WHAT TO BRING
Please come to your fittings with the underwear and shoes you plan to wear on the day. We won’t be able to complete the fitting without your wedding shoes as we will not be able to hem the dress so you may require additional fittings if you do not bring them.
You must take every precaution to avoid transferring any marks onto the outfit during your fittings. For this reason please do not wear fake tan or any transferable makeup to your fitting, please also avoid wearing any jewellery that might snag the dress. Please wash your hands at the start of every fitting when you arrive. We cannot be held responsible for any marks or snags that are made to the dress during your fitting.
WHAT TO EXPECT
please refer to the BRIDE GUIDE you have been sent for a full checklist on things to look out for in your fitting
We recommend planning for a minimum of two fittings but you may need three (or more), depending on the style of the dress, requested design changes and the fit required. Having anything handcrafted and made to measure is a little more ‘involved’ than simply buying something ‘off the peg.’ That’s the beauty of it!
Your first fitting is what we call your ‘shell fitting’ as you will be seeing the ‘shell’ of the dress for the first time. At your shell fitting your outfit will only be 80% ready, it will not be totally finished. For example, the sleeves might still be detached and trimmings (like pearls and buttons) will not yet be attached and the hem and train length will not be final. This is to give you the flexibility to make changes to the fit and other details before the dress is finalised.
Your shell fitting is your opportunity to check the fit of your made to measure outfit and finalise details like the hem or train length. For most people, the majority of all alterations will take place at their first fitting. The second / collection fitting will be an opportunity to check they are happy with the alterations from the first fitting and effectively sign the outfit off.
Please take your time during the fitting to check over every detail of the dress and ask as many questions as you like - our seamstress is world class and incredibly knowledgeable and familiar with all our pieces, so please take her advice as she will know how to alter the dress based on your body and the desired fit.
Our seamstress is there to fit the dress to you and answer any questions you might have, however she is not there to make design recommendations - the final look of the outfit is totally personal and down to you. If you would like further opinion or help on the design please take photographs at the fitting and send to info@theownstudio.com with your queries and a member of the design team will be straight back in touch to help.
You are welcome to bring one other person along to your fitting with you, we do not recommend a bigger group because it can be distracting for you.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER MY FITTING?
We will always send you notes from your fitting, please read these through carefully as we will make the changes using this document.
WHAT DOES MY FITTING INCLUDE?
Our fittings packages cover alterations relating to the fit of the outfit. You will also be able to finalise the hem and agree the perfect length.
Sometimes customers decide they want to change or adapt the design in their fitting. There is absolutely flexibility to do this however please note design changes will be chargeable, because we will have already made the outfit and it will involve a lot of extra work and cost - from pattern changes, additional fabric, and sewing time - and most likely it may also require additional fittings. We make your outfit using the notes in your measurement form so if the information is not on the form and you request it at a later date, we will consider this to be a design change.
Our seamstress will be able to advise if the alterations you are requesting involve a design change and following your fitting we can advise on the cost for this. You can then let us know if you would like to go ahead on that basis.
WHERE IS MY FITTING?
Fittings take place at our seamstress’ working atelier in Queen’s Park, not at our Shoreditch Studio. You will receive the address in full when booking your fitting.
Please note, our seamstress’ studio has very bright spotlights which are needed due to the fine needlework the team carry out, however this is not representative of natural light and can cause unnatural shadows in photographs. In pictures it can look very different to those taken in our studio which is flooded with natural light so it is worth keeping this in mind.
UNDERWEAR RECOMMENDATIONS
We have lots of suggestions on underwear solutions which we can share with you - please email info@theownstudio.com to request our underwear guide. As underwear is a very personal choice based on body shape and the silhouette chosen, sometimes customers prefer to have in-person appointments. In this instance we would recommend The Pantry. Please let us know if you would like us to put you in touch with them, otherwise the best email is bridal@thepantryunderwear.com
While we do try and help as much as possible by recommending underwear brands and specialists, the underwear you choose to wear is down to you and we cannot alter dresses retrospectively to cater to an underwear choice.