Testing new ideas onto Loula’s two sketches

I showed Loula the two sketches for her custom wedding dress and she was in love.  In fact, she was so in love that she didn’t know which to choose!  Luckily she has her very own wedding dress designer to help her choose and/or modify the two sketches into The One.

Loula and I looked at both sketches critically and discussed the pros and cons of each.  She loved the shelf bust and the soft sleeves of the Romantic design, but also adored the pleats and the corset back of the Architectural design…  It seemed like the skirt of the Architectural design might be the most fun to dance in, but the Romantic design really elongated her waist… I started playing around testing new ideas onto the sketches to see if I could come up with something that would encompass Loula’s favorite elements while still being a cohesive and flattering design.

I try out new ideas using scraps of paper and pieces of tape.

For example, if I want to see what a smaller sleeve would look like, I cover the shoulder on the sketch with a scrap of paper, hinge it with tape, and then try a new sleeve.  It’s a fun and easy way to see the impact of small changes very quickly.

My sketches are always drawn onto the silhouette of the specific bride.  I feel that it is very important for both of us to be able to see how this dress will look on her.  I explain how I draft these “real bride” sketches in this blog post.  Sometimes I’ll also sketch around directly onto a photograph of the bride to see what design elements truly complement her features.

I played around with adding a corset back and new skirt to the Romantic style… adjusting the waistline and sleeves of the Architectural style…

Using this method, I changed little bits here and there to each of Loula’s sketches until I ultimately came up with one new-and-improved sketch that I thought would be perfect for Loula.

Next post, I’ll share The Sketch!