English · Online made-to-measure
This is the question we get most often in a first message, usually attached to a date that is already fixed and a note of worry. The short answer: about two months. But that number only means something once you know what those two months are spent on, and why we would rather turn an order down than take it and deliver late.
What the two months are spent on
Our dresses are made by hand. There is no production line and no ready-made base to pull out and alter. Each dress goes through a sequence where skipping a step shows on the finished garment.
- Agreeing the design and the fabric. We go back and forth with you until the shape, the material and every change you want are settled.
- Taking measurements. At the studio, or, for a bride far away, at home with our guide and a video call to cross-check.
- Drafting your own pattern. Every dress gets a pattern of its own, drawn to the measurements you just sent.
- Building it in paper first. Before we touch the actual fabric, we spend one to two days making the shape up in paper and correcting every line.
- Cutting and sewing. The longest stretch, and the one that cannot be shortened.
- Detail work. Lace cut along each curve, beading set by hand. This is where one dress differs most from another in time.
- Finishing, photographing, packing.
Why one dress takes longer than another
Not every dress is exactly two months. Three things move the number most.
How complex the shape is. A plain satin column is a different animal from a fishtail with many seams. The more panels there are, the more times the shape has to be built and rebuilt in paper first.
How much lace and beading there is. Lace has to be cut along the curve of the body, not straight across. One plus-size dress took eighty hours of continuous work to finish — that is the finishing alone, before any of the pattern work.
If your date is close
Message us with the date. We will tell you straight away whether there is time. We would rather say no than take the order and cut corners — and for brides abroad there is the shipping time on top, so we do not take rush orders at all.
