It’s wedding season, and Team Ginger Root has altered over 30 bridesmaid dresses in the past 3 months! It’s a nice break in the routine, and my favorite part is chatting with the different “chosen” ladies about the questionable nature of their appointed dresses. To be frank, I’ve seen some tasteful, beautiful gowns, and some real duds. But every bride honestly believes that their choice could “totally be worn again.”

This week’s profile it’s Lizzie, a determined former bridesmaid who WAS going to wear her dress again. We started with a floor length, navy blue satin gown. A decent dress, but  this girl is fashion forward, so she brought it to us, with visions of a jumpsuit in her head. 

Inspired by Lizzie’s excitement, I did some sketches, took some measurements, and patterned some shorts. Honestly, the first fitting can sometimes be a bit rough, but Lizzie was a real trooper, and I was able to adjust my pattern accordingly. I removed the skirt, and sewed up a second mock-up of the shorts. We were running out of muslin (cheap fabric, usually used to try out patterns before cutting into the expensive fabric) though. So I cut the second version of the shorts from a piece of faded blue twill. Originally, Lizzie and I planned on the whole romper being made out of the navy satin, but she loved the different material! It opened the dress up to more casual possibilities, and she was never a huge fan of the satin material. I finished off the mock-up in a more permanent manner (smaller stitch length, serging of seam allowance, setting the zipper, ect).

You can see that the romper fit Lizzie perfectly, and she even wore it to the boutique’s closing party! Thus was one of my favorite projects I’ve done all year, and the timing was amazing. Attention all bridesmaids: you CAN wear that dress again; you just might need to get a little creative about it 🙂

Do you have an old bridesmaid dress that you actually want to wear again? Give us a call at 202-567-7668 or email us at info@gingerrootdesign.com to schedule an appointment.

*Tailoring by appointment only, closed Wednesdays and Sundays.