The collection · inquiry only

Eight pieces, each priced from its designer's own list

Gowns in silk crepe and Chantilly lace, a bridal suit in ivory wool, a silk charmeuse wedding jumpsuit, tulle separates, a cape with a beaded edge, veils, and the alterations that make any of them fit. Every piece here comes from unique wedding dress designers who work in small runs. You cannot buy anything on this page. You can ask about it, and book a time to try it on at 1506 S Congress Ave.

8 pieces Prices in USD, confirmed in store Made to order: allow 6 months

Price is set by the designer, not by us, and we tell you the number before you step into anything. Every "price basis" below explains how a piece is priced. None of them is a quote.

01 · Gown · Column

The Crepe Column

Heavyweight silk crepe cut on the bias into a column with a low back and no boning.

Silk crepe
Bias cut
Low back
Unboned

This is the silk crepe wedding dress people come in asking for after seeing one at someone else's wedding. It is a single length of heavy crepe, cut diagonally across the grain so it stretches slightly and falls against the body instead of standing away from it. That is also its difficulty. A bias-cut column shows the line of every seam and every piece of underwear beneath it, and it shows a bad hem immediately, because the fabric hangs straight to the floor with nothing to hide in.

It suits people who want to look like themselves in a very good piece of cloth. It does not suit anyone who wants shape built in: there is no structure to lift or cinch. If you want the column line with more hold, try it with the Cathedral Cape over it, or ask about a lined version when you visit.

Specification
Fabric	Heavyweight silk crepe, single layer with silk lining at bodice
Cut	Bias-cut column, floor length
Back	Low, open to the waist
Structure	None. No boning, no corsetry
Color	Ivory
Lead time	Made to order. Allow six months; the designer's current time is confirmed at your appointment
Usual alterations	Hem to shoe height, strap length

Price basis

Per gown at the designer's current list price, confirmed at your appointment; alterations quoted separately after the first fitting.

Ask about this piece

Close detail of a sheer Chantilly lace sleeve with a scalloped eyelash cuff. — Detail
The eyelash edge is the loose thread fringe left along the lace's scallop. It is meant to be there.

02 · Gown · Lace

The Chantilly Sleeve

Sheer Chantilly lace sleeves and a scalloped lace hem over a soft crepe underlayer.

Chantilly lace
Crepe underlayer
Scalloped hem
Long sleeve

Chantilly is a fine bobbin-style lace with a light net ground and outlined floral motifs. It is thinner and softer than the heavy corded lace most salons stock, which is why it works as a sleeve: you can bend your elbow, hug people and eat dinner without the lace fighting you. The same lace finishes the hem in a scallop, so the edge of the gown is the edge of the lace rather than a sewn fold.

This one is for people who want sleeves without weight, or who want some cover over the arms and shoulders but not a jacket. The trade-off is fragility. Chantilly snags on rings and on rough bark, and a scalloped hem cannot be shortened by simply cutting it; the lace has to be lifted and re-set, which is why hem work on this gown takes longer than on the Crepe Column.

Specification
Fabric	Chantilly lace over soft crepe underlayer
Sleeves	Sheer lace, eyelash scalloped cuff; length chosen at order
Hem	Scalloped lace edge
Color	Ivory lace over ivory crepe
Lead time	Made to order. Allow six months or more
Usual alterations	Hem re-set along the scallop, sleeve length, bustle

Price basis

Per gown; varies with lace length and sleeve choice, confirmed in store before you try it on.

Ask about this piece

03 · Suit · Two-piece

The Ivory Wool Suit

Two-piece ivory wool suiting cut for any body, trousers hemmed to the shoe you will wear.

Wool suiting
Single-breasted
Wide trouser

The bridal suit Austin kept asking us for. It is an ivory wool jacket and trouser, cut in a pattern that is not graded for one gender, so the shoulders, chest and hip can be taken in or let out where your body needs it. Most off-the-peg suits assume a shape. This one assumes you will be fitted.

Wool sounds wrong for Texas. It is not, if it is a light suiting weave: wool breathes better than polyester and holds a crease through a long evening. For an outdoor ceremony in July we would still steer you to the jumpsuit. The trousers stay unfinished at the hem until your first fitting, because a trouser break is set by the shoe and there is no sensible way to guess it.

Specification
Fabric	Ivory wool suiting, lined jacket
Jacket	Single-breasted, notch lapel
Trouser	Wide leg, pressed front crease, hem finished at fitting
Fit	Cut for any body; adjusted at shoulder, waist and seat
Included	Jacket and trousers. Shirt and accessories not included
Lead time	Made to order. Allow six months

Price basis

Per suit, jacket and trousers priced together; shirt and accessories priced separately.

Ask about this piece

04 · Jumpsuit · Silk

The Charmeuse Jumpsuit

Silk charmeuse wide-leg jumpsuit with a detachable tulle overskirt for the ceremony.

Silk charmeuse
Tulle overskirt
Wide leg
Detachable

Charmeuse is silk woven with a satin face and a matte back. It pours. On a jumpsuit that means the wide legs move like a skirt when you walk and look like trousers when you stand still, which is exactly why people ask for a wedding jumpsuit in Austin: it photographs as a gown at the altar and dances as trousers at eleven at night.

The overskirt is a separate layer of tulle that fastens at the waist. Wear it for the ceremony, take it off for the reception, or leave it at home. It is priced as an add-on, so you only pay for it if you want it. The honest caution: charmeuse marks with water and shows sweat at the seat and underarm. For a very hot outdoor day we will talk about timing and a lining before you order.

Specification
Fabric	Silk charmeuse, satin face
Leg	Wide, floor length, hemmed to shoe
Overskirt	Layered tulle, detachable at the waist
Care	Professional clean only; water marks charmeuse
Lead time	Made to order. Allow six months
Usual alterations	Hem, torso length, strap

Price basis

Per piece; the detachable overskirt is priced as an add-on.

Ask about this piece

05 · Separates · Two pieces

The Tulle Separates

Corset-free bodice and a full layered tulle skirt sold separately so top and bottom sizes can differ.

Tulle
Corset-free bodice
Full skirt
Sized separately

A full tulle skirt is the most traditional shape on our floor, and we sell it the least traditional way. The bodice and skirt are two garments. If you are a 6 on top and a 12 at the hip, or the other way around, you order those two sizes and they meet at the waist. A one-piece gown in the same situation gets ordered in the larger size and then cut down, and you pay for that work.

The bodice has no corset. It holds by seaming and a lining, which means you can breathe and sit down. If you want the lift a corset gives, this is not the piece. The skirt is several layers of soft tulle over a lining; it is voluminous but not heavy, and it takes a bustle well. You can also wear the skirt with a different top later, which people do.

Specification
Bodice	Lined, seamed, no corsetry or boning channels
Skirt	Full, several layers of soft tulle over lining
Sizing	Top and bottom ordered in independent sizes
Closure	Skirt waistband meets bodice at natural waist
Lead time	Made to order. Allow six months
Usual alterations	Skirt hem, bustle, bodice strap

Price basis

Bodice and skirt each priced on their own, so you can size them independently.

Ask about this piece

06 · Cape · Accessory

The Cathedral Cape

Sheer tulle cape with a hand-beaded edge, worn over any gown, jumpsuit or suit.

Hand-beaded
Sheer tulle
Pearl and glass
Cathedral length

A bridal cape with beading along the edge, and nothing else. The tulle is clear enough that whatever you wear underneath still reads, and the beaded hem gives it enough weight to hang rather than float off in the wind. At cathedral length it trails well behind you and pools on the floor when you stand.

People wear it instead of a veil, which is the main reason to choose it: it frames the back of a low-back gown or the shoulders of the wool suit without covering the face or the hair. It fastens at the neck. Shorter lengths are available from the maker and change the price. Beading is sewn by hand, so a replacement bead can be stitched back on in our workroom if one catches on the night.

Specification
Fabric	Sheer ivory tulle
Edge	Hand-beaded, pearl and glass beads
Length	Cathedral as shown; shorter lengths from the maker
Fastening	At the neck
Worn with	Any gown, the jumpsuit or the suit
Lead time	Confirmed by the maker at order; usually shorter than a gown

Price basis

Per cape, priced by length from the maker's list.

Ask about this piece

07 · Accessories · Hair

Veils and Hair Pieces

Raw-edge and ribbon-edge veils, pearl combs and wire-and-crystal hair pieces.

Tulle veils
Pearl combs
Wire and crystal

Most shops selling wedding veils and hair pieces in Austin stock one kind of veil. We carry two kinds of veil edge and they behave differently. A raw-edge veil is cut tulle with no finish; it disappears against the skin and is lighter in wind. A ribbon-edge veil has a narrow satin binding that draws a clean line around your face and down your back, and it reads more formal in photographs.

The combs are pearl on a metal base and slide into an updo or a low knot. The wire-and-crystal pieces bend, so they can be shaped as a vine along a braid or a small spray behind one ear. Bring your hairstylist's plan if you have one, or a photo of it. A heavy comb in fine, loose hair will slip by the reception, and we would rather tell you now.

Specification
Veils	Soft tulle; raw edge or ribbon edge; several lengths
Combs	Pearl on metal comb base
Hair vines	Bendable wire with crystal, shaped to the style
Color	Ivory tulle; pearl and clear crystal
Lead time	Many in stock to try; ordered pieces usually take weeks, not months

Price basis

Per piece from each maker's current list.

Ask about this piece

08 · Service · In the shop

Alterations

Hemming, bustles, strap and sleeve work done in the shop's own workroom.

Hems
Bustles
Straps
Sleeves

Wedding dress alterations in Austin are often sent out to whoever has space that month. Ours are done behind the fitting room. That matters for one practical reason: the person who pins your hem is the person who sews it, and when something is off at the second fitting, the conversation happens in the same room instead of over the phone.

We quote per job after your first fitting, never before we have seen the piece on you. A hem on the Crepe Column is a straight line. A hem on the Chantilly Sleeve means lifting and re-setting the lace scallop by hand. Those are not the same job and should not carry the same number. Most people need two or three fittings; the last one should fall two to three weeks before the wedding so your body and your shoes are settled. We work on pieces bought here first. Ask us about something bought elsewhere and we will tell you honestly whether we can take it on.

What we do
Hemming	Straight hems, lace scallop re-set, trouser hems to shoe
Bustles	Lifting a train for the reception
Straps and sleeves	Shortening, re-setting, adding or removing
Fittings	Usually two or three
Final fitting	Aim for two to three weeks before the date
Where	Our own workroom at 1506 S Congress Ave

Price basis

Quoted per job after your first fitting, never before we have seen the piece on you.

Ask about this piece More on the workroom

Silk crepe
Chantilly lace
Wool suiting
Charmeuse
Tulle
Pearl and glass beads
Ribbon edge
Raw edge

Before you order anything

Order six months out

Every gown, the suit and the jumpsuit on this page is made to order by a small designer. Order at least six months out if the piece is made to order. Four if you like living dangerously. The capes, veils and hair pieces are the exception and can usually be sorted in weeks.

Nothing here has a cart. Pick the pieces you want to see, send us their names, and we will have them on the rail when you come in. Read how the shop works first if you are curious why the rail is sorted the way it is.

Book an appointment +1 512-580-555