I’m currently up to my elbows in bridesmaids dresses and wedding gowns (tis the season…), so it’s become a fun game to figure out the minimum changes necessary to transform a typical Bill Levkoff dress into something you actually could wear again. It’s sort of the tailoring version of the Kevin Bacon game 🙂 This project was a variation on that.

Gabrielle came to us with a former bridesmaid dress that she wanted to transform to wear to a black tie wedding. Gabrielle had a clear idea to add gold lace around the midriff, and emailed me several different kinds she liked, to get my opinion on the most successful/structurally sound option.

Once it arrived (thank you, Etsy!), I removed several inches from the bodice, and replaced that material with the lace. I also replaced that purple invisible zipper with an exposed metal one. The cut out and metal zipper gave this sweet bridesmaids dress a bit more bite, while keeping it classy and wedding appropriate.

Another possible variation would be to hem it up; there’s a cute cocktail dress option too!

Do you have an old bridesmaid dress that you would like to wear again? We will take the special attention to make sure it stays a timeless classic.

Give us a call to schedule an appointment at (202)567-7668 or email us at info@gingerrootdesign.com and we can help brainstorm!

*Tailoring by appointment only, closed Wednesdays and Sundays.