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“Three Weddings & One Family Gown!”
My former bridal art-to-wear shop in Atlanta, Cornelia Powell Antiques, Inc., was known for re-creating beautiful gowns for modern brides out of their mother’s—or grandmother’s or aunt’s—wedding dress. Many times what suited the current bride was very similar to the original; other times, it was a totally different design, using the vintage gown only as the foundation to build on, or as a resource for beautiful materials.
I had already closed my shop when the Jackoniskis of Atlanta were looking for someone to create magic out of their family heirloom. And luckily, they found talented couturier Chris Hudson in Madison, GA, near Athens.
Audrey St. Raymond wore a lace gown designed by a local dressmaker for her June, 1943, wedding to Albert Vitter in New Orleans. Years earlier, the groom’s mother had bought the yardage of vintage needle lace in France. A little more than 26 years after their wedding, Audrey and Albert’s daughter, Tootie, wore the gown—grand train and all—with only a few minor alterations to add inserts to enlarge the bodice. Like her mother Tootie, Joli Jackoniski—the third generation in this story—had only seen the wedding dress in pictures until it was taken out of storage to try on. As brides-to-be, both had loved the sentiment of wearing the family gown, but unlike Tootie, Joli didn’t care for the style of the now nearly 60 year-old dress for her year 2000 wedding.
The shawl and jacket in the designers’ studio, showing the beautiful details of the antique lace.
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Joli tried on new gowns to get an idea of what she liked, then she and her mother called on designer Chris Hudson to see what redesign was possible with the family gown. The magical transformation began. In Christie’s skilled hands and with her creative imagination, she took the extraordinary lace from the vintage gown and—after cleaning it carefully—made the over-skirt of Joli’s custom-designed silk strapless gown with only a sweep of a train. Christie then made Tootie’s mother-of-the-bride jacket from the lace of the original gown’s bodice, and using the arc of lace cut from the cathedral train, she trimmed a silk chiffon shawl for Grandmother Audrey.
Something old never looked so beautiful.  |
Watch for more beautiful examples of “wearing the past”—transforming old gowns into modern, fashionable creations—in the Winter 2006-07 issue of Weddings of Grace!
Don’t miss the “Cornelia Recommends” section for great ideas & connections!
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