During the last week of April some of the brides that are so accustomed to seeing me for their appointments noticed my absence. Officially I was “out of town” on business. Unofficially I was making my way to Dallas, Texas for the semi-finalist judging for Season 10 Project Runway.

The question I have had to answer numerous times is: “why did you apply?” Most people that know me know that I have never applied to Project Runway before, and many people ask why. I usually put together full wedding gowns in a single evening, working late into the night. Seemingly they think I would be the perfect candidate. However I have always thought that I would get knocked for being “just a wedding dress designer”. I know I am good at making wedding dresses, but making separates in different styles seemed like a daunting task.

The Back Story

On February 22^nd the phone rang. Strangely enough the casting manager for the production company was calling to ask me to apply for Project Runway Season 10. She found me online, searching for good wedding gown makers since she is getting married in the near future. Of course she had asked why I had never applied before and I promptly replied, “because I am scared of the show. I can see Michael Kors telling me that everything I make looks like a wedding dress”. She laughed. I laughed. I applied.

After sending in my massive application, photos and video, I was called back to be told that everything I make looks like a wedding dress. Well, that is probably because everything I sent them was a wedding dress. They wanted to see more “non-wedding” looks, as Tim Gunn was concerned of my ability to create outside of bridal. I can only imagine Tim Gunn, dressed in his designer suit, wondering if I am so limited in my designing abilities. I sent off the few pictures I had of designs outside of bridal. Apparently this was enough as I received a final callback to make the trip at the end of April to Dallas, Texas.

In the meantime I needed to get some serious designing going on. I had decided I would not take any designs that looked bridal, so I worked on making 3 sets of separates and a black cocktail dress. Mind you, we altered nearly 100 wedding dresses and 11 custom dress fittings to accomplish during the same 3+ weeks. Stressed is a word that doesn’t even touch the pressure I was feeling, but I knew I could make something that was uniquely me, but obviously non-bridal.

Being in Dallas, Texas

I arrived in Dallas on the morning of my interview with the judges. I had scheduled a great model to meet me from Dallas Model Management (http://www.dmgmanagement.com/new_site/). My model, Amy Z was great. My look looked amazing on her. I was ready!

It was finally time for my interview. I was nervous. In the room there were three judges; Mondo Guerra from Denver and two other people I have never heard of. I knew Mondo somewhat prior to this official Project Runway interview from events around Denver, CO. I was hoping he would not tear me apart for my prior bridal experience since that is what he knew of me. I was wrong.

I cannot say that the interview was horrible. It was just disappointing. The focus was more on my line of wedding dresses and my business with The Wedding Seamstress than it was on the new looks I created. Apparently Mondo has a real disdain for flowers because he could not get over the flower I had added to accent one of my looks. That is okay though, I like flowers!

Looking Back

In hindsight, Mondo was probably right. I cannot blame him as I may have been a horrible person for Project Runway. I make wedding dresses. I make GREAT wedding dresses. I make a living making wedding dresses and working with designer wedding dresses. Wedding gowns are my life and I am more than okay with that.

I did get the opportunity to talk with the Neiman Marcus bridal department in Dallas, TX, which was amazing. Austin Scarlett from Project Runway All-Stars has his line of wedding gowns in this location. I am so excited for him, as well as inspired to have my D’Lola Couture line of wedding gowns in a place like that in the near future. They took a look at my line of gowns and gave me some great advice. This alone was worth the trip!

There are always improvements to be made. There are always new ways to recreate classical wedding looks. I will continue to improve. I am already the best wedding gown designer in Denver, CO and the surrounding areas, now it is just a matter of making sure everyone knows it. I don’t need to tell them, but just keep selling my dresses. I have been blessed with selling nearly 50 dresses of mine last year and I am on track to tebar that number apart this year. Looking back, not being on Project Runway Season 10 may be a real blessing as it has made me realize once again that my focus needs to stay on what my passion truly is; and that is being the next Vera Wang!

This is the question of the year thus far. At The Wedding Seamstress we have seen a large variety of answers from online sources. We believe that the best time frame to come take your wedding gown in for alterations is the 10-14 week time-frame. The reasons for this are:

• Finding a good bridal seamstress… lots of good bridal seamstresses will fill up early, thus it will be important to get on their books early, even if are planning on waiting a little longer.
• RUSH FEES… you many not know it, but if you wait your seamstress will generally start marking your price of alterations up as it gets closer to your wedding. Part of this is because waiting leaves you with little option but to use the seamstress you are meeting with, but more importantly it really is the “cost of cutting in line”. While other brides have been in line to have their dresses altered for months you will have to pay to cut in line. Waiting will cost you money in most cases…
• If something happens… We know this is the worst nightmare for you, the bride, but if something happens to your wedding dress while being altered it would be better if you had a month or more to deal it rather than only a week or so.
• You hate your Dress… This actually happens, believe it or not. If you decide you HATE your wedding dress, wouldn’t you rather have months to know this rather than only 6 weeks?

At The Wedding Seamstress, we have heard that there are a lot of online wedding sites that suggest 6 weeks as the optimum time to bring your dress in. Since we work with over 1,000 bridal clients per year, we fell that we are experts in this field and could not disagree more. As a bride, you want to give the professional you take your wedding dress to for tailoring ample time to effectively make you look amazing in your wedding gown! We hope this little bit of advice will help you in your pursuit of the perfect fit!

• Strapless wedding gowns are still in, much to the disdain of alteration specialists everywhere
• White and ivory wedding dresses still rule, but colors are starting to work their way into weddings, especially by incorporating colored sashes and tulle accents
• Online wedding dresses are picking up in sales for overseas (China) companies.
• Related to above, dissatisfaction with online wedding gown purchases is going up.
• Women are more price sensitive to the cost of alterations because they are getting a deal on their gowns (trunk shows, sample sales, online orders).
• Related above, women are paying pretty much the same this year for wedding gown alterations as in 2011, even if they think it costs more.
• Custom wedding dresses are “the thing”. Sadly, many brides are getting “scammed” by ordering supposedly custom wedding dresses online. Note to brides: if the dress is being ordered online for $223, then I promise that it is not custom in any fashion.
• Brides are waiting longer to have gowns altered. This means they will be crammed in closer to their wedding with other brides and may not be happy about the situation. I would recommend calling ahead to a top wedding seamstress rather than wait, at least to get on the schedule.

That is it! We will continue to update our blog throughout the year, but best of luck to our 2012 brides and their beautiful wedding gownsas they make their way into The Wedding Seamstress to be perfectly tailored!!!

Good Morning America takes a small look into the world of online dress buying… what do you think? Does this segment make you want to buy or not buy online???

Lace and Beading will cost more - it takes more time to work with lace and beading. The cost can go up as much as 50% or more if you choose a dress with these items. Where you will be looking for it is on the sides where there is a seam, or along the bottom of the dress where it needs to be shortened.

Alterations Cost 10% of the cost of the dress - We have heard this from a higher end bridal store in the Denver area. While this isn’t always true, it may be a good estimated cost, especially if you use the in house alteration team for the bridal store. (Example: $8,000 Vera Wang dress may cost $800 for alterations.)

Basic Alterations Will Cost $200-$400 – You should count on basic alterations (hem, sides, bustle) to cost in the $200-$400 range if you are using an experienced bridal tailor. You can always find somebody cheaper, who may not carry insurance on your dress, but cheaper is rarely better. We have lots of girls come in with “messed up” dresses following an experience at a “discount” bridal alteration location.  

Below are a few suggestions that may help lower your overall cost of alterations for your wedding dress, and also drop the stress level for wedding dress alteration appointments:

Do not change size – this is probably the biggest reason that the cost of alterations goes up for brides. While you are wanting to look your very best, changing size just a few months before the wedding can cost you for the pounds you loose. Have you size stable, if possible, by your first fitting date. 

Do not change shoes – kind of like not changing size, changing shoes can be costly when in comes to wedding dress alterations. The hem (making the dress shorter) is one of the more time intensive, and thus more expensive, parts of your wedding dress alteration cost. Changing shoes may make you incurr this alteration cost twice. NOTE: you may be able to custom order your dress length when you purchase your wedding gown, if you have your shoes already. This can actually save you money, and stress, over having to pay a seamstress to do the work. If the custom length order is less than $100 you will almost always save money on the cost of your alterations! 

Do not wait – Yes, I know bridal magazines tell you to wait until two weeks before your wedding to get in for dress alterations, but they really are only good at making magazines and not so much at actually altering wedding gowns. There are two reasons you do not want to wait. First, any good seamstress will book up during the busy season, leaving those who wait to work with a less reputable wedding dress seamstress. Second, nearly all tailors or seamstresses will charge a “rush fee” for waiting, which can significantly increase your cost of alterations. In Denver many bridal salons ask that you make your initial fitting at least 12 weeks before your wedding to miss the extra “rush” cost of alterations. Call around, but keep this in mind if you dont want your alterations to actually cost and arm and a leg!

 Discount dress does not equal discount alterations – Yes, you may have found the deal of a lifetime on a used Vera Wang wedding dress. How could you pass the $8,000 dress up that was on a sample sale for only $1200 (let me know if you see a deal like this actually!)? Unfortunately, the cost of alterations for this Vera Wang will stay the same price, regardless of what you paid for it. In fact, the cost may be higher for alterations on a sample or used gown depending on how close the sizing is to your actual body and the condition of the dress. Keep this in mind as you purchase the “deal of a lifetime”!

Best of luck with your perfect wedding dress search, and we hope that these tips will serve as a useful guide to the cost of your wedding dress alterations. If you have any questions about dress alterations, you can always contact us at info@theweddingseamstress.com.

Just a fun picture from our fabric buying trip to Los Angeles. We met some great new importers to go with our current lineup. Very excited for the 2012 bridal fashion season!

Buying in bulk is one of our secrets to success, especially since D’Lola Couture is locked in the very fabric scarce area in Denver, CO. So, how in the world can Deedee Vicory purchase her high end designer fabrics for her wedding gowns without having access to good fabrics locally? There are two ways we make this happen:

1. Deedee Vicory of D’Lola Couture has connections with multiple distributors and direct importers in Toronto, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. This allows her to purchase large yardage and pass the savings onto the customers. This is unmatched by any other local wedding gown designer.
2. Deedee Vicory takes trips to fashion districts in order to personally purchase fabrics, both in large and small fabrics. While it seems odd to fly all the way to Los Angeles for 6 hours of shopping, it really ends up saving money for the customer as the dress prices can be made at a much lower price using the highest quality of fabrics.

So, why is this important to the average bride looking for her ultimate couture wedding gown? Well, first off it gives them a chance to shop locally without having to fly out to New York for high-end custom wedding gowns. D’Lola Couture by Deedee Vicory is the only place in the metro Denver area that offers this type of selection and ability for truly unique custom or couture wedding dress creation.

Now you know a little more about fabric shopping… Check out the photo of the shoes below! These were amazing and something that turns heads for anybody walking down Maple Street in Los Angeles, CA!

These shoes were amazing as we walked by a Swarovski Crystal paradise!