Bespoke Portrait Collar Jacket and Short Wedding Dress

angela 7 alternative wedding dress portrait neckline collar and dress

I made a bespoke portrait collar jacket and wedding dress trimmed with chantilly lace for Angela. The dress and jacket were both made in opulent oyster pink duchess silk satin.

Photography bywww.christellephoto.com

Angela wanted a little old world glamour for her wedding so we created this vintage inspired ensemble in luxurious silk duchess satin and French cotton lace. The dress was a simple slimline shape to the knee with a pencil skirt and sweetheart neckline. Lace was hand appliquéd to the neckline using the pretty scalloped edge to soften the line and blend into the join of the delicate cap sleeves. The hem line dipped at the back where the fan kick-pleat was also trimmed with lace.

The jacket was made well fitted to the waist which was emphasised with a narrow ribbon sash and neat bow. The portrait collar neckline framed Angela’s face and revealed her beautiful neck and collar bones. Elbow length sleeves with little turn-ups and a box pleat at the back completed the design.

angela 4 portrait collar jacket three quarter sleeve
angela 5 pencil skirt with split wedding dress
angela 6 shell pink wedding dress and jacket
angela 19 lace applique detail to neckline and sleeves on custom vintage wedding dress

Design for a bespoke portrait collar jacket and short wedding dress

design sketch for Angela's bespoke vintage dress and jacket

Original Design Sketch

angela 17 vintage 1950's 1960's wedding dress made to measure
angela 16 silk and lace wedding dress with short cap sleeves

angela 9 palest pink wedding ensemble older mature bride sash bow
angela 10 bride with friends shirt wedding dress wrap over jacket
angela 13 vintage wedding suit bespoke
angela 14 short wedding dress with sleeves made to order
angela 16 silk and lace wedding dress with short cap sleeves
angela 18 chantilly lace trim on bespoke duchess silk wedding dress

The design for Angela’s dress included a kick pleat at the back to enable easy movement without compromising on the slim fit of the skirt. I also cut the cape sleeves with space around her shoulder that meant her ability to move and dance was not restricted. I trimmed both of these elements with the delicate chantilly lace.

angela 19 lace applique detail to neckline and sleeves on custom vintage wedding dress
angela 21 ivory cotton lace applique hand sewn to neckline of custom dress

Making Angela’s wedding dress

angela 22 toile practice run of bespoke custom wedding dress

Angela in her toile or practice run fitting. The dress and jacket made in cheap materials to check style and fit before we cut the main fabrics.

angela 2 fitting picture vintage jacket sash belt collar

Angela in her finished dress and at the final fitting.

angela 1 making final fitting picture shift dress bespoke dressmaker wedding duchess satin

To see another amazing wedding dress for a mature bride head over to my post about Catherine’s castle wedding.

To see another design for a bride with African heritage, see this dress for Ayesha

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Felicity Westmacott

I write about all aspects of weddings, dressmaking, fashion history, and the human relation to clothing. I welcome comments and debate.

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I love an analogy, and I think this one is a really powerful one.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments 💜
@kathykyle_studio is a local artist who walked into my shop one day and asked me to make her a dress. She's a textile artist, and she was having a launch party for her latest collection, and wanted something extra special for the occasion.

Kathy makes wearable art. She paints beautiful, intricate designs and has her designs printed onto silk scarves. Her pieces are full of meaningful motifs about feminism, life and so much more.

Making this dress was such a wonderful collaboration. Kathy created a new design (5m x 1.5m in size) to be printed onto fabric, and brought me a vintage pattern she wanted to use. The pattern was actually reversable, with options for both a V-neck and boat neck. It was very cool to see Kathy switching her dress round for each part of her launch day.

I love working with fellow artists!

#dorking #surrey #textileart #bespokedress #customdress #printedfabric
Here are just some of my creations from the past year! I feel so lucky to get to make such interesting and varied garments as my job 🥰 colourful wedding dresses, unique mother of the bride ensembles, as well as alterations to make a dress feel more like home.

If you used my services (as a bride specifically) between Oct 1st 2024 up until now, I have a little favour to ask...
I've been nominated for the 2026 Wedding Industry Awards, in the "Independent Dressmaker/Designer" category and the people in the time period above are the only ones who are eligible to vote for me. 

So, if you have a spare few minutes, and you enjoyed both working with me and the outcome, then you can vote for me via the link in my bio. There are different voting links depending on whether you were a bespoke or dipdye booking, or an alteration booking. 

Industry recognition is one thing, but recognition from the people I work with is even better 💜
(and if you've already voted for me, thank you!! It means the world!)
It's giving bridal Sun Goddess 🌞 Just look at that colour!

One of my favourite bespoke wedding dresses to date. I made this opulent bronze gold look for an equally gorgeous bride who wanted something a little different for her wedding day. 

My favourite features have got to be the statement bow on the shoulder and the cartridge pleats around the waist. This style of pleating helped add volume to this unbelievable iridescent dupion silk. Cartridge pleating was popular in the first Elizabethan era and always gives a touch of the historical to any garment on which it's included.

I also included a bustle hook (you can see what the dress looks like up in the last clip), which totally transforms the dress and makes it much easier to move in when it's time to dance!

This is bride was a dream client - elegant and adventurous, with a touch of the dramatic 😉 drop me a DM if you've got wedding dress dreams that you're dying to bring to life!

#weddingdress #ukbride #bespokeweddingdress #bridetobe
emailme@felicitywestmacott.co.ukTEL 07762 543230TOUCHGet in
from design to completionbespoke wedding dressesFelicity Westmacott
Dorking, RH4 1RT241 High Street• Visit the Studio •
Dorking, RH4 1RT241 High Street• Visit the Studio •
emailme@felicitywestmacott.co.ukTEL 07762 543230TOUCHGet in