A Dress Fit Perfectly For Me

Earlier this year, I met the Bespoke Womenswear designer Susie Stone, when I attended a special evening at her studio with Maggie Semple, we bonded over a shared love of fabric and good design. I was excited to find a young, funky, couture womenswear designer in London, the idea of getting clothes made  especially for us is not so obvious with the great British love of the high-street.  Making clothes has always been something that I wish I had learnt to do, I am a handy hand stitcher (thanks to all those years embroidering cushions at Brocksford Hall) but I am a little scared of sewing machines. This is something that I plan to work on this year, and hope to show you some gorgeous handsewn fashion by Christmas. However a dress from Susie Stone is not the kind of thing that you could just do at home even if you were more confident with a machine than me, this is Haute Couture.

Susie works with you across the process to find the perfect dress style and fabric, for your personal style and depending on what you want the dress for. You get to make any changes that you like, for example to the sleeves, the neck, the back and the hemline. The first appointment, is the one where you get to look at Susie’s extensive fabric swatches collection, and design the dress with her asking you questions to help determine what you want. A toile is then made up for you to try on, before the dress is made in your fabric.

With a designer’s eye, I found it quite hard to choose what I wanted, with all the possibilites that I could imagine. In the end, I went for something chic that I would feel comfortable wearing for meetings, and then onto the dancefloor. Of course sustainability was a big factor in deciding the fabric, and I went for silk, a fabric with a fairly low environmental impact. It was sourced from Vanners, a silk mill in Suffolk where the silk was handwoven.

Here is the final dress….

My beautiful dress

We added pockets which always come in useful!

The Back

Another Angle

Susie Said “Working on Amisha’s dress was a testament to our interest in both the design and ethical sides of fashion. We wanted to create something glamorous, unique and luxurious, but at the same time practical, versatile and made from materials that were not wasteful. By choosing fabric made to order in the UK and a style that was both tailored and feminine I think we have achieved this. Amisha now has a dress which is not only one of a kind but fits her beautifully, so it is just as special as she is!”

Working with Susie on this was a really great experience, and so it brings me great pleasure to announce that we are collaborating in July, where for the whole month you will be able to purchase my jewellery from her studio on Bermondsey Street. We will be holding a little celebration on Wednesday 6th July, please contact me if you would like to join us.