Rebecca wanted a Victorian-inspired wedding dress made in deep forest green and ivory silk dupion. We prioritised historical accuracy with this gown, from the custom-made corset underneath, to the embroidered bustle, all the way down to the layers of knife pleats around the skirt.
Photography – Yuriy Nutsa Photograhy and Babb Photo
Why wear that special dress once? Rebecca had three wedding days! Her first (images above) was in her native USA, in high style on the porch of a grand colonial mansion. Wedding two (images below) was in London where she and her husband live, with friends and family on this side of the pond (me included!). Wedding three was back in America for the benefit of Grandma, who was too unwell to travel for the first celebration.
The Historical Inspiration
Rebecca chose me to make her bespoke wedding dress because of my love of costume history. She brought lots of research and inspiration material to our first consultation which we sifted through to hone the ideas into her perfect dress. The hours we spent pouring over reference images were absolute bliss!
The Initial Design
For this dress, I designed a lightly boned bodice with ruched puffs of contrast silk around the neckline creating a slight sweetheart shape. I added a small bow tucked into the décolletage area in the contrasting ivory silk. The back bodice had the centre panels in the ivory silk as well, to create an ‘inner silhouette’.
The green silk was used for the draped apron, and at the back another draped apron came from beneath the front drape.
The underskirt started with three rows of knife pleats, next a row of puffed ruching to echo the neckline, lastly a wide band of very formal waterfall frill pieces with contrast facing. This highly decorated underskirt was not a separate garment, though in an historically accurate ensemble it might be so.
A three-tiered presentation train was removable, buttoning on below the decorated panel. The train was all in the lighter colour silk to flow with the inner silhouette of the back bodice. Three bows were made of the green silk, the top one was on the main dress and stayed in place when the train is removed.
You can see that this initial design drawing doesn’t match up exactly to the final dress – and that’s absolutely normal! The sketch is a starting point, and as I go through the different stages of fitting with the bride, there are plenty of opportunities to review, consider and change your mind all together.
Making the Victorian Inspired Wedding Dress
This was the first fitting, where we tried on the toile (the test run). I did this to make sure the fit was right and that Rebecca was happy with where we were going with the dress.
I collaborated with my lovely colleague Beth, of Moody Corsetry to create the foundation layers of Rebecca’s dress. Beth creates bespoke corsets and stays to order. This was the perfect way to ensure Rebecca’s period inspired dress would look just as it should!
After our second fitting, where I started using the actual fabrics, the third fitting was about reviewing the changes we had made, and to see if Rebecca liked the style of pleats around the skirt.
Finding the perfect colour for Rebecca’s dress was quite a feat. Usually I can find what I need from my sample books, but in this case searching further afield was needed. But Rebecca knew what she wanted and had the deep forest green silk dupion sent to me from the USA. I quote for fabrics when you have a consultation with me. The labour and materials parts of the quote are always separate so you can see where the budget is being spent. If a client prefers to source all or any fabrics elsewhere that is always encouraged.
Before our last fitting, I had a lot of details to finish. These included hand pressing and stitching all the box pleated frills on Rebecca’s skirt. A fun name for this kind of detail in the Victoria era was ‘frills and furbelows’. Not for specifically these types of pleated and waterfall frills only, it was a phrase like saying frills and ruffles’ that encompassed any sort of over the top decorative addition to a skirt or dress.
And then came the day of the final fitting. The train for Rebecca’s dress was a cascade of ivory silk dupion tiers – and removable. The style is a Victorian fashion called a ‘presentation train’, the name deriving from the fact they were worn at court when a young lady was ‘presented’ to the Queen. Rebecca did her own hand embroidery for the bustle, I love collaborating with my brides so that they can be a part of the creative process.
Not Just A Bride…
I am so thrilled with how with Victorian inspired wedding dress turned out. Rebecca has such a vibrant personality, and her smile is absolute infectious (and can we all take a moment to appreciate that amazing waist). So, not only did I get the joy of making a dress that celebrated her, I’m also lucky enough to call her a friend now.
If you loved this bridal outfit, then have a look at this pale blue Victorian wedding dress I made for my sister.
