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© Anne Fontenoy.
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- WEDDING DRESSES
- SILK WEDDING VEILS
- EVENING DRESSES
- CLASSIC DAY CLOTHES
- BIAS CUT DRESSES
- SILK SPECIALIST
If you are looking for unique one-off ladies clothes, then my design service may
be of interest to you. I design and make, hand sewn one-off classic dresses, including
silk wedding dresses and silk bridal gowns, as well as evening dresses and ladies
day clothes including dresses and ladies separates, although I do not design trousers.
Read on for information about one-off hand made dresses, made to measure wedding
dresses and made to order couture dresses. View some ready made silk dresses which
you can buy online or make an appointment to view them at my base in Tunbridge Wells.
A collection of bridal headdresses, beaded bags and hand painted silk scarves can also be purchased online from this website.
Originality - My objective is to create one-off or small editions of hand made quality
dresses and ladies separates which are hand crafted with a couture finish. Simple,
elegant wedding dresses, especially silk wedding dresses, bias cut silk wedding dresses,
bridal gowns, veils and other bridal accessories, evening dresses and prom dresses,
as well as ladies suits for registry office weddings or other such simple ceremonies;
formal and informal dresses, including ladies classic day wear such as day dresses
and ladies separates; skirts, blouses and ladies suits (skirt and jacket). I specialise
in bias cut dresses, silk dresses and soft, fluid clothes. I only work from patterns
which I make myself.
N.B. I do not work from other people’s designs, patterns or photographs.
This is because I design and make patterns for the clothes I make.
Hand Sewing
Hand sewing gives a traditional couture finish, or in other words, a traditional high quality crafted finish which has been used by tailors and couturiers (as well as couturières) for centuries. Remember, the sewing machine was only invented in sometime around the 19th Century and all clothes were sewn by hand before sewing machines came into existence (see Hand sewn dresses in FAQ for more information).
Embroidery and Beadwork
I specialise in designing embroidery and beadwork and creating this as hand embroidery sewn with thread and hand beaded embroidery.
Hand Painting
As well as hand painting silk scarves and silk wall hangings, I can also hand paint dresses.
Appointments
If you would like me to design an original dress for you, please phone or e-mail
me to make an appointment. All consultations are by appointment at my base in Tunbridge
Wells, Kent, during which time I will discuss ideas with you, show you photos and
sketches of my designs as well as small samples of fabrics, and then sketch a unique
design especially for you, with a written estimate.
I have portfolios of photos and sketches of my designs for original dresses for you to browse through and some sample silk dresses which you can also look at.
Appointments may be made during the week in the daytime, and if time permits in the early evening (up to 7.30 p.m.) or on a Saturday, although weekends are not always possible. Between 2 and 6 fittings may be needed, depending on the style.
Silk and natural fabrics
I have several ranges of fabrics from which cut lengths can be ordered for my designs. I prefer to work with natural fabrics although I do also consider quality synthetics.
Most of these materials are from trade suppliers which means I can offer a much wider range of fabrics than are generally available in retail outlets. This is because although a lot of my suppliers supply quite a few UK fabric shops and department stores, the shops tend to stock just a selection of fabrics whereas I can usually access the full collections of each trade supplier, therefore offering a very wide range of qualities and colours of fabrics which I can order as cut lengths.
I have small swatches of these fabrics and can order those I do not have. Most of my suppliers will also provide a stock cutting so that you can check a larger swatch before purchase; your length of fabric can usually be reserved from the roll of material that the stock cutting is from. When fabrics are dyed, the colour can vary slightly from batch to batch, so with a stock cutting you will know which colour you will have. Quite a few suppliers provide this service free of charge, and hold the fabric for about a week before the order needs to be confirmed. Some suppliers charge a nominal amount for a small swatch. If you require a larger swatch, then usually you will need to pay for the actual amount of fabric you would like to see in a piece. Aside from those listed below, there are also many other fabrics which I can source.
- A wide variety of 100% Silk fabrics and silk mixtures, including (but not limited to) vegetable dyed and hand woven Silk Dupion, power woven dupions, white, ivory and neutral shades of duchesse, princess and crepe satins chiffons, georgettes, taffetas, as well as a large range of colours in these satins and in many other of the silk weaves that are available to order. Silk Dupion is one of the wild silks. The threads have a slub in them as they have not yet been refined, so the woven material has a slightly uneven lined texture. Many of the dupions are also “shot” silks. This means that the warp and weft threads are different colours which produces a stunning two tone colour.
- 9 colours in silk Noil Poplin, an economical and eco friendly silk which uses the leftovers after the main silk has been used from the cocoon and which is dyed with chemical free dyes. This fabric makes up well as soft gowns and dresses, suits, and day wear.
- Silk Mixtures including silk and linen, silk and wool, silk and acetate duchesse satin, silk and polyester taffeta
- Traditional Handloom Silk such as Eri, Tussah and Muga from India
- Silk Prints Very high quality silk prints are available to order, or I can suggest various retail outlets where these can be purchased.
- Lace all-
overs and trimmings in various fibres and price ranges with many made in England tn traditional designs, plus fancy and embroidered tulles
- Tulle for veils in plain and sparkling synthetics, cotton and of course 100% silk tulle, with extra wide widths available in both silk and synthetic tulles. Most of the tulles come in a range of whites, ivory’s, soft pastels and colours. Veils can be plain, edged with lace or 100% silk ribbon, hand beaded or embroidered.
- Organic cottons
- 100% Linen woven in Britain with care for the environment -
a wide selection of linens available in white, naturals and colours. These linens are available in very lightweight blouse/shirt weights through to dress weights and weights for suits and jackets.
- ‘Special order’ hand woven Himalayan fabrics: merino sheep wool, camel, lambs wool, pashmina wool and oak silk
- 78 % Mohair fabric (with 13% wool & 9% nylon) in over 40 colours, plus linens.
- High quality UK produced cashmere in dress/suit and coat weights; plains, herringbones and other weaves in a classic palette as well as subtle colours.
- Quality synthetics, plus a wide selection of acetate, viscose and cupro linings.
- from Savile Row, high quality worsted/silk mixtures in the finest of weights in classic checks, houndstooth and herringbone weaves in a range of soft sheen colours; plain worsteds, Black Tie cloths, cotton/modal velvet plus Harris Tweeds.
- Organic tweeds un-
dyed or naturally dyed, made in Scotland from UK produced wools in classic colours as well as natural white, soft pinks and blues.
- Fabric dyed to order I have silk suppliers who will dye their silks to any colour as well as professional dyers who work with silks, cottons, wools and other fibres to get good colour matches using environmentally friendly processes. There are fees for these services. POA.
- Other fabric
If you wish me to design you a dress using fabric you supply, please check the amount and type of fabric with me before purchasing it, to ensure it will be suitable, that there will be enough and if I will work with it. I do not work with very heavy or hard fabrics as all my sewing is done by hand.
Toile - If you are unsure of the style, then a toile can be made. This is a “mock
up” of the design made in an economically priced fabric, although I will try to use
fabric that has a similar weight and drape to the fabric that the design will be
made in. A toile will incur extra charges of between £50 and £250. I always recommend
a toile for complex garments, as this gives an idea of how the design will look,
before cutting the fabric for the finished garment. The design can be refined during
the making process.
Notice -
Prices - I charge £12.50 per hour for making up the garment and £25 per hour for
designing. There is a minimum Design fee of £25. The following is an indication
of starting prices:
ROUGH GUIDE TO PRICES - PLUS THE COST OF MATERIALS
- Blouses from £100
- Skirts from £100
- Unlined Day Dress from £200
- Lined Day Dress from £275
- Unlined jackets from £175
- Lined Jackets from £275
- Lined Suits (skirt and jacket) from £375
- Simple Evening Dresses from £350
- Ball gowns from £600
- Simple Wedding Dress from £500
- Bridal Gowns from £950
- Short un-
trimmed veil from £50
- Short single layer veil trimmed with 100% silk ribbon from £75
Budget
The above prices are just a rough guide. Each dress is individually priced and I am quite happy to do my best to work to your budget, taking into account the style of the design, the amount of work involved in creating it and the cost of materials. So, always feel free to ask if I can make something for you even if you feel you have a limited budget.
Fabric Prices
Silks can cost between £10 and more than £100 per metre; laces from about £5 to over £100 per metre, synthetics can start from around £4 a metre up to about £40 per metre.
IN PRACTICE
a wedding dress including fabric, design fee and labour, may cost between £600 and £3000
although the costs of a very complex gown may be higher.
Synthetic tulle veils from about £60 to £600, silk tulle veils from about £75 to £1,000 although hand embroidered or beaded veils may cost more depending on the amount of work involved.
Veils may also be made from chiffon, lace or other suitable fabrics.
Notes about having a dress made
If you have never had a dress made, then you will need a little patience during the making process. At the first fitting the garment is usually lightly tacked and may look a bit rough. The first fitting is to give you an idea of what the dress will look like and also so that the dress can be fitted to you. The seams are at first just tacked because if the seams are sewn properly and then need adjusting this not only would add to the overall cost but undoing the seams may also mark the fabric.
There are a few things I do not do. I do not design or make trousers as I am a “dress lady”. I do not work from ready made paper dress patterns. Neither do I copy other designers’ dresses, whether from photos, pictures, sketches or actual garments, because I design all the clothes myself; and I do not use a sewing machine. What I do do, is create unique, elegant hand made ladies clothes: wedding dresses, evening dresses and other special occasion dresses as well as classic day wear for ladies. These quality, original dresses are hand crafted giving the clothes a soft, couture finish.
Wedding Dresses, Evening &Day Dresses
The photo galleries are a selection of original one off creations made from my patterns.
Most of these were created for individual clients so are often not for sale; they
are one-off designs which give an indication of styling and price guidelines. Each
original dress is individually priced.
If you would like a ready-to-wear dress, browse Silk Dresses Pret-à-porter
Picture Gallery of Evening and Day clothes including suits