Design 5 Simple princes line silhouette with a more angular cut at

Design 5
Simple princes line silhouette with a more
angular cut at the bust to make it a bit more
modern looking. I think this design would
work in an all-over lace without being too
much. In order to make this work with your
budget, we would need to go with a more
affordable lace that comes in 50 inch width.
The photos below show a few such options:
(From left to right)
1. imitation French lace – as the name
implies, this is similar to alencon, but much
less expensive. There is a difference in
quality, but it’s only noticeable upon close
inspection. I can send you a swatch.
2. Chantilly lace – this is the only
Chantilly lace I’ve found that would work for
all over lace (based on price and width) but I
think it’s quite lovely and is delicate enough
that it wouldn’t be overpowering.
3. The third option would be to use a
more expensive alencon lace (see photos on
last page), but instead of having it over the whole dress, use it as appliqués on the bodice. I
found a picture of a gown that uses this technique to show you what it would look like, but I
would take the lace up through the illusion straps.
Design 6
This design is inspired by Grace
Kelly’s wedding gown, with lace
on the bodice, a wide pleated
midriff, and the possibility of
adding lace along the hemline. I
found another photo that has a v
neck with a lace bodice to give
you an idea of what that would
look like. I would use a silk satin or
taffeta for the dress and put the
lace on over it as an appliqué.
Using less lace would allow us to
splurge a little more, so I’m
including some samples of a
French lace: (from left to right)
1. Alencon lace – very high
quality lace with re-embroidered
designs. There are other patterns
available, but this was my favorite
because of the swirling design at
the edge, which I could cut off and
use at the hemline.
2. Chantilly lace – very delicate lace with all over floral pattern
3. Rayon lace – I’m not sure what this one is, probably not French, but I
thought it was interesting with the dotted background
4. Nice Alencon lace trim that would work well for both bodice and border on
hemline
Design 7
This design has a wrap across
bodice with the lace crossing
over a more structured under
layer (up to you whether you
want it to cut across the v for
extra coverage as shown, or dip
down in the front). I found a
photo that is very similar to
show you what it would look
like, except that I’ve added
some slight asymmetrical
gathering and made the skirt a
bit fuller. The sash could either
be a satin ribbon or wider matte
sash.
This design could also work in
one of the all over laces shown
for design 5, or one of these
more unusual laces:
1 .Cotton crocheted lace – if you want something more geometric with an even, all-over pattern
2. Rayon lace – I love the design of this lace, though it’s a softer “fluffy” lace without the crispness of a
re-embroidered lace.
3. Lace with unusual geometric pattern
Design 8
This design uses a higher quality lace just in the bodice by capitalizing on the fact that many nice
French laces come in widths of 18 – 36” with a scalloped border along the edge. This scalloped
border would go down just past the hips and then for the bottom of the dress I could use a solid
fabric like taffeta or satin, or put a sheer layer of tulle over it to make it blend in with the lace.
The cap sleeves are optional, it could also be done sleeveless. I’ve included a couple photos of
alencon lace, but if we go with this option I can go back to my local supplier and take more
photos to send you.