoothly, and some clients have a very hard time visualizing the end result from the sketch and at early fittings.  In all fairness, it is really hard to stand and look at yourself in a BIG mirror for an hour, while I poke, prod and pin.  But Leslie freaked out entirely at our first fitting.  She was convinced that we had both the wrong color and the wrong fabric.  SO... she went home to think about it, and decided she wanted to proceed with the gown as designed.  I felt really badly for her.

For prospective clients who might be reading this post, I will say add some advice here.  When we finish our design meeting, and agree to a goal, we begin a series of decisions, some I make on behalf of my client, and some we make together.  The process of buying materials, patterning, cutting, sewing, fitting, and finishing each gown is FULL of forks in the road.  And when we both understand the desired end result, we can make these choices with reasonable ease and agility.  Once the design train leaves the station, have faith in yourself and your ideas, and in me and my design and construction experience and ability.  Our process will go smoothly, and I will do a better job on your behalf, and we can work together toward our mutual goal.

We talked about using feathers as accents on this gown.  They are a recent trendy detail on many gowns, and I arranged all the large flowers in the applique lace so a few delicate feather stamen and pistils could sprout from each one.  Leslie decided against this, but was in favor of feathers at her shoulders.  I did these as removable bits, and I do not think she has ever actually worn them, but I would love to see them throughout the gown.  I like it without them as well!

Remember I said I have a harder time making decisions of my client's behalf if I am not confident about what their goal might be?  Well, I had a really hard time stoning this gown.  I think part of why I love those feathers is how very black they are. And my initial plan was to use Jet on the lace.  But Leslie also needs a gown that will "compete" with other gowns on the floor for attention and status, and I felt the Jet might be too quiet. I initially stoned most of the black lace at the gown front with Crystal AB, trying to get to "championship gown", because Lee and Leslie compete at that level.  But after a few hours, I felt I was losing the black, which was really the overall intended visual impact

So, I picked those all off, (on my own time, and deleted the hours of application as well) and switched to Jet AB, hoping to maintain championship sparkle power, without sacrificing the beautiful black-on-pale contrast that is the core of the gown design.  I also put more space between stones, to keep the black visible, and then surrounded the diagonal banners of lace with Aquamarine AB to boost the sparkle power, switching to Swarovski's new color Light Turquoise for the remainder of the gown.

Leslie had agreed to bangle bracelets, but when it came time for the necklace, I threw caution to the wind.  She had asked for a symmetrical piece, and I felt it was badly out of harmony with the asymmetrical neckline.  I created a necklace from lace scraps and decided she could buy it if she liked it and if she did not, I would keep it.  She bought it!

I thought she looked splendid at the Snow Ball, and danced beautifully with Lee.  She tells me she likes (I think her term was fully embraces) her new gown.  Personally, I hope the next project follows an easier, more joyful path.  But no matter how we get there, success in the end is worth the process.  And I am always ready to try again.  

A Tropical Paradise for Jeannie

Vivacious Jeannie dances on the other side of the Twin Cities from our studio, at The Tropical Ballroom.  Although I doubt she set out to get a gown that would represent her studio, our results call to mind a tropical paradise for me, both because of the profusion of pink blossoms and the lushness of the deep spruce green velvet fabric.

Pretty, dark-haired Jeannie did the homework I always request of my clients, and brought with her to her design meeting several inspiration images.  Some were illustrations of style silhouettes she liked, and a couple were ideas for skirt finishes and details.  She carried in a rich suede jacket that represented the color of her dream gown, and she also brought a friend, but that is another blog post entirely!

I knew from the moment I saw the jacket that I would be doing some hunting to find the color she wanted, in four fabrics: a lycra for the bodysuit, soft sheer for the skirt, shiny fabric for the skirt binding and a rich spruce-y something for the bodice itself.  The suede jacket had a nap, and part of the beauty of the spruce color was in the richness of that nap.  Also, I had just hunted for blue-greens for Patty, and knew very little was readily available in dancewear fabrics in that hue.  We spent a little time looking at my British fabric swatchbooks, and my favorite American lycra sources, but nothing that matched the jacket was immediately to hand.  

I told Jeannie that I would have to hunt for fabrics in the colors she wanted, and keep her posted with swatches and photos of my quest.

As you can see, I had a scrap of crushed velvet that had been custom dyed and it did the jacket justice, but was too textured for our needs.  I also had a piece of lycra from the hunt for Emerald for Patty that would serve for the body suit, since it didn't have to be an exact match. Our first find was a luminous piece of georgette that became the skirt, and next that I discovered a piece of charmeuse that could be made in to shiny skirt binding.  Finally Michele said she had seen a piece of velvet in a local shop, and with these fabrics in hand, we got underway.

After we had the shell of the gown complete, we looked a a myriad of different possible flower options.  We even considered three-dimensional silk or fabric flowers, but Jeannie wanted a something flat and I wanted an exciting edge, since it would be strongly featured against the deep velvet.  Jeannie also wanted shades of pink, and nothing else.

We finally settled on a lycra print with lots of pinks and interesting shapes, and we cut out bits and created applique, for which I found we needed yet another piece of fabric for the backing of these bits.  Jeannie was disturbed by the olive greens in the leaves, but I assured her that our embellishment would change that.

And indeed, it did change!  We also emphasized the edges with Crystal AB outlines and I just love this result!

I am also really pleased with the skirt movement.  When a gown is a darker hue, it must compensate to achieve visibility with sparkle, texture, and action, and Jeannie animated it beautifully.

I apologize again, for my photography.  My camera is not sufficiently sophisticated to capture action on the far side of the dark room, and rhythm dances do not travel around the room, but stay in one spot.  Sadly, Jeannie was never close to me when dancing, but although these are not great photos, they do at least hint at the shiny skirt and sleeve edges in action.

Thanks Jeannie, for letting us work with you on your delightful new gown, and we hope to see you back in our studio again!

Bonnie's "Illusion of Suspended Elevation"

I always ask my clients to bring me a word or short phrase that describes what their gown will be.  Bonnie brought me a unique phrase, compliments of her coach Paul Botes.  Paul tells Bonnie and her partner/fiance, (tall and dark Ed) that they must be floaty, lightweight, and ethereal, creating an "illusion of suspended elevation."  Thanks Paul!  That was a really fun phrase to work with!

We had to immediately dash several ideas.  Like, deep, dark sapphire blue, which was Ed's hope, but sadly will probably never be an obviously lightweight choice.  Bonnie had polled both of her coaches about what her gown might include and teacher Scott Anderson suggested she "Go Gold!" Given Bonnie's beautiful light blonde hair, we decided on a soft platinum gold, (the third gown in my golden autumn trifecta) and went hunting for fabric that was light and metallic at the same time.  Bonnie found this beautiful gold-embossed organza locally, and I approved!  I offered the metallic gold slinky for the bodice.  I was pleased that Bonnie chose asymmetrical style lines for her gown, and happy to balance and support them with the diagonal hemline of the overskirt and  the creamy french vanilla mesh of the left sleeve.  Asymmetrical gowns are visually in motion before the dancing begins, and usually a plus for the wearer.

Bonnie showed me the hemline of a beautifully detailed British gown with bits of feather and fabric floating along the topskirt hemline and I created some organza leaf shapes and vanilla spiral fringe to make our own floaty statement at Bonnie's hem, applied to a pale gold charmeuse underskirt.

This beautiful detail repeats on the opposite side of the gown on the draped mesh sleeve top, nicely in balance and the perfect justification for each other's presence.

Bonnie did her own rhinestone application, after we applied the large sew-on jewels to the edges of the bodice and skirt for her, and did a great job, while keeping the cost of her gown reasonable.   She did all the Crystal AB fill-in at the borders, as well as the guilding of the metallic gold slinky bodice and sleeve with Swarovski Light Topaz AB.

Bonnie's gown needed to serve for both  American Style Smooth and for International Standard.  Standard style dancing is done in hold so the costumes often include wings or floats for the ladie's gown.  We created detachable floats (very "floaty" floats, given the lightness of the organza!) for the gown that will be used for Standard and removed for Smooth style dancing.

A super treat for me is to be able to show you Bonnie in her new gown, (in its International Standard Configuration) dancing with Ed!   You can see their Quickstep at Minnesota Madness by clicking on the link below. They begin their heat at the far corner of the room.  Enjoy!   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItwWoyU52Mc&feature=youtu.be

Flame and Sunglow for Zhuojing!

Zhuojing stopped in this afternoon to show me her finished gown, and I think she did a wonderful job with the rhinestone embellishment!  Many of my clients who enjoy crafts and have good motor skills save money by applying their own Swarovski crystals.  We usually design with that in mind, so that frustration is kept to a minimum and rewards are maximized. 

In this case, we used stretch lace fabric and a lace applique shoulder detail (a last minute idea of hers, which I think turned out very well) to serve as guides for the stoning, and a random sparkle pattern on the other side of the gown, with a dense edge for definition.  We used Sun AB on the lace and applique, for a vibrant accent and contrast to the Hyacinth on the other side.  I think she did an especially nice job with the bottom of the sleeve edge!

Zhuojing had rented one of my other client's gowns for a recent competition, and that gown became our design starting point.  She wanted her gown to be graceful and sensual, hence the soft georgette skirts.  We felt it was important that she wear a bright color because she is a wonderful dancer, but a very small woman.  To be seen, she needs to wear an eye-catching hue.  Super-saturated neon tones are also really lovely with her Asian skin coloring and thick black hair.

So this Latin gown is Flame Red, and the accents and lace are Sunglow and Mandarin.   I especially like the Mandarin satin binding on the edge of the skirt, which helps to tie the lower half of the gown to the Yin/Yang lace detail on the bodice.

While Zhuojing was in my studio, she let me take these photos, and then we counted the stones she was returning to me, to know how many she had applied to the gown.  When we finalized her invoice I was within $8.18 of our original estimate, which always makes me (and my clients as well, I am sure) very happy!

We also created a cuff bracelet and two armbands of the lace, which were stoned very densely to make them pop as details.  Zhuojing is still finishing the crystal application on her earrings.

Now all that is left is for Zhuojing to compete in her gown and send me a few fantastic photos to add to my gallery!  In the mean time, here's a couple shots of the big picture. 

Zhuojing is a pleasure to work with, and I am really looking forward to a new ballgown this fall!