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...
Tracey wanted a Tudor inspired wedding dress with a modern twist for her wedding at the Tudor period hotel, Langshott Manor. I love designing alternative wedding dresses so this was a lovely project. The two piece ensemble made in deep red silk velvet has a firmly boned bodice cut in a ‘Tudor’ style with a...
I am a huge fan of wearing a bit of colour for your wedding, so this pale blue cocktail wedding dress hits all the right buttons! The dress has a cute, vintage, 1950’s wiggle dress vibe and suited Isabelle perfectly. Simple and sweet bridal mini-dress with tiered ivory lace skirt. Pale blue silk satin shows...
Modelled by Jenny, Zoe, Anna and Charlie Amanda commissioned a custom orange bridesmaid dress for each of her four bridesmaids and five cravats for the groomsmen. The princess line dresses had strapless sweet-heart necklines with a ‘ballet’ style gathered piece at centre front. Each orange bridesmaid dress was made from a copper coloured silk-dupion with...
Stunning Cadbury purple 1950’s bridesmaid’s dresses with with black sashes and pretty butterfly detail. The dresses are all simple boned bodices with a ‘ballet pinch’ detail just below the sweetheart neckline. A halterneck is flattering and provided peace of mind to the wearer. The full circle skirts lie over netting skirts in bright contrast colours...
Suzanne commissioned a pretty tea length brown wedding dress and bolero made up in taffeta and chiffon. I made her knee-length dress with a fitted and boned bodice. She wanted a gentle sweet-heart shaped neckline and slim straps. We chose a beautiful shot taffeta (shot pink/green/ivory) with chocolate chiffon on top and I ‘plaited’ the...
Clare wanted something pretty but informal and not too ‘wedding’ for her special day. She knew from the start that a rose pink informal wedding dress was the way forward. She brought a skirt she loved to her design consultation with gorgeous little godet flare inserts at the back which we used as a basis...
Aine commissioned a 1950’s short wedding dress made up in white taffeta. Wedding photography by Michael Dillon The dress has a fitted and boned bodice with square shaped neckline and invisible zip back closure. The flared, knee length skirt has soft white tulle peeking out below. I decorated both the waistline and neckline with white...
Nicola’s daughter and niece were her two beautiful bridesmaids and I made them bespoke teen bridesmaid dresses. With two very different ages and figures we created design elements that could be used to link the styles together. I made both dresses are made from peacock blue silk dupion with a beaded lace back which creeps...
Creating a purple silk wedding coat and a burlesque wedding dress for this fabulous shoot showcases everything I love most about my job. From time to time I collaborate with other wedding professionals on styled wedding photoshoots. This one took place in August 2016 in London with the theme ‘City Burlesque’. Our locations including the...
Posts from Felicity Westmacott
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:
🧡 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.
🧡 the base dress is made of a beautiful russet orange silk dupion, with dark ivory lace layered on top.
🧡 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.
🧡 the edges of the ivory layer are cut along the floral pattern of the lace, making a pretty scalloped edge.
🧡 this length of skirt is called `ballet` or `ballerina`.
🧡 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.
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!
“Felicity – dress maker extraordinaire. I loved the dress, EVERYONE loved the dress. Comments range from “so beautiful”, “stunning", "gorgeous”, “wow”. THANK YOU”
Thank you Rebecca 🧡
I absolutely loved making this 1950s style wedding dress for Rebecca. Taking inspiration from the classic Dior New Look collection, whilst adding plenty of details that are completely `Rebecca`. Isn`t this dress joyful!
Not only stylish, this wedding dress is also sentimental. The turn-over collar was cut to the pattern of Rebecca`s mother`s wedding dress. And to tie everything together, I also made ties and hankies for the groom and best man in matching orange silk.
Can we give a moment to the perfectly matched shoes as well? Divine.
Utterly unique and utterly gorgeous - I love working on bridal looks like this!
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On my birthday, 43 years ago, I was gifted a beautiful name...does it suit me?
Felicity means "happiness", from the Latin word meaning "good luck" or "fortune". Shortening to Fliss is good, but never Flick!
What about your name? Does it have a meaning?
Continuing on from my last post, it`s still my birthday week, and I`m still celebrating! I`m celebrating 43 years in this body. 43 years in this life. I`m very happy to be turning 43 - it means I`ve gathered years of experience, both professionally and also generally in life.
It`s important to me that I always remind myself it`s privilege to age. Sometimes that`s a hard thing to remember. When you notice more and more grey hairs, the fine lines around your eyes, eyelid droop, and even voice changes. And I know my body will change even more in the future.
But I`m lucky I get to live through those experiences. It`s a privilege to have grey hairs (whether you choose to dye them or not), it`s a privilege to see your life`s journey in the creases in your skin. I remind myself that nature is always changing, and my body is a part of nature too.
What things are you grateful for, when you think about growing older?
~
Photos by the brilliant Kate of @altweddingco
Today`s my birthday! So I`m allowing myself the week to celebrate myself.
Of my (now) 43 years, over half of them have been spent creating outfits for brides, bridesmaids and more. When I was younger I spent a lot more time making things for myself, now I have less opportunity to.
I made this outfit about 15 years ago. Me and my spouse were out shopping and she gifted these fabrics to me for another birthday. I first wore the outfit I made from them to the Henley Regatta. It`s so wonderful to remember the history of the various garments I`ve made 💜
I absolutely loved frolicking in nature with Kate of @altweddingco a few years ago for these photos, where I got to model a slew of different things I`d made over the years.
I felt like an art deco flower fairy 🧚🏼♀️ we don`t do enough frolicking as adults, don`t you think??
It’s the night before you’re wedding day. You have your dream bridal outfit ready to go for the morning. But there are a few things you should do before you go to sleep, to make sure your wedding dress is looking its best for the big day.
First up, make sure to hang your dress up high. A curtain rail or a wardrobe door are good choices. And make sure to hang it in a pet and fiancé secure room.
When unzipping the bag, put your finger behind the zip to stop it catching on any delicate fabric.
Your main priority is to get the train out, so it has time to flatten out overnight. Hang the dress in the bag so it’s facing inwards. Leave the shoulders of the bag on the dress to keep protecting the dress from dust.
You’ll want to lay a clean towel or sheet on the floor to protect the train when you pull it out.
Check to make sure the dress is hanging from its dress loops, not straps or sleeves. This prevents any delicate fabrics being stretched out by the weight of the dress. As you can see from the one I’ve chosen, that’s a lot of (heavy) dress!
On the wedding day, your dress can be taken completely out of the bag. To prep it for the photographer, turn it round so it’s facing the front, and pop any straps or sleeves, back onto the hanger so it looks its best..
And that’s about it. It isn’t very much, but it can make all the difference, and avoids any unwanted wrinkles, especially on your dress’ train.
Let me know if you have any other tips and tricks!
(Shout out to @engaged_bridal_studio for inspiring this post 🙌🏻)
#wedding dress #customwedding dress #weddingdressinspiration #bespokeweddingdress #bridalboutique #surreywedding #sussexwedding #londonwedding #weddingdaytips #weddingdresstips #bridaltips
