A dress that has
never existed.
Drafted from your measurements.
Cut in cotton first and corrected on your body before anything expensive is touched.
Karmen builds the internal structure herself — boning, lining, cups, waist stays. That is what holds a gown up through eight hours of dancing.
- Original design, developed with you
- Full muslin mock-up before your fabric is cut
- Three to five fittings
- Fabric quoted separately from labour
Weeks,
not years.
Most custom gowns finish in six to ten weeks. Brides have come to us in January for an April wedding and collected in February.
If someone has told you it is too late, ask us before you believe them.
Sketch to collection.
Design
Ninety minutes. Inspiration, silhouette, fabric, full measurements, and a sketch. You leave with a price and a date.
Muslin
A pattern drafted to you, a mock-up cut in cotton. Shape settled on cotton, not on silk.
Construction
Your fabric cut. Boning, lining, cups and waist stays built in. The longest stage.
Fittings
Three to five, hem set against your actual shoes.
Finishing
Hand-sewn details, bustle points, final press.
Collection
A bustle lesson for whoever is helping you. The gown needs little or nothing on the day.
Made in the Plano studio.
Every photograph below is the same commission, in order.
Quoted in two parts.
Labour & Construction
Pattern, muslin, construction, internal structure, all fittings and hand-finishing. Recent commissions have run from roughly $2,500 for a clean silhouette to $7,500 for heavily beaded couture.
Fabric & Materials
Quoted separately and at cost, so you choose where to spend. Simple crepe and French lace are very different numbers.
Heavy Beading or Hand Embroidery
Priced by the hour, because that is how it is done. Estimated before any work begins.
Let's talk about your dress.
Private, unhurried, by appointment.