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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As a wedding dressmaker, one of my favourite things to do is add colour to my designs. Whether making the dress from scratch, or dying an already bought dress, the colours a bride chooses tell me a lot about who they are as a person. 

The most common colours I get for dip dye overskirts and wedding dresses are blues. Followed by purples and pinks. I love getting green commissions, although they happen a lot less often.

Tell me if you think your colour choice is true to you?

~
#weddingdress #colourfulweddingdress #dopaminedressing #uniqueweddingdress #uniquebride #altbride #alternativebride #alternativeweddingdress #ukweddingdress #surrey #dorking #bespokeweddingdress #customweddingdress
One final little sneak peek before I show the fabulous photos from this fabulous day!

1 sewing machine
2 bride outfits
3 bridesmaid dresses
21 talented wedding suppliers
and lots of stage smoke!

Make sure you're following me to see what I'm so excited to share. Photos coming this weekend!

~
Dresses @felicitywestmacott
Photography @jessicajillphoto
Video/content @weddingstorytellerco
Venues @theoldtimberstore_se1 @malt.maltby
Florals @jemimainthewoods
Event Equipment Hire @cohire
Bride Models @michele_and_graziella
Bridesmaid models @Lisaeggy3 @Boobzylou @oleksanacoaching
Choreography @oleksanacoaching
Hair and Make-up lead @melindabridal @melinda_grant
Hair and Make-up @beccibrushes

Celebrant dave_the_celebrant
Guitar @shanetheojoseph
Stationery @theinkmoth
Jewellery @CatherineMarche
Cake @gwynethjohnsoncakedesign
Neon Sign @thisisasignuk
Headdress @Creationsbylivfree
Millinery @beverleyedmondsonmillinery
Shoes @shoesbylarisa
Confetti @proper.confetti

#bespokeweddingdress #weddingshoot #weddingdress #ukwedding #ukbride #ukweddingsupplier #londonwedding
“My detachable skirt was the best. So many people were very impressed with your work. Thank you so very much, I LOVE MY SKIRT!”⁠
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For real bride Christina, I created one of my iconic dip dye overskirts. Christina went for a beautiful monochromatic ombre, going from bright sky blue, all the way down to a deep, rich navy.⁠
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Whether it's matching your bouquet, your groom's pocket square or your bridesmaids, having an overskirt really helps tie the colour palette of wedding together.⁠
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If you want to add some colour to your wedding, but don't quite feel brave enough to dye directly onto your wedding dress, then a dip dye overskirt is the perfect solution. Have a look at my Etsy (link in the bio) to find out more.⁠
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What colours would you pick?
Sometimes dressmaking lingo can feel a bit overwhelming, so I like to spend time breaking down various elements of a wedding dress I've made in... Anatomy of a Dress!⁠
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▫️for the fabric I used a beautiful, ivory floral lace (layered on top of silk dupion)⁠
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▫️the back of dress has a keyhole opening, secured with covered buttons at the top⁠
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▫️the corset bodice is fully boned with visible boning channels⁠
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▫️the dress fastens with a lace-up back, with ribbon and eyelets, and a modesty panel behind (so no skin shows through beneath the lacing)⁠
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▫️the skirt is cut straight with a very slight flare near the hem and scalloped edging used all around, including onto the small train⁠
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Did you find this little breakdown helpful? Hopefully it means that when it comes to your bridal outfit, you have a better idea of how to talk about what you want 🥰⁠
⁠
If you want to see what this dress looked like on the day of the wedding, have a look at this week's earlier post.
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