Illusion back lace wedding dress

Backless illusion bespoke lace wedding dress

I made an illusion back lace wedding dress for Helen. The bodice was a traditional sweetheart shape, lightly boned but totally cut away at the back. A simple straight skirt and train balanced the drama of the sheer tulle and lace applique back and sleeves.

Official photography by Alex Tenters Photography

The lace on Helen’s illusion back lace dress was bought as flat fabric but highly worked into with hand applique work. Cutting out extra motifs to apply to the main bodice so the pattern appears to fade down the dress, as well as on the invisible mesh of the sleeves and back. The main bodice and skirt were made of light weight ivory satin which flowed and hung beautifully. The hem edge was trimmed with a pretty scalloped lace edging on the plain tulle of the main skirt.

Original design sketch by Felicity Westmacott

Original design sketch for the illusion back lace wedding dress

perfectly fitted custom wedding dress
Illusion back detail on Helen's dress

Helen wrote: The day was lovely and the dress was a bit hit, thank you so much! I had so many people asking me where I had got it from and saying it was stunning! It really was! My mum and I got it on without any issues on the day and I didn’t want to take it off again!?

vintage style design with floral detail
Summer modern wedding design make to order low back

A wrist loop was provided so that Helen could keep her train off the grass when she wanted to.

Final fitting picture train loop

A hidden ‘something blue’ sewn next the the wrist loop.

Wrist loop and something blue on bespoke wedding dress

Helen was able to dance the night away in this easy to wear and comfortable bespoke wedding dress.

Making Helen’s Illusion back lace wedding dress

Making Helen’s dress included the making of a ‘toile’ or practice run of the dress in cheap fabrics. As you can see this stage is a world away from the finished product, but without it the fit and finish could never be as good.

First fitting in the real fabrics, mostly still plain.

corded lace bodice panel bespoke dressmaker

Working on the lace panels for the bodice.

second fitting picture bespoke lace wedding dress

Here the lace has been tacked to the illusion tulle, to decide on placement but not yet properly sewn down or the excess mesh cut away.

The finished dress shown with the train spread out and hooked up on the bustle button.

All finished and ready to go.

To see more lace wedding dresses you can head to my lace wedding dress page

To see another illusion back lace wedding dress see the dress I made 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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⁠When Iram saw the ⁠custom Asian fusion wedding trousers and top that I had made for a bridal shoot, she decided she had to have them for her own London wedding – and I don’t blame her! This outfit looks perfect on her.⁠ It's the ideal look for a chic, modern, summer wedding.

The ‘Evie’ separates comprise of a beautiful wedding top and trouser set with beaded waistband for a bride who is not afraid to make a statement. And Iram was definitely not afraid! She exudes chilled, modern bride energy in this cool and comfortable combo. 

If you love this custom Asian fusion wedding trousers, you can find the Evie bridal separates on my Etsy 💜

Photography @saidigitaluk
Since 1753, when the Marriage Act first came into existence, UK marriage law has come a long way. Some things have taken much longer than they should have (I'm looking at you, 1991 and 2013, 2023). But there's still more than can be done. The association of @independentcelebrants is campaigning for the UK government to follow the recommendations of the 2022 wedding law reform report.

"At least 10,000 wedding ceremonies a year in England and Wales are led by independent celebrants. These ceremonies are perfectly legal to hold, but as it stands a celebrant cannot perform a legally binding marriage – that part must be done separately, meaning added inconvenience and cost for couples."

I'm all about supporting couples to have the wedding day of their dream, and that rarely includes having to find time and money to go to the registry office.

If you want to help with this, then you can spread awareness! Share this post, or make your own. Talk about it with friends and family. And once you've done that, you can always get in touch with your local MP. The Independent Celebrants website has a PDF guide to help you with how to go about doing that.

Is this an issue you're aware of? Is there anything I've missed out?

#ChangeWeddingLaw #SpeakUpForCelebrants #LegaliseCelebrantWeddings
I created this Regency-inspired wedding dress for a Bridgerton themed wedding shoot. I used modern fabrics like tulle, beaded lace and shantung, but with period accurate details like the empire line waist, square neckline and boned stays (corset). ⁠
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I love to work with versality when it comes to my creations, so the dress was designed with multiple layers; the main dress has an embroidered tulle bodice and asymmetric beaded lace skirt. A lilac and pink dip-dyed tulle skirt can be added over the floral train of the main dress for some dreamy ombre magic. A lilac silk dupion 'spencer jacket' with hand appliqued beaded lace completes the ensemble. ⁠

 All these options make it possible to have lots of different looks throughout your wedding day. ⁠

Which Bridgerton character can you imagine wearing this outfit?

~
#regencyweddingdress #bridgerton #historicalweddingdress #periodwedding #colouredweddingdress #dipdyeweddingdress #surreydressmaker #londondressmaker #vintagebride #romanticbride #weddingveil #purpleweddingdress #bespokeweddingdress #fantasyballgown
Now and again I'll take one of the wedding dresses I've made, and break down some of the elements. So, if there's something you love about a dress, but you don't know the 'proper words' to reference them, hopefully this will help you out.⁠
⁠
This beautiful 1950’s style wedding dress with delicate cream lace over golden-orange silk has lots of really scrummy details:⁠
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🧡 the opening at the back of the dress is called a keyhole (or you could call this a slit opening). This one is closed at the top with three covered buttons.⁠
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🧡 the base dress is made of a beautiful russet orange silk dupion, with dark ivory lace layered on top.⁠
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🧡 the base dress is essentially a halter neck, with a turn over collar at the front, with the ivory layer providing semi-sheer, full length sleeves.⁠
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🧡 the edges of the ivory layer are cut along the floral pattern of the lace, making a pretty scalloped edge.⁠
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🧡 this length of skirt is called 'ballet' or 'ballerina'.⁠
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🧡 the front of the dress has a line of false buttons (buttons that are just there for decoration), that match the buttons at the back.⁠
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Those are just some of the details of this dress. If you have any questions about anything else, just leave a comment. I could talk dress making all day!⁠
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