Whether you have an elegant wedding dress you want to keep after your big day is over, or a custom-designed gown you wore to a premier gala event that you’ll cherish forever, it’s important to take care of the fabric so that it doesn’t lose it’s color and detail.

Here are a few simple steps you can take to ensure that your special dresses are protected and preserved so they may last for years to come.

1. Hire an experienced professional to clean the dress.

Although you may have a local dry cleaners you’ve used before, they may not have the expertise and knowledge of cleaning wedding dresses and gowns properly.

Especially if your dress was custom-made and involves more than one layer of fabric, lace, or beading of any sort, you’ll want to rely on someone who knows how to handle the gown carefully while cleaning it. A specialist will be able to assess any damage done to the dress (such as stains on the hem, which happen often during the wedding day) and clean any delicate fabric in ways the average dry cleaners can’t.

2. Do your research: read reviews and ask for referrals.

Before you hand your gown over to any company you come across, make sure you thoroughly vet their experience in cleaning dresses of this kind. Not all professionals use virgin solvent, which is vital in making sure your dress is free of any lingering particles typically used in an average cleaning company’s recycled solvent.

A trained eye will also know where and how to spot any “invisible” stains that may turn yellow or get worse over time.

3. Don’t wait.

The longer you take to get your dress cleaned and preserved, the more you risk letting any stains set in the fabric for good. Be sure to have a professional work on the dress as soon after your big event as you can. If you’re preserving your wedding dress and are leaving for your honeymoon the next day, consider having a family member or bridesmaid come by to pick it up and drop it off for you!

4. Have an airtight preservation box.

When a dress is sealed in an airtight box, the oxygen is sucked out and replaced with nitrogen. Doing so helps to prevent any “aging” and discoloration, which can easily happen in an oxygenated place over many years. Should you ever need to break the seal and take it out again, hire a specialist to re-seal it properly for you.

5. Store the box away from sunlight.

Cold and dark areas of your home are best for preserving the dress, since sunlight and heat can damage the dress’s design over time.

Dress Cleaners in the Denver Area

Have a special dress that needs to be professionally cleaned? Here are a couple I’d like to recommend:

McMahan Cleaners

Gold Label Cleaners

Please note that I am not getting compensated to recommend these places. I have clients who have had good luck using these companies so I’m passing their names along, but you should still do due diligence for any of your particular dress cleaning needs. 

Looking for a Custom Designed Dress?

Whether you’re looking for a truly unique wedding dress, an elegant mother of the bride dress, or a show-stopping gala or party dress, reach out to Brooks LTD for a design that suits you and fits perfectly! Contact me online or call 303-573-3801.

The post How to Preserve Meaningful Dresses So That They Last a Lifetime appeared first on Brooks Ltd.

For me, one of my favorite highlights of the whole day were the clothes. Meghan expressed herself so eloquently through her choices of classic details with meaning, especially in her bouquet and veil.

“Flexible” being a word that this couple, and this wedding, has managed, to everyone’s great surprise, to attach to the formerly-perceived-as-entirely-rigid royal family.”  — Vanessa Friedman, NY Times

With this Royal Wedding, the world was able to see the new, modern influences on the British Empire. And the modest, simple, and elegant fashion design was at the forefront of the event. It made me want to dress royalty. It also reminded me of how I have described my work to potential clients in the past: “You deserve a wardrobe that treats you like nobility.” And isn’t nobility another word for royalty?

Meghan Markel’s choice of fashion for her wedding dress was classic, demur, elegant and tasteful. The clean design line of her wedding gown will add another dimension of choices for women getting married in the bridal marketplace. Classic design and luxury fabrics are all one needs to create a statement. In my world of fashion, I have always believed that timeless design is everlasting.

Photo Credit: Getty Images, Town & Country

One of my favorite clothing designs of the guests was worn by Amal Clooney. The color was lovely and the design simple and understated. I especially liked the surprise of the train extending beyond the garments hemline.

Photo Credit: Getty Images, PopSugar

Megan’s gown for the reception also resonated with me. “The Cold Shoulder” has been around for decades, and you can read more about the style in the New York Times. It’s sexy and revealing in a very subtle way. Shoulders have a tendency to remain the same shape and size no matter a woman’s weight fluctuations, so it’s a beautiful option for many body types. I’m sure this design element will show up in many new bridal collections over the next year!

Photo Credit: Getty Images, Town & Country

Below you can see some of my current designs photographed this past season, and I think they simulate what everyone saw at the recent Royal Wedding.

Photo Credit: Hardy Klahold

I also like to think that my ‘mustard’ version of a summer suit would have looked well at the Royal Wedding.

Photo Credit: Hardy Klahold

And these ladies look like they would fit right in with the Royal Family, don’t you think?

Photo Credit: Hardy Klahold

About Brooks LTD

Modern trends blended with timeless elements are always part of my inspiration for every custom design I create. I collaborate closely with clients to ensure the most stunning look for their personal style. This is what makes the Brooks LTD atelier an influencer in the Denver fashion scene.

If you’re looking for a custom wedding dress, mother of the bride dress, or custom lifestyle clothing, reach out to me for a consultation by calling 303-573-3801. I look forward to hearing from you!

The post Fashion at the Royal Wedding appeared first on Brooks Ltd.

Not peach, not orange, salmon. That was her driving force for the entire wedding, from flowers, cake and everything in between.

The Process of Designing Karen’s Custom Wedding Dress

It was quite the journey for me to find the exact match from a color swatch. When I pulled out a color card of available laces, there was the exact color. Finding the undergarment color fabric was the challenge. I was thinking I may have to dye the silk to get the right color. Not only was the color important but the quality of the fabric needed to have body as Karen wanted a strapless dress. Boning and structure were eminent in this complicated task.

I like to take a photo of my client in her daytime clothing so that I can look at it during the creative process.

One thing I suggest to potential brides is to bring in their vision of what a gown for their day would look like. I find it so interesting that women have a vision of what they want to look like and sometimes the technical aspect doesn’t work with either the fabric or a body type.

Strapless dresses demand so much structure for the gown to stay up, the inside of the garment is highly constructed so that the wearer will be comfortable all night and not tug at her gown for staying in place. I love a challenge!

Here is the original vision of the gown Karen saw herself in:

Fast forward to one of the next steps in the custom-dress process, I create a strapless prototype for Karen to try on.

At the second fitting, not only does the prototype have the shape we are trying to achieve, but I use the exact kind of fabric for the sample. In order to see how something is going to fit, we have to first create it in the fabric we plan to use. 

You’ll see in photo below that I used the salmon duchess satin for the bustline fit. Although it looks odd, it gives me the perspective I need to continue to the next step.

Photo credit: Meredith Harris Photo

It is at this point that I suggest Karen consider sleeves to hold the gown in place. It is still constructed like a strapless gown but has the extra security of a cap sleeve for beauty and function. Even small cap sleeves can help provide a more elegant aesthetic for any body type, especially since strapless dresses can often appear a little too snug around the arms/shoulders and upper back. 

Meredith also captured me fitting the lace overlay on Karen in my atelier so that the pattern is symmetrical with some extra movement in the back of the gown, mainly a subtle train. 

Photo credit: Meredith Harris Photo

Photo credit: Meredith Harris Photo

After this fitting, the details of the sleeves and the fit were the main concern. We needed to make sure she could move easily and feel comfortable on her big day.

Here are a few shots I took on delivery day:

The Day of the Wedding

At the wedding, Heather and Gunther of High Altitude Photography captured the dress in an elegant way. As you can see the dress fit Karen beautifully, she was able to move without restraint, and her venue, hair and other details blended together seamlessly. I am so appreciative of High Altitude Weddings to share the day with me through their creative photography!

It’s so gratifying to see ‘the day of’.  Thank you to Meredith Harris and High Altitude Photography for their work and Karen’s vision of an unusual dress in an unexpected color to complete her wedding dreams.

Yes, dreams do come true.

Contact Brooks LTD for a Custom Wedding Dress

Sometimes your vision for the big day requires a wedding dress no one else has worn! Reach out to me for a custom wedding dress that fits you and suits your personality perfectly.

The post Custom-Made Salmon Colored Lace Wedding Gown appeared first on Brooks Ltd.