Altering Brand

This is something I'd never given much thought to, let alone actually get the opportunity to do: Altering Brand.

So, I was contacted by a customer with much faith in my sewing skills to transform a few of her Brand garments. At first I was super hesitant, because well.. I'd never altered something as valuable as Brand before. Yes, I've done a few "altering" projects when I first got into sewing - transforming pants into skirts and the like, but it was ugly stuff that I didn't care much for anyway, so there was really no harm done if it didn't work out. But with something like Brand... I'd never forgive myself if I screwed something up, or if she was super unhappy with how it turned out.

Sometimes I think my customers/fans/supports have more faith in me than I do, because she kept on reassuring me that I'd be able to do it. So, I nervously took on the commission, and reluctantly waited for her garments to come in the mail. Sure enough, they did. (So, I'm not sure if this is clear or not - but I do not own a single piece of Brand. Not even other indie Brand garments. Bodyline is the closest to what I have - but only the shoes, no garments. It's not for lack of interest, I'm just extremely frugal with what little money I do have - pretty much everything I have goes into Elegy, and I wouldn't feel anything but guilt if I indulged myself by spending a few hundred on a garment. I've of course seen Brand irl at meet ups and such, but I've never had an up-close encounter such as this. I'm always curious as to the construction of garments - Brand especially - so I definitely took away some construction tips/ideas for future use.)

After familiarizing myself with the skirt, I detached the waistband, removed the zipper, and made that first snip into the fabric, and it was like the skirt had just turned into a normal piece of fabric and all my fears (pretty much) dissolved. I didn't take photos during my process -  I only have before & after shots, as well as my super quick sketch to make double sure this is what we were transforming her skirt into. The skirt is made out of chiffon, so the bodice and bustle I added are too. It's got full shirring in the back, grosgrain ribbon lace ups, and the bow in the front is removable. We decided to make the bow white to bring the white of the print into the bodice - we also played around with the idea of making the bustle white, but decided against it. I'm glad we did too, because I think it looks just lovely all black with the touch of white in the bow.

Please forgive the lumpiness in the skirt - my petticoat is pretty short in comparison to the skirt, hence the awkwardness. Much better photos/the lolibrary entry can be seen HERE.

This is something I'd never given much thought to, let alone actually get the opportunity to do: Altering Brand.

So, I was contacted by a customer with much faith in my sewing skills to transform a few of her Brand garments. At first I was super hesitant, because well.. I'd never altered something as valuable as Brand before. Yes, I've done a few "altering" projects when I first got into sewing - transforming pants into skirts and the like, but it was ugly stuff that I didn't care much for anyway, so there was really no harm done if it didn't work out. But with something like Brand... I'd never forgive myself if I screwed something up, or if she was super unhappy with how it turned out.

Sometimes I think my customers/fans/supports have more faith in me than I do, because she kept on reassuring me that I'd be able to do it. So, I nervously took on the commission, and reluctantly waited for her garments to come in the mail. Sure enough, they did. (So, I'm not sure if this is clear or not - but I do not own a single piece of Brand. Not even other indie Brand garments. Bodyline is the closest to what I have - but only the shoes, no garments. It's not for lack of interest, I'm just extremely frugal with what little money I do have - pretty much everything I have goes into Elegy, and I wouldn't feel anything but guilt if I indulged myself by spending a few hundred on a garment. I've of course seen Brand irl at meet ups and such, but I've never had an up-close encounter such as this. I'm always curious as to the construction of garments - Brand especially - so I definitely took away some construction tips/ideas for future use.)

After familiarizing myself with the skirt, I detached the waistband, removed the zipper, and made that first snip into the fabric, and it was like the skirt had just turned into a normal piece of fabric and all my fears (pretty much) dissolved. I didn't take photos during my process -  I only have before & after shots, as well as my super quick sketch to make double sure this is what we were transforming her skirt into. The skirt is made out of chiffon, so the bodice and bustle I added are too. It's got full shirring in the back, grosgrain ribbon lace ups, and the bow in the front is removable. We decided to make the bow white to bring the white of the print into the bodice - we also played around with the idea of making the bustle white, but decided against it. I'm glad we did too, because I think it looks just lovely all black with the touch of white in the bow.

Please forgive the lumpiness in the skirt - my petticoat is pretty short in comparison to the skirt, hence the awkwardness. Much better photos/the lolibrary entry can be seen HERE.