Dressmakers

[Suzanne]

I wonder if anyone here has tried visiting a dressmakers?
I've only ever found three dresses that fit me properly (but I have to say they disappeared - purged - like everything else I ever bought).
The one that fitted best was a 'fit 'n flare' dress.. It was lovely to wear and it gave me a sense of freedom. Much different to wearing a skirt and a blouse.
I'm tall and broad-shouldered with typical male hips (ie, lack of them) and so it's always been an uphill struggle to find a dress that fits.
One day, I was talking with a lady in a shop I used to visit regularly and she gave me the details of a local dressmaker that she thought might be able to help.
I rang the number, explained what I was about and we fixed a date for an appointment.
I had all my shapewear with me so the measurements would be right.
She was unfazed by my request and we were soon able to talk freely. We went through many pattern books and I had hoped that I would see a style that I liked and I would simply ask her to make it for me.
She asked me what material I wanted and that's when I realised that I didn't know enough. I've never been in shops to look at material and so I hadn't a clue.
Great pity - but that's where I left it.
Has anyone had a positive experience of ordering a dress from a dressmaker?
Suzanne

[Davita]

I haven't done the dressmaker route, but I got a skirt suit I wanted to fit better so I took it to a tailor. He was fine with the idea. I was a bit surprised when I came because he immediately had me put the suit on so he could mark the alterations. I don't think we girls are all that significant to the profession. We want a good fit like anyone else.

Here's my question back at you. Do you think it was worth it? I mean custom anything where most of the cost is labor is never going to be inexpensive around where I live. If I am going to spend that kind of money I have to never change dress sizes and I have to love that custom outfit for a goodly while. I'd rather find the style that is right rather than invent an outfit just to find out Icould have gotten a decent fit off the rack. BTW, the suit was the first outfit I wore to work once I started going in fem.

[Suzanne]

For everything else - skirts, blouses etc - off the peg is fine for me.. It's just that dresses aren't made for the male frame - women are high-waisted, with narrower shoulders, a smaller rib cage and with bigger hips than men - and dresses reflect that. I'm an upside-down pear shape! With skirts and blouses I take a size larger blouse than my skirt size would suggest.. I was lucky to find the fit 'n flare dress - it made me appreciate the pleasure of wearing a dress that fitted.
Maybe one day I'll try again via a dressmaker. You're right about the cost - it would have to be something special.

[Noeleena]

Hi,

Differences in body shapes as I don't know your sizing or shape and youv said your a male and im not used to making clothes to fit males though would be quite easy to do.

What I do is buy 2nd hand and rework the clothes regardless what they are , or make them form just the fabric ether way little difference ,

Do you go the rounds of 2nd hand shops if you do then I would see what fits you say a little larger then if you use shape wear then have a friend help you pin it up and see how it looks then get someone to sew it up that way it wont cost much or if you get a skirt or dress and it looks nice and is a ...little ...on the tight fit then unstich the sides or cut and then put a panel in if to short then skirt it on the bottom = add a peace, do you have a sewing machine then get some scrapes and try sewing on them and once you get going you can do a fare job of sewing , you can make bags and all sorts of things first to get to know your machine first I do hats as well oven mits pinnys belts all from what ever I lay my hands on use curtins bed spreads dovays so even fabric is cheap as , hope that helps you .

I don't use patterns I just design make and sew , most of my clothes and buy fabric or get given ,

...noeleena...

[Ralitsa]

Hi Suzanne,
you just opened up my favorite topic so you are about to get an earful

I have a dressmaker in Wisconsin who has made several dresses for me. There is a very fortunate coincidence in that she also wears the same size that I do, so she gave me a few of her old dresses that she had made for herself as well.
The first dress I had her make me is a really beautiful and somewhat formal dress of a rich green fabric with gold oak leaf pattern. I really love it, but I fell victim to the classic temptation of having it so nice and rich that it's not practical to wear anywhere. I, unfortunately don't have many formal occasions to attend where it would be appropriate. That's the one I called my Annie Oakely dress, and if you go back far enough in the archives you can probably find my posts on that.

On the other end of the spectrum I have a very comfortable "casual grey dress". After she had made me a few dresses and used up most of the material I liked in her collection, we drove down to Milwaukee to Joann Fabrics. I found this really soft stretchy fabric that I really liked, and had seen a pattern in her collection earlier that I thought would be perfect for it. That is probably my most versatile dress, I can wear it anywhere and the material doesn't wrinkle so you can just crumple it into your suitcase, and then pull it out and put it on for dinner. It's comfortable enough to wear all day long, and it looks good enough to wear to dinner. Now that I think about it, I should have her make me another like it in a different color.

She is currently working on 3 others for me, but I haven't been back there in a few years so they are probably finished by now I think in total I've had maybe about 10 dresses made for myself by her and I couldn't be happier about the results. They always fit me perfectly, and I can get any special touches I like. For example, I like cap sleeves, and it's not always easy to find a dress I like with cap sleeves, so I just have her add them when I want. And I get to choose the buttons or zippers, fabric, length, and everything. She is quite a good dress maker so I've had her take the bottom from one pattern, and the top of a different pattern and put them together. And one time she made a cute jacket to go with one of the dresses.

So I highly recommend that you do this, you will be glad you did. I know that dressmaker prices in NE Wisconsin are probably lower than other places, but most of the dresses I've bought from her were $40 or $50. Now I've gotten a bit carried away some times and it's been over $100, but I consider that to be well worth it. Those prices are not higher than most department stores, and in many cases much lower. Even at Dress Barn most of the dresses are more than that, unless they are on sale. It's pretty easy to spend $500 or more on a nice quality skirt suit just off the shelf, so I wouldn't blink an eye to pay a few hundred for something similar that is hand made. And then you add in the value of having it fit exactly perfectly, and you get to choose all the details, you can't put a price tag on that.

There is a shop on Etsy that is one of my favorites called "heartmycloset" that hand makes dresses exactly according to your measurements. I still haven't bought one from her, though I plan to. The problem is there are too many that I like and I can't decide which one I want most. All of her prices are in the $100 range, so I think that is pretty typical. Yeah, you can get something for a lot less than that, but why? Are you just buying a dress, or are you buying comfort, happiness, satisfaction, and enjoyment? Sort of like the difference between an 89 cent cup of coffee from McDonalds or a $5 cup from Starbucks. OK, if you're going to wear it out to feed the chickens you just want a simple inexpensive denim dress and I have some of those too. But you certainly need a variety of dresses for different occasions, and for that special dress for a special occasion the best choice is to have one specially made for you.

In my own case, I also feel like I should support the local crafts people rather than spending my money on Indonesian factory mass produced stuff. I'll admit that I'm the first one to grab a Donna Karan when it's on sale, but in general I try to support my neighbors if I can. To me, I'm buying something that will make me happy, and having it made exactly to fit by somebody that I know will make me happier than saving a few dollars.