The Gown

Next is the gown. With so many designs around and the option to tailor the dress, the options are limitless. And to be frank, we are a tad lost.

Shuyi has listed one criteria though: something that is not 'cute & sweet'. She spent her life looking 'cute & sweet' (lol) and wanted something different. So we are looking for something elegant and not over-the-top. After some research, a design came to mind...

A million girls worldwide went anorexic

Another million considered plastic surgery

The luckiest lace on earth

Grace Kelly. The dress looks fantastic and up-to-date even after so many years. It does help that Grace Kelly is the personification of grace and beauty. But that dress... that dress looked groovy baby! But those lace looked expensive though...

"Grace's wedding gown was a gift from the MGM Studio and designed by Helen Rose. It was a high-necked, long-sleeved gown with a fitted torso and billowing skirt made of twenty-five yards of silk taffeta, one hundred yards of silk net, peau de soie, tulle and 125-year-old Brussels rose point lace. She wore a Juliet cap that was decorated with seed pearls, orange blossoms, and a veil of 90 yards of tulle. The chief hairstylist at MGM Studios, Sydney Guilaroff, styled Grace's hair for her wedding. Grace carried a small Bible and a bouquet of lilies-of-the-valley."

What on earth is a 125-year-old lace? Are lace supposed to last that long? How does being 125 years old make it better?

We spent a day scouting around Tanjong Pagar, enduring the endless sales pitches of the Bridal shops. Partly due to my personality and job, I am very resistant to hardsell tactics. My sister, who is the authority in this kinda stuff, also warned me of their tactics. They never had a chance.

What is disappointing that these so called professionals have not heard of THE most famous wedding gown of all time. How are we supposed to believe in people like these?

Next is the internet reseach part... the singaporebrides forum provided tonnes of infomation(most of them useless) for us to refer to. Take for example:

BrideA: I got this dress and did this photoshoot at XXX. It was fantastic!!!

Bride1-KraziBride999: Hi BrideA, can you please send me pictures of the shoot? My email is kaypoh1@hotmail.com. Thanks!

Bride2-marriedbutstillhere: Bride A, picture please! superkaypoh999@gmail.com.

One comment like that will spark hundreds of request for pictures. Post the picture damnnit!

We got the book Grace Kelly: Icon of Style to Royal Bride from the National Library. A book to explain why the Grace Kelly gown rocks so much. Easier for us to rip off the design too!

Long live NLB!

3rd Nov: Went to the bridal shop to discuss the design for the wedding gown and to take measurements as well.

Shuyi needed to gain weight for the gown... seriously

21st Dec: Fitting

We went for a fitting session. The 'gown' was made from lining material for the mock up of the actual dress.

Evening dress (without cancan and outer skirt)

We don't want too long a train

The cummerbund should be this thick!

weeeeee!
30th Apr

We went for our 2nd fitting. This fitting is to get the precise fit of the dress and knock out any kinks in the design. I was very worried that the long sleeve would overwhelm Shuyi who is so petite. But it turned out fine especially with the heels on.

everything held together by pins

serious French lace action

We started with the evening dress as it is essentially the gown without the outer skirt. We scrapped the idea of cutting it short as it did not seem very appropriate for it to be just below the knee. We agreed that a lacy flower (in red) near the neck area would be a stylish touch to make it look special. The rest of the dress it to be kept simple as there is simply too much happening at the torso area. We also decided to shift the slit to the back as it will stick out if we were to taper the dress.

The collar was a fantastic touch: it is well proportioned & made Shuyi's neck look long. With the hair in a bun, it accentuates Shuyi's nape which, i must add, is very nice.

everybody, stop what you're doing & smile!

The evening look ended up pretty much like a nonya kebaya which was our initial idea. And I decided that we shall accessorize with a nice jade bangle to complete the look. For those who think that jade bangles are auntie or old, shut up. You don't know nothing bout style.

love the collar

Next, Shuyi jumped (for real) into the skirt for us to look at the actual gown. One immediate problem that we identified is the sheer volume of the dress: it is drowning Shuyi in fabric. We decided on adding another layer of cancan near the waist level to puff it up and take off a layer near the knee area to lessen the volume. A bit more dramatic and yet less overwhelming.

note the pleats: allows for cancan to pump up da volume!

side view

bringing sexy back

with addition volume added

We used a cummerbund as reference and it fitted the look perfectly. Too bad I did not take a picture of it. But the cummerbund really completed the entire look. We choose a silk material for the cummerbund. Strangely, the colour is labeled as 'great bear'. Strange name for a silk fabric but it is the same series that has name like 'great slave'. So bear is fine, I guess. It is a whitish shimmering fabric with a hint of golden sheen. Kept within the colour scheme but still different enough to differentiate from the ivory gown.

买单！

May08

We went for another fitting. Letitia suggested a retro looking short veil as we already have a lot going on with the heavy lace top. Since we're already going old skool with the gown, why not go all the way?

Shuyi went honey harvesting

emo

i know. don't say it.

there are 28 buttons if you need to know

kancheong
Comments:
May I know which BS that you tailor made your gown. It looks gorgeous!
# posted by Anonymous GG : February 17, 2011 at 10:43 PM
 
you can email me and i'll let you know.
my email is in the last link on the left
# posted by Blogger weelian : February 17, 2011 at 10:50 PM
 
you really do need Grace Kelly's lovely waist and neck to pull off her gown, that should have been the order of the day, picking a gown to accentuate your body shape.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : July 28, 2011 at 4:08 PM
 
Post a Comment