Sheer effect Guipure Lace Dress with removable, dramatic Organza Skirt

Lucy had a very clear image of the design that she would like before coming to see me. She described to me what she wanted, and I drew it out for her, and I was able to add some of my own twists.

Lucy wanted a kind of two-in-one dress. She and her partner were marrying in a beautiful church, and so wanted a dramatic train, but didn’t really want to carry it around with her at the evening reception!
We designed a dress that had a bold Guipure lace bodice, with a boned bodice underneath so we could create a sculpted shape, but in a flesh coloured silk so that the structure didn’t dominate the design, and the lace looked simply like a fitted lace top with long sleeves.
The edging of Guipure lace doesn’t often have a regular patterned edge, so I chose a dense French lace which had a lovely scalloped edge, and embroidered this peeking out from behind the Guipure lace to look as one fabric, making the sleeve cuffs and the neckline. The back neckline was cut in a v-shape, and also embroidered with the scalloped French lace.
The skirt was cut in a simple bias flared style in a soft ivory silk crepe with only a small train for bridal effect, fitted on the hips and bottom. A bias cut eliminates the need for seams through the front and back, which is ideal for the nature of the silk crepe fabric. Small darts we needed for shaping at the waistline, but these were hidden under decorative lace that was draped and embroidered onto the hips. These pieces were first backed with nude-coloured silk, giving the illusion of sheer panels on the hips.
For the Ceremony I made a three-panel, double layer organza over-skirt which was open at the front so that the slimmer under-skirt could be showcased too.
The Organza over-skirt started just forward of the hip, and pleated into a waistband, allowing it be slim on the hips, and without bulk, while being full and flowing at the hem, creating a dramatic train. Organza was the perfect fabric for the over-skirt, as it’s lightweight, but also a dense weave so it keeps shape, yet floats as you walk. Lucy wanted the over-skirt to look like a natural part of the dress rather than an add-on, and so it was set on a belt that was embroidered with appliques cut from the Guipure lace so that it merged with the lace top. Pieces of the Guipure lace were also draped and embroidered falling down from the waist onto the Organza too.


Lucy’s wedding photographs were taken by London Wedding Photographer Kirsty MacKenzie www.kirstymackenziephotography.co.uk