The Stuff Of Dreams

I don't think we actually set out to create a fairy tale wedding, but it turned into one anyway! And why wouldn't it with these two. They have always had an air of drama and an otherworldly flair  about them. Im so glad they finally tied the knot!  It was the sweetest wedding, ever!

 I was lucky and honored to make the  wedding attire for my friends Lynne Rutter and Erling Wold.

For Lynne, I made a black taffeta "poufy dress"  with a scooped neckline. It was somewhat based on a fifties look with a twist. The fabric was fun as it never really wrinkles and it can be poufed out and stay that way - or be calmed down and stay that way. Thank you microfiber (or whatever the hell this fabric is!?!) I took apart the train from the wedding dress of her first marriage. It was a beautiful lightweight ivory silk and I made a jacket with this silk to go over the black  dress. The old wedding dress had English Cotton Netting used as a lining for the lace sleeves. So I took off the sleeves of the old dress and used the ECN as a lining for the bodice of the black dress. It worked out really well. We revamped the old dress a bit and now she can  put it up for auction on ebay. It will make a cuter than cute modern wedding dress now for some lucky lady! These new and remade garments will be worn many times again, which is great,  and the jacket was a bit "green", which made us both happy. I like being able to reuse materials when I can.  And for the marriage ceremony itself, I took loose weave scrim and made a blinged out fairy tale dress to go over her black gown. I didn't plan on focusing on any particular theme, but when I saw the set that Lynne was painting, I knew I was on the right track. She wore a tiara stuffed with her veil from the previous wedding - and voila! Classy lady turned into Fairy Empress!

 Here are I and my friend Erica (also wearing a silk velvet coat that I made for her wedding several years ago!) We were Lynne's attendants on stage and I am wearing a dress that I found in a thrift store - I threw it in a dye pot the day before! I'm also wearing my little Fluffie Bloomers. It was cuter in real life - really - bad photos.....and the camera adds pounds......right?

And those are vintage Fortuny drapes btw. Nice touch for the old Slovenian dance hall.

For Erling, I put ruffles on one of his red shirts, constructed a vest with epaulets that he could wear over   his tux and with his shirt later on. We thought something versatile, fun, and a little silly yet manly would give this party some extra drama! And I gave him a fancy cummerbund. We did buy some new trims, but I went into my stash and used a lot of what I had - and I was glad to as I have way too much stuff!

Lynne is such an amazingly talented woman. Well, they both are extraordinarily creative, but Lynne just whipped out this set in a few days. It was magical. Here is the black and white outfit. I swear I'm going to get some good photos. She was simply stunning, but I'm in the mood to blog and I couldn't wait! However, not too bad for an iphone. I maybe should have waited to take pictures before I started sipping the whiskey though.

Here is Lynne in the background with her black and white outfit. I'm praying for some better photos down the line. In the foreground is Erica in a Poiret inspired coat that I made for her wedding several years ago. This was a beautiful taupe silk velvet from Thai Silks in Los Altos. Why am I giving you my source? Because its where you should go for your silk. Period. Except that I just found out that if you need heavy stretch silk in colors, Silk Road in Oakland is the place to go. Good to know, because I thought they were gone. Lynne etched this pattern on the back of the coat. Awesome as always.

I just finished a wedding dress yesterday for my nephew's fiance'. So these projects and Tribal Fest royally kicked my ass. I feel as though Ive been running a marathon for two months! I'm again behind in getting orders out the door, but most everything will be done next week and I'm not going to feel guilty about it. Its all cut and bundled or partially put together. I was able to breathe this last week and actually have a little fun again. All work and no play make Kathleen really hard to deal with. I'll take Memorial Day off as well. Shock. Nuff said.

So next week is going to be filled with getting caught up again, answering all those messages and emails, dealing with all those stacks of paperwork piling up around me and just getting enough sleep.

Sleep, blessed sleep!

P.S. You should contact me as early as a year in advance for your wedding attire as Spring is when I am busiest! And it can take me a while to get back to you - although I'm working on that!

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com