Sarah’s family lives out of town and not here in Denver, so her best friend Katie joined her for the first few consultations. After we talked about her vision for the wedding dress she had in mind, I started researching fabric choices and made a sketch. With my direction, Sarah was happy to help choose the final fabric and the rest was up to me and my creativity.

After we nailed down the fabrics and initial designs, we had a few fittings and it all came together when Sarah’s blue shoes arrived! As women, we love having that special pair of shoes to complete an ensemble, especially for our wedding day!

The whole dress design process was fun and as an extra addition to this project was that I had the honor of also creating her bridal accessories! It’s not too often that I get the opportunity to complete the whole concept for brides, but Sarah gave me artistic freedom to do it all.

I’ve had a lot of experience making fascinators and belts and this gave me that same opportunity. Hand stitching is always a relaxing detail that I love to do for my clients.

From time to time, clients give me a review on Google. Sarah was no exception and her words were so specific I thought I’d share them with you:

“Brooks designed and created my custom wedding dress! It was such a fun process, she listened to what I initially wanted, and added her expertise and creativity – it all resulted in a one-of-a-kind dress that was vintage-inspired, beautifully crafted, and the fabrics & design were perfect for the occasion – AND it fit like a glove! Brooks included my best friend and I on the process, we met her at the fabric store, and in her fabulous studio multiple times. She also created a custom headpiece with a birdcage veil and a fun belt for the dress. All in all, this was such a great experience – for me, it was 200% better than spending months at bridal shops, never really finding what I wanted. Thank you!”

Below you can see the final bridal look in her wedding day photos, with their celebration at a family cabin (a geodesic dome home) in Presque Isle, Wisconsin!

Wedding Photographer: Melissa Grace Photography

Looking for a unique, custom-made bridal gown that’s unlike any other?

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

The post A Custom Wedding Dress Designed for Sarah appeared first on Brooks Ltd.

Not only is a custom-designed dress made to fit your body, but you’ll love being able to wear something tailored to your fashion vision and style — especially if you have something extraordinary in mind that is more specific to your individual personality.

But when it comes to working with a custom dress designer, there are a few important things to look for before your commitment. Here’s what you should look for in a dress designer to find one that’s right for you.

Experience & Expertise

When you meet with a potential designer, ask how long they’ve been in this line of work. Those with more experience will often have a better perspective on the dress shapes, colors, and fabrics that can help you create an entirely unique ensemble. Hiring a designer is also requires trusting in their expertise and guidance, so you’ll want someone who can bring a professional opinion to the table.

And although there are many clothing designers out there, find someone who has a background in creating high quality ensembles (such as gowns, dresses, skirts, jackets and blouses) so they can better suggest the right fabrics and style for such an important event.

They will also know the right questions to ask you in return, making the design process smoother and more transparent, so you clearly understand each step the entire way.

Portfolio

This tip may sound obvious, but it can be one of the most important to helping you find the right designer. Look through samples of work they’ve done in the past. See which dresses they’ve designed that you may or may not want to borrow inspiration from.

Honesty

You should feel comfortable with the person you’re working with, and this requires a good amount of honesty and transparency. It’s better to hire a dress designer who is up-front about what may or may not be possible (say, with certain fabrics that may not match the style you’re going for), than someone who says “Yes” to everything and doesn’t achieve your vision in the end as they promised.

Creativity & Artistry

You aren’t looking to have someone create a custom dress if you’re hoping to wear something unoriginal, so look for a designer who thinks outside the box!

Ask for their insights, ideas and opinions. Creating your dress should be a collaborative effort in order to bring an out of the ordinary design to life. Work with an artistic dress designer who uses creative design elements, and you can feel confident as you walk into your event with an ensemble that is truly “yours”!

Contact a Custom Dress Designer in Denver, CO

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

The post What to Look for in a Dress Designer appeared first on Brooks Ltd.

Here are some of my thoughts on 2018’s hottest fashion trends, as well as a few examples from my own clothing designs.

Bright, bold, solid colors

Solid colors with a lot of saturation are always a safe choice to add to your wardrobe. They enable you to dress up or down with accessories. I always suggest choosing a color that compliments your hair and complexion. Turquoise is one of my favorite colors for this trend.

For evening wear, I went a little extreme with this coral strapless gown embellished with turquoise and yellow. I call it “here comes the sun.”

Transparent/Sheer Fabrics

This turquoise ensemble shows off the sheerness of the fabric. The skirt design has a short lining so one can appreciate the sheerness of the fabric. Subtly sexy, covered up with the illusion of your figure underneath.

Lots of Tulle

Tulle is a beautiful, feminine way to express yourself. This black tulle dress is adorned with colorful appliqués. I always like to cover up the figure, but with a sheer illusion so that you can see beyond the fabric.

Fringe

Fringe is making a comeback this year and being used in various designs, from dresses and jackets to boots and purses.

Although I follow trends, fringe is not on my radar this season. My clients would need to see this more in the market place before they would experiment with it. Maybe I’ll catch up next season, I was too involved in sheer and transparency this year.

Sequins and Sparkle

I love sequins right now especially paired with lace! They make a beautiful combination especially for formal events, such as galas and weddings.

I’m currently on the hunt for paillettes which are bigger than sequins. I trust I’ll find some next month on my fabric journey back east.

Fair warning to the brides out there: be careful if you choose sequins for your bridesmaid dresses, since they come in many qualities of fabrics. Sequins can also take away attention from the bride and can reflect the light in unusual ways when photographed. Here is an ensemble of a MOB dress I designed, mixed with silk charmeuse.

Contact Brooks LTD 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 Fashion Trends to Watch in 2018 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.