Dearest Gentle Reader, It has come to this author’s attention that a passionate affair took place at The Historic Dockyard Chatham, that would make even the most confident of rakes blush. Rest assured, a few were in attendance to what was a wonderful day, full of vibrancy, talent and exquisite work. Here are a few...
I think every little girl’s dream is being a flower girl and wearing the dress of her dreams, perhaps a custom flower girl dress Surrey. I made this dress for Eleanor’s wedding, along with four bespoke dresses for the adult bridesmaids as well. The wedding colour theme was a spring palette or pinks, ivory and...
I created two bespoke wedding dresses in Brighton for this fun, campy, Cabaret photoshoot. The goal was to create a vibrant celebration of life and love, full of bright colours and bags of personality. There’s no better way to celebrate than with glitter, confetti and a whole lot of fun! I don’t know about...
For this bride, I created a Chinese fusion wedding dress with red dip dye. The result was a bold and beautiful bridal look, with lots of eye-catching details. There are two ways I can dip dye dresses. One involves spraying the fabric whilst gently overlapping and blending the colours, I do this as the final...
I designed this fairytale look for a bespoke wedding dress photoshoot in Essex. I made the dramatic Aurora gown in layers of fluffy blush organza and pale ivory tulle. Sequins shimmer under the top layer and creep onto the illusion neckline. I trimmed the bodice and waist with mixed metallic beaded lace and I created...
For this bespoke Chinese fusion wedding dress photoshoot, I created a look that incorporated both Western and Eastern elements in beautiful harmony. I was contacted by Elizabeth Weddings about being involved in this shoot. And since I really enjoy working on cultural fusion projects, it was an obvious yes. Our overall colour palette was white,...
I feel as though bride Alex and I are birds of a feather. I also had a period-inspired, unusually coloured wedding dress for my wedding. Alex wanted to meld 1950’s and Tudor influences to create something unique. Taking inspiration from history, but not being limited by having to be completely accurate, is my ideal design...
If you’re in search for some mixed Indian British wedding dress inspiration, then you’ve come to the right blog post. I’m Fliss – a bespoke wedding dress maker from the south of England (Surrey, to be exact). I love making wedding dresses that are a little unusual. My brides are often looking for an outfit...
I made this couture wedding dress in Surrey for Toni (during the dreaded Covid times). We went for something romantic, feminine and whimsical, in layered silk organza and soft satins. For this design, I chose a boned bodice with a straight neckline that then dips at the back. The top layer of this dress is...
For this made to measure wedding dress in London, bride Karah approached me looking to commission a layered gown in scrolling ivory floral lace, with a corset inspired by the late (and very great) Vivienne Westwood. The base layer is a floor length strapless column dress made of champagne-coloured silk dupion. I made the top...
Posts from Felicity Westmacott
The cusp between the old year and the new year is always a time for reflection. For me, at least. Looking back at the things achieved, and looking forward to what else might be in store.
One of my favourite projects this year was costuming again at the Archway Theatre. The play was Nell Gwynn, which is set during the Restoration period. Some plays allow for some artistic license when it comes to historically costuming, but for this one, my aim was to be as period (and class) accurate as possible.
My original training was in costume design for theatre, and even though it isn`t a huge part of what I do now (although I often use the same skills when creating a wedding look), I do love it when I get to stretch those muscles. A gift from the past, still making itself useful to me now.
Much of my time was spent coordinating outfits, with the use of incredible costume store of my good friend, Elizabeth Callow. Due to most garments being varying degrees of old and worn, I spent many hours altering and mending too. In total I had about thirty costumes to put together. But I also found the time to make a few pieces, including Nell`s pink raw silk gown.
I had a lovely time working with all those sumptuous, brocaded fabrics 😍 which costume is speaking to you the loudest?
Photos by @rubysienauk
Just replace fashion house with bespoke bridal boutique, and you get the idea.
(I also hate being filmed like this, but my social media elf, Elle, told me it was a good idea 😅)
These were all labours of love, with a lot of climbing up precariously placed ladders and sweeping up glitter and leaves. But so fun to do!
Which one is your favourite bridal shop window display?
1. Red for Valentine`s day
2. Purple and gold fantasy
3. Rainbows for Pride
4. Black and white for Halloween
5. Sparkles for winter
Now to start planning for 2026...
I managed to complete my window display dress just in time!
This is the 2nd time I`ve made a wedding dress specifically for my window, and I`m not going to go so far as to say it will be a yearly tradition (that`s too much pressure!) but I do enjoy it!
For this one, I wanted to use up bits and pieces I`ve had hanging around for far too long. As a creative person, I think hoarding comes with the territory, so I`ve had boxes of scrap fabric gathering in boxes. And this dress used so much of them up, which was very satisfying.
For this look I made a boned bodice and covered it in white feathers. Then I added layers and layers of tulle, sequins and lace for the skirt, creating this beautiful asymmetric waterfall effect.
A dress fit for an ice queen ❄️
The past five years have been exciting, scary, busy, joyful, difficult, creative! And I`m grateful for every single day.
From 2020 to now, I opened my bridal shop, I won a Muddy Stilettoes award and a Wedding Industry award. I made a lot of dresses, used up a lot of cans of spray paint and danced around my shop more often that you`d think 💃🏻
What springs to your mind when you think of the past five years?
Shop opening footage - @kasias_irisvisuals
TWIA footage - @mattrockprophoto
Having crunched the numbers, I`m sharing with you the top 5 wedding dresses that really resonated with you all last year.
In no particular order:
1. Even though Rebecca lives in Germany, she sought me out specifically due to seeing my particular approach to colour. She wanted a wedding dress fit for an ethereal princess, complete with this stunning hand-dyed pastel rainbow gradient 🦄✨️
2. I love cultural fusion, so getting to work on this styled shoot was such a pleasure. I loooved stretching my creative muscles to find the perfect blend of traditional Indian and British elements for this dress.
3. Nicky`s inspiration for her wedding dress was the lyrics of Touch by Soft Cell, which is such a fun starting point for a design!
4. The inspo for this photoshoot dress was ancient Egyptian and Greek fashion, but with the kind of interpretation that you might see in Game of Thrones or a fantasy film. I wanted to give a sense of majesty and opulence, without it being too clean and modern and the gold leaf was the perfect solution.
5. Kathy is a local textile artist who was having a launch party for her latest collection, and wanted something extra special for the occasion. Making this dress was such a wonderful collaboration. Kathy created a new design to be printed onto fabric, and brought me a vintage pattern she wanted to use.
What a year full of colour and creativity! Which look is your favourite?
Photography
Pastel Rainbow - @pesto_fotografie
Fusion Shoot - @puli.wedding
Nicky - @hazeldupreezphotography
Nile Queen - @jamieedwardphotography
