Ok, I found a wedding dress that I really, really love. Only it’s in Japan and I’m not.
So, all I have is a picture of it. How difficult/expensive would it be to have someone try to “recreate” the dress? Could it end up being cheaper than the actual dress, considering that it could probably be made of cheaper material? Or is this going to be ridiculously expensive? And how do you find someone to do this?
Also, how feasible do you think it would be to find a dress like it already made here in the US? Should I try sending the pic to different shops to see if they have anything like it?
This is the dress:
http://www.threeweb.ad.jp/~mciccone/dress/pronovias01.jpg
Someone should be shot for that color scheme, which appears to be white on cream on beige on ivory.
However, I’d definitely print that out and take it around to shops and seamstresses. I imagine that it wouldn’t be TOO difficult to copy, as it appears to be very simply constructed.
If you know of anyone who got married recently, or has to have clothing altered, call them up, ask for recommendations. Otherwise, just start looking in your yellow pages under “Clothing, custom made”.
Juh? Looks white to me. Must be a girl thing? 
I had my bridesmaids dresses made from scratch by a local seamstress. She worked relatively cheaply, and I ended up paying $70 each for them. They were full length with an overskirt and the main cost influence was fabric. If you’re willing to take the dress in linen or a blend, it’s going to be a lot less pricey than a silk number. Call around–that dress actually looks like it’s a fairly simple pattern.
bella
Guh…I don’t think you’d even need a pattern for that. Looks like a piece of fabric sewn into a tube with a piece of tulle tied around the waist. You’re sure you want that for your wedding dress!!! (Hint, try on some similar wedding dresses to see if it’s really a style you like on you. I ended up going with something completely different than I thought I wanted.)
Seriously, though, if you went to a fabric store and flipped through a few pattern books I’m thinking you could come up with something nearly identical to that. If you have a printed pattern you can have someone make something for you pretty reasonably. I think if you show them a picture and they have to come up with their own pattern you’re talking about some serious money.
VV, I am sure it’s what I want. It’s just like the pattern I did for my prom dress (which turned out totally different because my grandmother kept saying “Why don’t we change this here to that?” and I just smiled 'cause she was paying for it.)
LOL, grandmas!
If you already have a pattern (which is good, because I was just looking for one like it online and didn’t come up with anything resembling that neckline) then I think you’re good to go. It seems to require a normal amount of fabric (I’d guess 3-4 yards, tops – unlike a traditional wedding dress which would have yards and yards) so even if you went with an expensive fabric I’d say you could probably have one made for much less than a pre-made gown. (And most certainly much less than flying in a designer gown from Japan!)
Congrats on your wedding, BTW!
Oh, is that pretty!
Try the message board at www.sensibility.com See if anyone can reccomend you a good seamstress-also a lot of seamstresses hang out there!
Good luck and congrats!
Just got back from the fabric store and they had a “sewing professionals” message board up back towards the upholstry fabrics (this was at a Hancock Fabrics, BTW.) There were several cards with the business/seamstresses name, phone number and what their specialty was. There were several different types, including some who specialized in bridal, so that might be a good place to start making some calls.
That’s a lovely dress!
I don’t think you’ll run into any huge costs with a seamstress, other than fabric, of course. It looks to be fairly simple and something even I could do. (I’m a long time sewer, but don’t take on anything difficult.) The most labor-intensive part looks to be the hand-sewing of the flowers.
Most bridal shops have a seamstress for alterations. I bet they’d be more than willing to do work on the side. It would probably take some covert (lying) action to speak to one though.
Gorgeous dress. When I was dress-hunting I found a pattern very much like that in either Simplicity or McCall’s. It was in the costume part of the catalog, but I thought at the time what a beautiful wedding gown it would make. Before you have anyone you don’t know alter a pattern for you, though, you might want to check the Titanic dress story on etiquettehell.com. Good luck, happy shopping, and congratulaitons!
Wow, that is a lovely dress. Especially the neckline with the flowers. Congrats on your wedding and on the dress choice!
I’m not much of a sewer myself, but it looks to me like the sort of thing I’ve seen people make themselves. Looks like the sort of thing my mom (who sews quite a bit) would look at and say, “that would be so simple to make” while drawing a pattern for it inside her head. Not that I am an expert, though–it could be more complex than it looks.
Anyway, good luck!
Thanks for your suggestions! It really is an easy pattern. Normally I would ask my grandmother to help me do it, but I don’t want any “improvisations.”