{"id":42882,"date":"2017-05-05T06:07:25","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T20:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/au\/articles\/design-your-own-wedding-dress\/"},"modified":"2021-11-10T06:00:54","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T19:00:54","slug":"design-your-own-wedding-dress","status":"publish","type":"au-article","link":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/articles\/design-your-own-wedding-dress\/","title":{"rendered":"How to design your own wedding dress"},"content":{"rendered":"

It used to be a common practice for women or their relatives to make their own wedding dresses<\/a>, and while not many of us have the skills or patience to do it ourselves anymore, there are tons of good reasons why you might still want to design your own wedding dress \u2013 read on for why, and how to go about it.<\/p>\n

\"wedding<\/a>
Karen designed her incredible dress that used 85m of silk, and 90 hours to construct – see this #RealWedding <\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reasons to do it<\/h2>\n

For most women, a wedding gown<\/a> will be the grandest item we\u2019ll ever wear, and probably the most expensive, so it really does deserve to be perfect. Perhaps you\u2019re an alternative bride looking for something super unique (find alternative wedding attire here<\/a>), maybe you\u2019re extra tall or have a large bust (there are worse problems), or maybe you simply can\u2019t find a dress you love <\/em>off the rack \u2013 all these issues can be solved by a bespoke dress. So many options open up: long sleeves, mini or tea-length gowns, different colours, pockets, or clever ideas like skirt overlays that once removed turn into a sassy reception dress, or even pants (yes it\u2019s been done, and done well!).<\/p>\n

\"Alternative<\/a>
Cara had an awesome high-low wedding skirt at her #RealWedding<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"wedding<\/a>
That once removed, revealed a sexy reception mini! See more of this #RealWedding<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Research<\/h2>\n

The first thing to do is start scouring the Internet for ideas like a greedy raccoon; grab from everywhere! High fashion shows, vintage designs, royal princesses, or celebrities\u2026 look at all the different elements and design details (fabrics, silhouettes, necklines, embellishment etc) and get inspired. Don\u2019t be afraid to dig deep into the archives; trends matter a lot less for event wear than ordinary clothes, what matters is that you love it and it looks great on you.<\/p>\n

Next, go and try on a bunch of off-the-rack dresses, including ones you might usually pass over, to get a feel for what kind of styles suit you. It\u2019s not always what we expect – take some friends along for a second opinion, and remember sharp intakes of breath are usually<\/em> a good\u00a0sign.<\/p>\n

You can also visit some fabric shops selling bridal silks and laces, like D’italia<\/a>, to literally get a feel of them and their price by the metre. Depending on the simplicity of your design, and the kind of maker you think you want to use, purchasing your own fabric can be an option.<\/p>\n

\"wedding<\/a>
D’italia makes gorgeous custom gowns. See more here.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Get those creative juices flowing<\/h2>\n

The next thing is combining all those different bits and pieces into designs. Do you want long sleeves, with a skirt similar to that<\/em> dress<\/a>, but with more volume, a neckline like that other one, but in this <\/em>kind of fabric?<\/p>\n

The easiest way is to find a fashion design template (croqui) online, print it out and do some sketching. If you simply can\u2019t draw but are a whiz on the computer, another approach is to create a Frankenstein dress on Photoshop by cutting out and pasting all your favourite bits together. It might look kind of strange at first, but you\u2019ll get a decent idea of whether the different elements create a harmonious design, or whether it\u2019s something more akin to a bohemian rhapsody from hell.<\/p>\n

\"wedding<\/a>
Get a bespoke wedding gown from Slyvia Riley<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bring in the big guns<\/h2>\n

At this point, it\u2019s time to ask an expert. Depending on your personal preference and how confident you are, this could either be a local dressmaker, or a dress designer<\/a>. The choice is up to you, however, a rough guide would be how complicated the style is, whether you have found your own fabric or not, and what your budget is. If you really need help translating and fine-tuning your ideas, and want the absolute confidence it will fit perfectly peruse our dress designers <\/a>who do bespoke or made-to-measure.<\/p>\n

Meet with a few to look at their work before committing to one, and listen to what they say \u2013 it\u2019s really easy to overlook considerations like seams, the various properties of fabric and how they fall, and to underestimate the many<\/em> metres that go into a wedding gown. Make sure to bring all of your research and ideas<\/a>, to help you communicate visually and clearly \u2013 because one person\u2019s princess is another\u2019s mermaid! Most will be thrilled to work with someone who thought carefully beforehand and knows what they want.<\/p>\n

\"wedding<\/a>
Browse our favourite wedding dress designers here<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Don\u2019t rush!<\/h2>\n

Lastly, you should leave at least 6 months for the dress to be made, once the final design is settled upon. For the perfect fit, there will be a process of toiling (making the dress in muslin\/calico) or with enough room in the seams for adjustments, depending on their methods. Expect to do fittings multiple times, this is normal and goes a long way to ensuring you look the very best in your dress that you can.<\/p>\n

\"wedding<\/a>
See more of this elegant marquee #RealWedding<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Discover dress designers across Australia<\/a><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":66437,"template":"","au_article_tag":[521,1017,1401],"class_list":["post-42882","au-article","type-au-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","au_article_category-featured-articles","au_article_category-weddingdress","au_article_tag-alternative-wedding-dresses","au_article_tag-bespoke","au_article_tag-wedding-dress"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article\/42882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/au-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-article\/42882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"au_article_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_article_tag?post=42882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}