| Restoring Princess Grace's wedding veil for the Philadelphia
Museum of Art sparked Martin's interest in heirloom gowns.
As a result, she devotes a percentage of her business to consulting
and restoring, redesigning, and altering bridal and christening
gowns, veils, and other textiles. Depending on the extent
of damage to the original, or change necessary to fit a current
client, gowns from the 1880's to the present have seen everything
from minor alterations to line for line copies.
We added six inches in girth to one mother's gown only to
reduce it by three inches when the bride's younger sister
wore the gown months later. The 1880's gown was thrown in
the wash in the 1960s and we completely reconstructed it in
2001…. Most gowns from the last generation need a new bodice
as today's bride tends to exercise more and get married at
an older age -thus the need for bigger waists and shoulders
on their heirloom gowns. Other special projects: designing
a bridal gown with an elaborate train to showcase a grandmother's
antique lace veil, reconstructing a family's favorite tablecloth,
designing a beautiful blouse from a bridal gown, applying
the lace from a 1910 gown to a coat which is worn annually
to black tie events.
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