Super-mini Hi-lo Dress

Everybody knows that I love a bride with cool ideas, and Becky’s super-mini organza hi-lo dress was just the exciting kind of commission I love! 

The skirt was a relatively simple circular cut, but perfecting the waterfall effect as the skirt flows into the train took a little experimenting, making sure that the pleats at the waist were in the right place and at the correct angle.

The bodice was a last minute decision on my part to make from a luxuriously thick jersey fabric. Becky is very petite and and my original fabric choice of fused silk crepe wasn’t working perfectly. The jersey worked really well as it stretched over Becky’s figure without the distraction of seams needed when using woven fabrics. The bodice was quite simple in style, with the ‘feature’ being the deep cut shoulders (a little bit like a sporty, racer style) which are really flattering for most people, I think!

At first Becky was keen on a printed fabric for the skirt, but I had been playing around with laser cuts at the time, so we decided to do this instead as something a little different. I designed a boho style border for the hem of the skirt first with daisies, swirling shapes and fans based on several inspiration images that Becky had collected for me, and the fill-in shapes for the rest of the skirt transcended from this.
Becky had the idea to introduce a little colour to the dress too, so I had some daisies and leaves laser cut in pastel pink, green and blue. The top layer of organza was relatively sheer, and so the daisies were applied to the under layer for subtle effect, and to create an extra surprise when seeing the dress up close. The Bride and Groom’s names and wedding date were also embroidered to the skirt lining. The dress was finished off with a narrow pale pink silk waist belt.

Becky married in the countryside of the south of France on a beautiful sunny day. Her wedding photography is by Cyrille Vida