Magazine-April-06-QXD6 (Page 1 - 2) - EADA

Dress DesignsHannah Davis & David BrownIf you want to make your own dresses or arelooking at styles for a new dress, some of ourmembers with experience in dress-making offertheir advice.The perfect dress?By Hannah DavisHannah Davis is an Amateur Under 21 Ballroom andLatin competitor who has been dancing since she was4. She is currently studying with the OU and helps hermother with her dressmaking business. See ElaineDavis on www.ballroomandlatindress.comWhen I started competing aged 6, I wanted prettydresses and preferably lots of them!! My Mumhad some basicdressmaking skillsand decided to digher old sewingmachine out of theloft and attempt tomake them for me.I won't go intodetail about herfirst efforts butsuffice to say that Iwasn't tooimpressed even atthat tender age!Making nice dancedresses is a bit likedancing - the moreyou practise the better the results. Throughout theintervening years I have been very lucky to haveowned and worn many beautiful dance dressesas my mum kept on “practising”. About four yearsago she turned her hobby into a business and Ijoined her after leaving College. It has been ahuge learning curve but I now make some of myown dresses along with helping to design, makeand stone dresses for a range of customers. Asan active competitor I keep in touch with thelatest trends and designs and can see howdresses look and perform on the dance floor.What makes “The Perfect Dance Dress”? Findingyour ideal dress, whether buying new off the peg,pre-worn or having a dress made, is not alwayseasy and mistakes can be costly. The followingare all factors which I take into account whendesigning and making my own dresses as well aswhen helping and advising customers.1) Fashion of any sort is a matter of personaltaste, what one person may love, another mayhate. The most important thing is that you thedancer like your dress and are going to be happywearing it. When considering whether to buy adress or have a design made by all means listento advice from teachers, friends, partner andfamily, along with your dressmaker/designerabout what they think might suit you, but don't beinfluenced into buying something that you are notgoing to be totally happy with, because at the endof the day it is you that has to wear it!2) Comfort is high on my list of priorities. When Iam dancing I don't want to be distracted by anydiscomfort caused by my dress, rubbing, cuttingor digging into me, nor do I want to be nursingskin damage or blisters after wearing it. Whenconsidering the purchase of a dress make surethat it is comfortable and if in doubt ask if anyuncomfortable areas can be altered.3) The perfect dress should be an excellent fit foryou. A well fitting dance dress should fit like asecond skin without being too loose or too tight.If a dress is too big it may gape and wrinkle aswell as moving around on the body as you dance.Equally the dress should not be too small or tootight as this can cause discomfort as well as overexposure of parts of the body and restriction ofmovement.4) Consideration should also be given to practicaland technical aspects of the dress, for examplestraps and fastenings. Are any straps the rightlength and comfortable, are fastenings secureand are there enough of them to hold the dressproperly in place? Themost beautiful dance dressis as good as useless if itis likely to fall off in themiddle of the floor!5) Design, is a matter ofindividual taste but whenconsidering what will orwon't work for you, a goodstarting point is to initiallyidentify which parts of yourbody and/or shape you likeor dislike and then look atdesign concepts which willflatter and enhance yourfigure as well as coveringany areas that you mightprefer not to be exposed.For example, if you are talland slim you might look at designs that will cutthe body into smaller sections, such as having astyle or decoration with horizontal lines around28 29Unique Affordable Couture100% British couture using only Swarovski RhinestonesBallroom Dresses from £1100 (including VAT)Latin American Dresses from £750 (including VAT)Sparkle Designs specialise in the design andmanufacture of stunning and unique Ballroomand Latin American dresses.Sparkle Designs SponsorAlexandra Hixson and Andrey SirbuKatherine and John Giannini - New for 2009!Natasha Manderson and Craig ShawAndrew Cuerden and Hanna HaaralaIzabela Hannah and Hannes EmrichSparkle Designs Limited, Crawley, nr London, EnglandTel: +44 (0)1293 549245 Mobile: +44 (0)7817 470731www.sparkledesignsuk.com e-mail: sales@sparkledesignsuk.comthe body; whereas someone who is smaller orwith a fuller figure might find that a dress withvertical lines and/or decoration may be moreflattering. Think about drawing attention to certainareas of the dress perhaps by use of design orembellishment, which also has the effect ofdrawing attention away from other areas.6) When considering colour/s/ think about whichcolours may work best with your hair and skin aswell as your body size and shape. Generally,darker colours will have a slimming effect withlighter colours working the opposite way.Rhinestone decoration is popular and really doesenhance the look of a dress, especially one madefrom plain fabrics. However they can be veryexpensive so if your budget will not stretch to adress covered in Swarovski, think about the useof colours or patterned or embellished fabrics orlaces to achieve a striking look without the needfor heavy decoration.