Behind her Gown: Miss Janelle Estares

My first entourage really inspired me to do more and harness my skills. If you've read my first post I, myself, believes that I still have to learn  a lot and the only way to do that is to go back to school or to keep on accepting challenges from new clients. So when I was told by Miss Ethyl - the lady on my first post, that her boss also wants me to do her gown – I immediately said yes with a little doubt on my skills but with so much trust on my passion. The challenging part is that the gown should be in classic mestizo butterfly sleeve which was popularized by Madam Imelda Marcos. I haven’t done this sleeve yet and I wasn't really aware on how far it already go when it comes to evolution – all I know is that most of modern dresses right now have detachable sleeves. What I did first is to go to some stores selling this type of dress, seeing how they are done and most importantly is checking the materials and techniques.

 

After that, I drafted my own design and have it approved by my client. And, Miss Janelle approved my design with a revision on the fishtail. Below is my actual design having plain tulle on the bottom that was later revised to a layered one.

Here is Miss Ethyl on my very own Filipiñana gown. The back part is inspired by one of Veluz gown that the client really admires. I was able to manage creating a see through sleeve which I think it could have been done better if I made it a little bigger.

I love the details of this gown – I really made so much effort on putting the patches since I don’t have any resources to have it embroidered (maybe you can suggest some if you know). And, I only have two weeks to have this done and I’m quite freaking out but I was able to manage. Miss Janelle agreed with the fit of the dress on the first fitting (three days prior to the event) though I really wanted to do some revisions on the waistline part in which the fit is quite lose if time only allows.

Anyhow, I went to the event just to capture this photo – I am so proud of myself to have done something that my client really loves. Miss Janelle was evidently confident with the dress that night which made me felt so flattering. And, the most unforgettable part is when I got a text from my friend who referred me to them early morning after the party (early as in 3am) that she won as star of the night and she was asking if my friend could relay it to me. That one text message painted an endless smile on my entire day. What a wonderful way to end the year for an aspirant like me.

 

-xoxo-