Lace Skirt in a Bespoke Style

While waiting at the cutting table at a fabric store in downtown San Antonio my attention was drawn to this pale griege rose covered lace. A closer look revealed scalloped edges; it had to come with me. The man cutting the lace remarked on its beauty and said he could see it as a full skirt in the style of the fifties – think Dior bar suit skirt.

Our niece’s birthday was coming up. While we usually buy her a present, this year I wanted to make her a bespoke design with the special lace fabric. I modified a vintage dress pattern, using the bottom and cut my own tissue to make a pattern for the waist band.

The scalloped edge would be at the bottom of the skirt in lieu of a hem, but it could also be at the top edge of the waist band. This seemed as if it would be distracting and might limit the kind of tops to be worn with the skirt.

The inside of the skirt was finished with French seams. To make a French seam you sew the fabric wrong sides together first, then cut the raw edge 1/8” away from the stitching. Then, turn the fabric right sides together and sew again, thus enclosing the raw edges.

Darker gray embroidery thread was used to embroider her name on an inside seam. This idea was inspired by the film, The Phantom Thread. The film received critical acclaim and was nominated for both Academy and Golden Globe awards. It is the story of a fictional haute couture dressmaker in the 1950’s who sewed messages in the lining of the clothes he made.

After watching several instructional videos, this is my attempt at a bound buttonhole. Bound buttonholes are quite beautiful and you frequently see them on tailored jackets. The lace did not want to be bound, but a great deal was learned in the attempt!

Like the Prince looking for a fit for Cinderella’s glass slipper, every button in my vintage button collection was tried on the lace fabric. This particular button has what appears to be the letter “V” in tiny rhinestones.

This is a new rhinestone button and it looked the best of all of them tried on the lace skirt.  The lace fabric has a lot of body and is heavily embellished with robust silky threads which calls for a prominent button to stand up to it.

To alleviate my concern about the skirt being too short, I used a piece of organza to make a slip or underskirt. This will give her options in styling it!

To accompany the gift of the bespoke skirt, I imagined her wearing it and made a fashion sketch. My husband said her legs looked like bird legs in the drawing.  I told him fashion drawings are not necessarily realistically proportioned.

Ready to wrap!

Her reaction was overwhelming. We received the most beautiful notes from her about the skirt and the drawing. Words cannot express my joy at her excitement.

When she came over for a personalized fitting, she was wearing this ruched silk top and we agreed it was a good option for the skirt.

She also tried on the skirt with this black spandex slip.

On another day we went out to lunch with she and her mother and afterwards went to have a custom frame made for the drawing. She made a beautiful choice with this cream double mat and the soft gold frame. What a fun day!

A night out for dinner and a photo shoot at St. Anthony hotel. So glad she sent us the photos!

I had to share this story of the lace skirt in a bespoke style with you! Sometimes the greatest gift is something you make yourself, but we know this don’t we? The greatest gift is actually the one she gave to us and that is her genuine excitement about it.