Bridesmaids Dresses, a study.

Photos by Joe Tanis

 I've watched 27 dresses, (it's actually really funny, don't judge me) and there were some amazing dresses in that movie, all of them terrible. I learned, that most of these dresses were bought for this movie! They were made ON PURPOSE to sell to the public, not just dreamed up by a costume designer challenged to make 27 terrible dresses!


We all know these dresses have a really bad rap. As a designer, I've given this a lot of thought, why are they so often unattractive? And when they are really great, why doesn't anyone say anything about it? You'd think it would be similar to seeing a unicorn. You want it to be true, cute dresses that could be worn again! And yet they get so little attention.


There is something about the "Bridesmaid Dress" that just has a specific look to it. I haven't figured out why that is.


In full disclosure, the only times I've been a bridesmaid, it's been for my siblings and I designed my own dress, (theirs too) so the only person I had to complain to about what I was wearing was myself (I'm a designer, it happens).


Pictured is the outfit I designed to be a "bridesmaid" or bridesmaid-like (it was a nontraditional wedding) for my brother's wedding. And remarkably, I have worn it again (not always together). I love this outfit. It's a corset with a circle skirt with pockets. It was really fun to wear. (It was also 103 degrees that day and really difficult to breathe in this corset.)

Now, I'm in the happy position to be inviting people to stand up for me, and I'm totally stumped! How to make something lovely, (nursing friendly) practical, flattering and affordable. Oh! and that hopefully that they can wear again. Okay, go!


Thoughts? I'm open to suggestions.

You Will Have Your Cake and Eat It Too, update!

Right before we all went on vacation, I had a fitting with Katie, my model for You Will Have Your Cake and Eat It Too! This is the beginning of the line! 

Katie was good enough to come to the studio on a day that was getting pretty warm and was then willing to try on these samples while Joe took photos of the process.

Getting to work like this is super indulgent for me, it's pretty exciting. I've always loved to explore what the fabric will do in any particular design. It almost feels like cheating, "The fabric told me it wanted to do that! I just listened..." .
This dress is one I designed a while ago, I keep making little or not so little changes and rebuilding it. I know fashion trends tend to move very quickly, but I've always been inspired by the idea of things/styles/silhouettes that have a longer life.


Years ago I read an interview with Isabel Toledo, she said, some of her designs she would wear for years before she'd add them to her line. She wanted to make sure they worked and that they would last. (I named my first dress form Isabelle after her.) I just loved that idea, of living with a design to see if it works.

I also just finished a great biography on Coco Chanel, Chanel; A Woman of Her Own by Axel Madsen and Chanel had a similar philosophy on design. She was always refining what worked, what was elegant and comfortable. And who really was chicer then Chanel?!

 So, here we are! I'm working on the fit and the right construction, what needs bones and what doesn't. I'm loving working with colors and pushing the ideas of what colors make great wedding and party clothes.

What do you think? Here's to more Cake! cheers!

All photos by Joe Tanis Photography

"Take My Picture!"

Um, it's no secret that I've been working with Mr. Joe Tanis for my Photography. I met Joe at my sister's kitchen table. (I meet the coolest people there.) And we started talking, he's a photographer that wants to take editorial photos of brides and I'm a designer that works with brides, one thing leads to another and we have some really fun photo shoots and Voila! Suddenly I have all these amazing photos of my work! This one above is one of my favorites. I love the mood....

What I know about really good photography is that it tells a beautiful story. And Joe Tanis is a great story teller with his photography. You might not know this about me, but I actually got my first degree in Photography, I know how difficult it is to tell really great stories with pictures. It is so difficult that I became a designer instead. Turns out I'm better at telling stories with fabric and clothes. My education left me with a profound appreciation for the people that do it much better then me.

There's so much that goes into really good photography, the lighting, the composition, getting the model to relax, the photo retouching so everything is perfect, all of it works together to tell a story.

On Tuesday and Wednesday Dec 6th & 7th, he's creating a portrait studio to work with people one on one and photograph them. He's created this branding photography event to work with people to help them tell the story they want their pictures to tell. If you need your business or your portrait to tell a new (or better?) story, check out his event here.

He's also offering a Thanksgiving discount ($150.00 off), use discount code: "Thanksgivingdiscount"

Check out his event, pass it along to people you like that need awesome photos. You could pass it along to people you don't like too, but generally anyone you like, must be an awesome someone to photo.... :)

cheers! xophae

Nov. 30, UPDATE
Joe updated his day, do you're own hair and make-up and the total cost is $150, he's got a new discount code that is "friends" I think, it's listed in his link to the event. links above still work! Or let me know if they don't and I'll get you the link directly!

xophae