Behind the scene I: Made in Phuket

BTS of "Made in Phuket" - Bridemaid dresses

Neal and Germaine are both based in London but Germaine's family are mainly in Malaysia. A destination wedding in Phuket was one of the many places that they've narrowed down to, after many considerations.

Identify number of bridesmaids, theme, colour, and budget.

Germaine had four bridesmaids, two based in London, one in Singapore, and one in Kuala Lumpur. The wedding theme in Phuket was Oriental, and Germaine wanted the bridesmaids to wear cheongsam which has the Chinese element and also a mixture of Malaysian culture to it. A budget was also given in addition to the requirements above.

Take time to look around for good deals. Get recommendations from friends.

After a few weeks of discussion and window shopping, I was introduced to a shop that tailor made cheongsams called Emerald Brilliant. They have been around for about 20 years now, and they have outlets in Pavillion KL shopping mall, Plaza Armada, One Utama shopping mall but the headquarters is in SS2. So I went to the HQ to check out fabrics and snapped pictures of their current designs. I managed to speak to the lady boss who was very helpful in looking out for fabric designs with the budget given. After a couple of visits, we managed to get hold of a cotton fabric that has batik printing on it, and at the budget that was set! Immediately I took pictures of the fabric and sent it to the bride and bridesmaids for approval. Everyone fell in love with the picture and agreed to proceed with it.

Get the correct measurements

The next on my mind was, how to tailer-make a dress for someone that is not physically around to take measurements? Through lots of surfing, I managed to get a very good guideline on how to take measurements to make cheongsams. So I compiled and sent the bridemaids a list of measurements needed. It looks something like this:

Identify individual designs
Apart from the measurements, we also have to think about the design because it goes hand in hand. So I took snapshots of general cheongsam designs and sent it to the girls. While thinking about the design and fabric material, it is also good to take the weather into consideration. Since it is Phuket, the weather there is hot and humid all year round so it is not advisable to make long sleeve dresses.

a. Chest design

TEARDROP

 


DIAMOND




TRADITIONAL



b. Sleeves and Back design

TRADITIONAL BACK & NORMAL CUT SLEEVELESS



TRADITIONAL BACK & DEEP CUT SLEEVELESS




BARE BACK



























After getting the complete measurements and preferred designs from the bridesmaids, I submitted it to the shop and communicated every single detail to the lady boss. The lady boss is proven to be experienced and adjusted the measurements accordingly. I also had to make sure that the shop delivered on time because the dresses must arrive London, in time for the bridemaids to do minor alterations before the wedding!

After two to three months of discussion and visits to the shop, it was all worth-while because the dresses looked so good. What was so amazing, was that nobody needed to do alterations after trying on their dresses after all!

Gorgeous!