Blushing (pink) bride...

I love it when a bride knows what she likes. This particular bride knows that she loves pink, was having a very conservative wedding, is very young, and wanted to look like herself on her wedding day. Using her favorite dress as a model, we developed a very basic design, and found a very soft, pink silk to create the look.



I was so happy to be a part of her day.



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Happy moments...

I often forget to stop and share what projects made me feel proud, all warm and fuzzy inside, and truly happy to be in such a great profession. Although this first photo is really far from doing this dress justice, let me just share the idea with you.

This lovely bride (and even lovlier person) came to me with an idea for a dress to suit her very petite frame. For her outdoor, summer wedding, she chose this lovely silk gauze (you can see the texture in subsequent photos) and hand crocheted her own flowers to be used as appliques on the dress. She indicated how they should form an assymetric trail up the skirt and over one shoulder of the dress, and then chose a selection of antique buttons from her grandmother's collection to adorn the back of the dress.




The result was a true collaboration that thrilled us both. Here are her impeccable flowers, sewn on the bodice...



One shoulder (blurry, but you get the idea)



The skirt portion of the dress:



I really love this kind of project, and hope to do many more in the future.

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The modern wedding... a seismic shift?

This lovely little vintage 50's number has been drastically altered to fit the "best woman" in anupcoming wedding. Isn't it a BEAUT?!

So...Is it the economy that is driving this movement towards really beautiful, useful, personal clothing?

I am seeing a sweeping change in attitudes from brides lately. The actual wedding, and by that I mean the actual getting married of it all, is taking precedence over the long held "princess for a day" notion. And boy, is it about time, or what?

I am meeting the woman who wants to look beautiful and special in a family heirloom, in a custom dress that suits her figure and the mood of the wedding, and the bride who would feel wildly out-of-place in one of those wildly expensive heavily-corseted or beaded suits of armour that pass for gowns these days. They are understanding that they will be photographed, and want to look like the best version of themselves on their wedding day.

Now, this is a movement I can get behind!

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Organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

If you own a website, you are probably being solicited by companies offering you top placement in the search engines. While not a complete crock, the value of "more eyeballs" versus carefully targeted traffic is often overlooked. If you are able to come up with your own keywords, you can help yourself get better placement very easily.

For example, let's say you are a plumber in Garland, Texas. Well, when someone looks for you, what will they type? "Plumber" without a doubt. But hey, they probably want to find a listing of plumbers from which they may choose right? So, quite possibly, they will type "Plumbers". Not only that, only the ones near them are likely candidates for the job, so they may type in "Plumbers near Garland, Texas" Yes, use the whole phrase. They may type "plumbers in Garland, TX" They might forget just how global the web is, and type "Plumbers in Garland". You wouldn't believe how much these little things can help you to get found.

You'll also want to make sure that whatever you mention in your keywords is also blatantly apparent on your site. There is no reason to include Garland, TX in your keywords if you never mention it on the site.

Keep in mind that top placement might not be what you want if there is a limit to the number of people you can effectively serve. If you have a unique specialty, use it in your keywords or tags. The only plumber who knows how to install that yellow-bellied spigot from 1718 is a precious individual if you happen to own one. You might want top placement for "yellow-bellied spigot", though.

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A new year!

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Starting a fresh new year, with more time to take on clients, I have added a new video to my personal website, and updated the membership of www.Findadressmaker.com. So, whether you are looking for someone like me or a local dressmaker in your area, feel free to visit either www.mimijackson.com or the www.findadressmaker.com site to find your professional.

Using a Dressmaker to SAVE money?

If you are like most people, at some point in your life, you've imagined yourself in some outrageous red-carpet worthy custom-made confection. I'm sure it comes as no surprise - custom clothing is NOT inexpensive. It takes time, skill, patience, and quality materials to achieve. You will, no doubt, spend less at your local retailer, where you will likely find something... acceptable or adequate, if not great.

Or, if you are creative, you'll find something beautiful at an auction, a vintage store, or anywhere else. Then you'll find a dressmaker willing to refashion it into something perfect for you...



I redesigned this 1890's dress, bought at an auction, to fit my client for her wedding this fall. This garment would have been outrageously expensive, had I created it from scratch. All told, it was still less expensive than buying a new designer gown in a boutique.

When a look is otherwise unattainable, it could be due to size, shape, color, materials, support requirements, commissioning a dressmaker can be well worth your while. But, beyond your most important occasions, there are plenty of other situations to consider.

Have you gained or lost weight?


Give you a more professional or neater appearance, by making your clothing fit. The bride pictured above, needed her gown altered following a weight reduction surgery.

Do you love something that is out of style, wrong for your body, or too memorable to wear again?
Have a dressmaker "redesign" it to make a fresh statement.

Do you a garment that is damaged, torn or stained, and needs a creative solution?
Many dressmakers have really seen it all, and have solutions you have never dreamed of!





Are you having an informal, unique, or unconventional wedding?
Bridal shops do not offer enough variety to please every category of bride. You might want to add more embellishment to a simple gown, or wear something that appeals to your taste specifically. The bride pictured above, wanted a bold pearl trim on a halter-style gown. In her case, as in many others, this was less expensive than the bridal shop alternative for which she would have had to settle. (I know that's formal, but I just can't end my sentence with a preposition!!!!)



How do you know what's possible? You go to www.findadressmaker.com and ask a professional.



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Neuroplasticity and Issey Miyake

Well, it seems eveything always comes full circle. I am now working with a client, making custom kimonos for a kibuki theater project. And, whoa, what a learning experience... Not only that, but learning to make a kimono gives some insight into Miyake's design ideas and shapes. The following post, which I wrote last year, fits into this moment in my work as well.

A recent article in the New York Times, entitled "A Pointy-headed Piano", was so beautifully inspirational and well written, that I have kept the clipping near me, waiting for an opportunity to use it somehow...

Dr. Norman Doidge, the author of a book studying the experiences of scientists, doctors and patients in the field of neuroplasticity (a new way of looking at the brain as a more malleable and renewable structure than the traditional) is featured in this article, describing his beloved Heintzman piano. The article uses the piano as a metaphor for the brain's ability to adapt.

In a nutshell, this rare transposable piano, made in 1895, allows a musician to slide its keyboard left or right, two or three keys in either direction. This, in his words, "eliminates the need to play the entirely different configuration that switching to another key requires." This is much like the brain's ability, when it hits a wrong "key", to transpose to a new one, after a stroke, learning disability, or emotional trauma. As the parent of an autistic child, I have become acutely aware of what an amazingly complex instrument the brain is, and how wonderful it can be, discovering which "keys" to play.

While the author mentions that the goal of the adaptive brain is to perform repetitive tasks, personally, I love breaking out of that mold, and embracing the constant challenge of "new thinking", which brings me to one of my favorite artists/designers... the one and only Issey Miyake.

I made my first Miyake when I was in high school. I used a striped, tightly-woven wool fabric from Art Max fabrics in Manhattan's garment district. How I loved that store... (sigh) It had an assymmetrical, sculptural skirt and a cowl-necked shirt with dangling "straps", for lack of a better description.

So, I have had the following Miyakes for quite some time, and hope to make them soon (the coats first!), but I always find that I am far more inspired by the flats than the photos,

since the models never look anything like me, and the fabrics chosen are always wildly different than anything I would ever choose.

So, here they are...







These patterns, if you are unfamiliar with them, are as close to "fabric oragami" as one can get. Once you have learned to create garments, you have a general understanding of what shape a collar should be, where it should attach, where the armholes should be... well, Miyake patterns challenge all of that, and require that you surrender to the instructions and embark on the adventure.