Spring Banquet Dresses... Finally!

Back in early March we made a trip to the dressmaker and though all the negotiations were done without a translator, we felt that the dresses would be what we wanted.

We had pictures of the desired style, 

and the measurements taken were very detailed.

Then a couple of weeks ago, I went to pick up the dresses at the scheduled time.

I was amazed that we didn't have to go in for trying-on sessions.  Just pick up the dresses.

Unfortunately, there were some alterations needed, but

they were done without additional charge, and the end result was fabulous!

Alice now has a very nice dress she can wear for church or other

dressy occasions.

And she has a string of pearls given to her by one of the English teachers

at church.  It was a nice accent!

 Elizabeth's dress had the most difficulties.  She didn't have a picture of it, as it wasn't planned until she saw the fabric in the dress shop.  It was a combination (red over coral) that she has always

wanted, so she sketched it out and worked it out with the dressmaker.

When we got it back, it was too loose through the bodice

and the lace and lining were sewn together on the skirt

which made it look bunchy and just wrong.  First trip back, they had to reset the zipper and take in the side seams.  The second trip back, I asked them to

separate the lace seam from the lining seam.  "But it will not look good!", said the

English-speaking dressmaker's son.  I explained that was how it needed to be

and they did it. However, it was still too loose.  So I made another trip to the cloth market and found some wide ribbon, exactly the right color, opened the side seams just enough, and added ties,
so Ellie could control how snug she wanted it.
Now the dress is so pretty and flowing!