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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When I signed up to do this Surrey based wedding photoshoot, I wasn't expecting to find two of my dear theatre friends there as well! In fact, we had been having dinner together a few weeks before, and they mentioned they were modelling for a photoshoot, and I mentioned I was supplying a wedding dress for a shoot, and neither of us realised it was the same one! So it was extra lovely to spend some unexpected time with them.

It was also lovely to connect with other local wedding suppliers. Working in this industry as a wedding dress maker can be quite a solitary existence, so part of the reason I do shoots like these is to network with others, and also to revel in their creativity! There were so many gorgeous little details from this shoot, but those will be in my next post...

Follow along for more pretty wedding dress content!

Photography: @isobelwnphotography⁠
Stylist: @halo_beautiful.xo⁠
Venue: @chaffordpark⁠
Dress: @felicitywestmacott⁠
Celebrant: @madewithlovecelebrations⁠
Food: @vinedinecatering⁠
Cake & macarons: @bluebellkitchen⁠
Jewellery @oliveandedenvintagejewellery⁠
Stationery @simply.laura.calligraphy⁠
Flowers: @baileyandblossom

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I've been nominated for the 2026 Wedding Industry Awards 🥳⁠
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Recently I was looking through my emails, as you do, when I see one that looks a little bit more exciting than the usual spam. It was from the Wedding Industry Awards letting me know that one of my clients has put me forward for the "Independent Dressmaker/Designer" category. It was such a lovely surprise!⁠
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I previously entered these awards in 2016 and 2018. Both times I made it to the regional finals, but I never came away having won. So I thought this year I'd give it another try, spurred on by the kindness of a client 🥰⁠
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Which leads me to asking you all for a favour. If you used my services between Oct 1st 2024 up until now (all that way until Sept 29th 2025) then you are eligible to vote for me. Unfortunately, anyone I've made a wedding outfit for before this can't vote.⁠
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Winning an award voted for by the people I work for is such a gorgeous feeling, so if you have a few minutes to spare, you can find the voting link in my bio 💜⁠
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If you do vote for me, let me know so I can give you a big virtual hug!
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