Dress Journey: Rainbow Chevrons

A couple of weeks ago we were commissioned to make this amazing rainbow chevron dress, here is its dress journey...

This was the toile/mock-up of the design of the dress, a simple t-shirt shaped top and a gathered waist skirt. Please excuse the one sleeve! I was using up scrap fabric and to save on time I only needed to show one sleeve...

So from this our customer asked for some of the fullness in the skirt to be taken out as it was a tad too much, but other than that it was just right.

This was the fabric, I'd searched everywhere to find a suitable rainbow chevron fabric, which isn't easy to come by! This was a cotton poplin fabric and was lovely to work with, even if it did send my eyes funny at time!

Cutting out the patterns were a tad difficult to match the pattern but I soon found out the pattern would not match across the side seams. But as long as it matched the same colour rows going across, it was the only thing I could do. It did take me 2 hours to cut it all out but I knew it had to be right.

Here is the top sewn together and as you can see, the side seam pattern didn't match perfectly but the colour rows did, which was all I could do. I made sure that there was a perfect chevron line running straight down the centre front and centre back though to keep the balance of the garment.

The skirt had to be a large rectangle shape, it couldn't have been done in triangles to make the skirt swing out as the pattern would have just sloped off towards the side seams. So it was a rectangle and then the top was gathered in to create a bit of fullness and ripple.

This point was the top and skirt joined together, I was so eager to see what it was like! It still had the neck and hem to finish however.

The concealed zip and neck facing was next in, finishing off with my label put on and then hemming on the skirt was the last step!

It's finished! I think its such an impact statement dress! Plus any accessories can be matched to it as it has all the colours.

As a little extra, out of the scraps I made one of our cute rounded shirt collars to team up with any outfit because the fabric is just too cool!

And here is our lovely customer in her dress! Amazing! <3

An Evening Out With Joanna

On Monday evening I was invited out to a charity 6 course mystery meal in Leeds and of course I had to make myself a dress to wear. I chose the Joanna dress from our current collection, a classic pencil dress with a slash neck and waistband. Within my stashes of fabric, I had this beautiful blue and beiges floral abstract viscose fabric and instantly knew I had to make it!

I teamed it up with my beige faux leather Jacket from New Look, nude high back heels from Atmosphere and a black quilted circle bag, making sure it was my dress that stood out amongst the outfit.

Our Joanna dress can be purchased from our shop and made-to-measure in your size. Bespoke colours and fabrics can also be requested, contact us directly with your requirements. See it here http://www.hannahelizabethfashion.co.uk/product/joanna

Spring/Summer 2015 Collection

Our S/S 15 collection is based on vintage inspired garments with an up to date trends twist. They were photographed in the beautiful Canon Hall in South Yorkshire. All available to buy in our shop and made-to-measure.

It's our Birthday! Looking back on the last year...

It's Hannah Elizabeth's first birthday this April and we're taking time to look back over the last year and what we've been doing. I'm so proud of what I've managed to do in the first year as well as having many more things planned for the next years to come.

The picture above was when we first got the studio, decorating the walls, moving the new industrial machines in and making the place feel more homely. I was so happy on getting my own studio, somewhere to call my home and get all the creative juices flowing. 

The events we have attended have been fun and I've learnt something from each one. Coalfields festival, Rotherham Show and Barnsley Christmas Market were 3 fairs I stood at and each was just as fun and all in a different setting. Each of them led onto other things like stockists and new customers. However I have now decided that I wont be attending anymore 'craft' type fairs but my last goal is for a Vintage fair. I also helped out at a ladies night fashion show in Rotherham which was a lot of fun and our first fashion show with my clothing, as well as meeting these 4 lovely ladies that modelled for us. 

Reba Unique was the first shop I stocked with my clothing, the shop is great for stocking local independent designers so it made sense to also be in there. I get a section to put my items in and often get to be in the window and on other mannequins around the shop. The shop has a good range of different styles from other designers and accessories to accompany them, giving the customer a place to get a whole outfit whatever the style they're after. I've loved being a part of the shop and around other like-minded people and its also quite handy being just around the corner from my studio.

Junction 36 was the second local boutique to stock us, more on the quirky side of independent designers with the shop owner being a bag maker, specializing in leather clutch bags and more. They also have other great local designers like t-shirt printers with a sailor theme, draped dresses, quirky crop tops, accessories and more. 

BitterSweet Boutique in Rotherham was a lovely shop with furniture and home decorations, mixed with clothing and accessories. This shop had all sorts to offer and especially a mix of pastel coloured items and a vintage shabby chic style. Unfortunately my clothing didnt work in the shop and didnt appeal to their customer base in the quiet town centre. However this came about from the Rotherham Show and the charity ladies night fashion show, so it proves everything leads onto another.

Our online presence has slowly been building with our website, blog and social media. Our blog's best post to date was the Pastel Hair Inspiration, sparking at around 800 views, as well as some smaller posts which one of our favourites being the DIY Collar displays. The website is still in its infancy but is slowly growing in page views. Last summer we did a photoshoot with our S/S 13 collection and was a lot of fun, this created more awareness with my photos being shared across social media.

Last but not least, me...I have learnt so much over the last year and I know I still have so much more to learn about! I hand sew our own collection, stand at the events, try on (and sometimes keep) our dresses, i'm the cleaner, the accountant, the marketer and more and I have to say...I love it! I'm still finding my feet and realising my style but I know I will keep growing along side my business in the years to come. So please do continue to support me in any way possible as I couldn't have done it without the support network around me. Thank you all so much!

p.s. We have a birthday discount code on our website, use code PARTY1 for 25% off including on bespoke orders. www.hannahelizabethfashion.co.uk 

The Pastel Pink Trend

Whilst we like to be individual and different to the rest, we still like to keep to some current trends. A big colour trend this year is Pink and we were straight on it! Creating garments in pastel tones is what we do best and after seeing the Spring/Summer '14 fashion shows from London fashion week and the others, it was very obvious pink was going to be a favourite. We love matching our Pinks up with other tones such a creams, grey, lilacs and corals to keep it from being too pink and keeping it updated.

Whilst we like to be individual and different to the rest, we still like to keep to some current trends. A big colour trend this year is Pink and we were straight on it! Creating garments in pastel tones is what we do best and after seeing the Spring/Summer '14 fashion shows from London fashion week and the others, it was very obvious pink was going to be a favourite. 

Hannah Elizabeth Spring/Summer 14 Lookbook

I'm a little behind with Blog Friday this week, but I'd love to share with you our S/S 14 Lookbook. It was so fun doing the photoshoot, working with our model Grace and photographer Joey to come up with a simple and effective lookbook. We wanted the pastel tones to really show in the photos and still have a vintage hint with the styling and poses.

Model: Grace Stead

Photography: Joey Little

Clothing: Hannah Elizabeth