Vintage Wedding Dress Upcycle for Madelie

lace sleeves added to vintage wedding dress

Madalie came to me for a vintage wedding dress upcycle. She had her mother’s beautiful 1970’s wedding dress and she wanted to wear it, made anew, for her own wedding day.

The dress Madalie brought to our consultation meeting wasn’t the right size or style for her modern wedding day. We agreed to unpick and reuse the skirt section and the trim as a way to upcyle this vintage wedding dress. I designed and made her a new bodice in new, matching materials. I enclosed the preserved bodice pieces of her mothers dress inside the layers of her new bodice. So in a sense she was wearing the whole of her mother’s dress on her wedding day.

Design Details

Madalie’s dress redesigned had a lightly boned bodice made in duchess satin and chiffon. I cut it with a square neckline and straps. I gathered the chiffon into the underbust seam and a waist panel had an upward pointed seam feature. Madalie sourced beautiful embroidered tulle lace which I used to create a second neckline and delicate short sleeves. The lace neckline came up to a standing collar, almost like a bolero jacket. The lace was hand cut around each flower and finished with an uneven organic edge. There were longer fronds hanging down from the curling edges of the collar.

The back of the dress closed with a zip and I sewed lots of little cover buttons all down the back. A chiffon sash tied with a bow as a pretty detail.

Madalie’s vintage wedding dress upcycle used her mother’s original chiffon skirt, which had been cut in graduated tiers with a curled hem. I added a new layer of the delicate floral lace on top. I cut in petalled points each with sewn extra flowers to soften the edges. A tiny daisy trim was sewn along the bodice neckline and I added individual daisies on to the lace.

handsewn Daisy flower lace for custom wedding dress
vintage wedding dress alterations

Designing the vintage wedding dress upcycle

Madelie came to me with many ideas, which I love! A pinterest board, magazine pages or even a client’s own sketches are all very welcome as part of the design process. We already had the style and shape of her mother’s wedding dress skirt as part of our upcycle design. So we then looked at lots of different options for the bodice, neckline and sleeves.

The Final Design

Final dress design

To see another vintage wedding dress restyle visit Sophie’s wedding dress

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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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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
This wedding dress is inspired by the same era that Titanic and Downton Abbey (well, some of it) are based on; the Edwardian Period.

The corseted bodice fits close to the body, and is made of panels of silk chiffon over luxurious duchess satin. Trimmed with satin ribbon and embellished with hand sewn lace appliqué and tiny glass beads. 

I love the tiered skirt so much. With three layers of gathered chiffon and trimmed with more intricate lace, giving it a perfect vintage feel.

There is something so timeless and elegant about this wedding dress, don’t you think? If you love this design, you can either head to my Etsy shop, or drop me a message if you'd like it made entirely to your measurements and preferences.

#weddingdress #edwardianfashion #edwardianbride #edwardianweddingdress #periodweddingdress #vintageweddingdress #seamstress #bespokeweddingdress #customweddingdress
If you're curious about what I get up to in my breaks at the shop...now you know!

Inspired by @theadhdpersonaltrainer 🥰

#handstand #handstandpractice #upsidedown #handstandprogress #handstandshapes #feetuptrainer
With spring finally appearing, it was time to update my bridal shop display window.
(If you're curious what it was last month, you can look at my previous post...if you're a fan of dip dye, I think you'll really like it)

I wanted to create something that was full of verdant texture. I feel really strongly about single use plastics, so I always try to either re-use elements from previous window displays, or gather things from nature. This time I used a floral garland by @muscariwhites and added dried flowers from the hydrangea bush in my garden, as well as ivy, and anything else I found that I thought would look pretty.

For this display, I featured two dresses. Usually it's three, but when one of them takes up so much space, I had to make sacrifices! I chose the sumptuous pink Evil Queen dress, as well as the lilac dip dye Bridgeton dress. Both of them are historically inspired (the former by Elizabethan fashion and the latter by Regency), but also have fantasy elements to them. Completely my style as a wedding dress designer.

Which dress in this display is your favourite?
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