Bespoke of the Devil
I’ve now officially joined the ranks of the made to measure clientele. Technically, Lainey is made to order, not made to measure. The whole being-in-Ireland thing kind of makes it hard to have fittings, and besides that, alterations to handloomed cashmere would require a lot of unraveling! And the insta-tailoring I had done in Vietnam probably doesn’t really count either. So this was a first. Some observations:
1. Don’t forget to bring the shoes you’re going to wear with the outfit. Or at least the right height heel. Because I found myself gingerly standing in Manolos three sizes too big as I was getting the hem pinned.
2. Wear appropriate undergarments. That means don’t wear something that will ruin the line of the dress — but don’t moon the studio staff, either.
3. As much as you want to make a good impression, don’t crash-diet for the fitting! Because it’s easier to take something in than to let it out. No matter what you think, they won’t judge you (at least that’s what I like to tell myself).
4. Having too many choices is a good thing. One of the dresses I ordered — a crossover, low V neck silk print dress with balloon sleeves — was perfect, just needing to be a half-inch looser in the band beneath the bust and a half-inch higher in the V neck. And the silk-wool blend coat — oh my God, the coat! Incredible! I’m so glad I switched from the pistachio color to a rich ivory. (Though I did still find myself gravitating to that stiff pistachio silk. I just might have to order a dress…) The only bad news was that the raspberry print silk I had picked for the halter dress wasn’t available, so I had to choose another. And it turned out that it was for the best — there were new fabrics to choose from, and despite how indecisive I usually am, one custom-made print just spoke to me, and I ordered it on the spot. Now when I go in for the fitting for this new dress next week, my other pieces will be ready for me. So exciting! And the best part of the forced switcheroo? I didn’t even realize it until the middle of the night (and no, for once I didn’t actually get out of bed to check) that maybe just maybe one of the colors in the new print would match this beautiful pair of lemon yellow Manolo heels I fell in love with a couple seasons ago and have been buying outfits around ever since. I drifted off to sleep with Manolos on my mind… and you know what? When I checked the next day, I was right! A match! See, it was meant to be…
P.S. On a similar note, my friend Doris sent me this link for custom bags. Pretty darn cool!
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March 31st, 2006 14:18
Goodness. I almost posted those warnings when you mentioned you were having some things made for you, but I didn’t; I figured aaah, Alex will already know these things … because of what, the psychic connection?
YES. You should ALWAYS wear the shoes you plan to wear with the outfit, because your posture will affect, not only the length of the garment, but the fit as well. That goes DOUBLE for the undergarments - don’t just wear undergarments that won’t flash the staff, wear the same undergarments (or the same style) that you plan to wear with the garment. Believe me, all bras are not created equal; if you wear one to a fitting, and a different style to the event, the dress will not fit as it should. (I actually posted a bunch of this stuff on Never teh Bride’s blog about being fitted for a wedding dress.)
March 31st, 2006 14:24
Oh, and if they measured you in Vietnam, then it does TOO count. Custom-made is custom-made, even if they’re extraordinarily speedy, bless them. And could you send them over to my house? (The speedy overseas tailors; I can dawdle my way through it myself.)
And the whole idea behind custom-made is so you don’t have to alter your own body to get something to fit.
March 31st, 2006 18:52
That sounds like a really nice experience. I’m happy for you.
April 1st, 2006 02:15
Thanks, e! And La BellaDonna, that’s the trouble of the relatively quick turnaround (about 10 days before the first fitting) — no time to find shoes!
April 1st, 2006 16:08
Wot, you “couldn’t” find shoes in 10 days’ time? My image of you is shattered! (April Fool)
April 3rd, 2006 20:32
Ooh! My 15 minutes!
April 5th, 2006 12:50
I think I am confused (my natural state). Are we talking bespoke garments made here, on an impulse, before you could even consider getting the appropriate shoes? Or the dresses you had made because you could, also on impulse, in Vietnam, and certainly no time to go shopping for shoes? Or did you not know what you would have made until you fondled fabrics?
My suggestion would be, if you know you’re going to have a garment made, but haven’t quite decided on a style, would be a selection of shoe heights and bra styles, taken with you to the design consultation (which may or may not be the fitting) unless you’re someone with an unshakeable loyalty to only one bra style or heel height (not, I suspect, the present case). My confusion aside, I just wanted to make sure your readers knew that the way something fits is affected by what they wear, and the same bra style/shoes should be worn for each fitting that are expected to be worn with the gown …
April 6th, 2006 00:43
Ah yes, my problem with impulse buys!
I went to the studio here in NYC “just looking” (yeah, right) and ended up ordering a couple of dresses (not gowns), with the vague idea to wear them to two weddings I’m going to this summer. (Okay, so really the weddings were an easy excuse to order something!) Neither dress is too formal and will be just below the knee, so I can almost just forgive myself for not being shoe-ready at the first fitting! I’ll definitely have the shoes ready for the second dress though…