Having a dress copied

[gardenmusic]

The dress is about 20 years old, fits perfectly, and I love it. A plain classic style made in jersey that I could see myself wearing forever.
It's not designer, it's from one of the now defunct companies - like Alexon, Planet, etc
Has anyone sucessfully had a dress copied in the UK (without destroying the original) and been pleased with the results?

I recently took a higher priced Hobbs dress to our 'best' alterations shop, to get it taken in a little. They actually make dresses, and I am very unhappy with the fit now, wasted my money on the expensive alteration and the dress. (not going back)
I'm in Kent, but would travel a reasonable distance.

I had a skirt copied through a seamstress I was matched with on The Seam. I can’t remember the price and I know I paid more for it to be done quickly but it wasn’t bad. However, neither of us had to buy the fabric because I had a silk trapeze dress that she used.

It’s not quite perfect on the waistband (the original is ruched in quite a neat, particular way that I wanted copied) but it’s pretty damn good.

Have a look at the website.

Aw shucks....

I was a clothing manufacturing student a long long time ago, so I know the secrets....

Manufacturing is also cheap in terms of labour costs overseas. The average wage for a textile worker in Bangladesh is a few thousand dollars a year. The Rana Plaza factory collapse led to an awful lot of "we didn't know" claims from large British brands using those factories. Bull

https://cleanclothes.org/campaigns/past/rana-plaza

Sorry for the downer but I feel if we're going to buy cheap clothing, we should acknowledge that someone else is probably paying a price for that

This factory collapse was exceptional, but low wages and terrible working conditions are not. They're industry standard now.

I was going to suggest seeing if anyone you know is travelling to a country where dressmaking from material is really common and cheap.

The EU now has a directive forcing big companies to have due diligence to check their suppliers and their suppliers' suppliers. Will the UK have a similar law?

There is a tailoring company in Hong Kong who comes to the UK several times a year with a trunk show. They visit various locations around the country for several days at a time and they can do great copies.
My DH gets all his suits made there for about a third of the price of a UK tailor. I've got a lovely navy wool shift dress and matching jacket that they made over 25 years ago that still fits perfectly and looks like new.

im seeing them soon to get a dress made for an upcoming wedding. I will take two dresses I love along to explain what I want. They will do sketches, show me fabric swatches etc and about 6 weeks later I expect to have something bespoke and perfect for the price of high end High St.

https://www.raja-fashions.com

I'm not employed by them or affiliated with them in any way. I just highly recommend them.

GREAT thread, op.

Can anyone recommend talented dressmakers (or sewists, if you prefer) in Hants/Berks/Surrey?

Op isn't the only one who struggles to find them. 90s and 00s most towns seemed to have one but they seem a rare breed these days.

And can anyone advise how you can check whether a sewist or person-who-does-alterations is any good before you hand over your clothes?

I've managed to find one or two places that do basic alterations near me but no idea how to assess their skill/reliability.

This is the problem - handing over your clothes and not knowing what will happen!
I think try them out with something less wanted/valuable first.

I have PM'd you with the details of the seamstress I use in Binfield, Peachy. If that location is useful to anyone else, feel free to PM me. I haven't used her to create garments, but she has done plenty of alterations for me and for friends, and her work is immaculate.

@Sarvanga24 I can get to Binfield, thank you!!

I just wrote a long answer that got eaten by an update.

The pattern costs about £20. You choose from your size range.
https://www.sewdirect.com/product/vogue-v2000/

I have looked up pattern reviews and people are having great success with it.

As a jersey dress needs no lining, and this says it is ‘easy’ ( for an experienced dressmaker) it would not take as long by any means as some garments to make. But a day plus fitting. A dressmaker could get the pattern out and compare it to your existing dress, and adjust the pattern accordingly, without harming it. You can buy pattern drafting tissue at haberdasheries. So the pattern you but could be redrawn on this together with any adjustments, all ready before laying it on the cloth and cutting it out.

Looking at the pattern drawings on the envelope back, this dress will have a lovely movement and flow. 1970s patterns were good with this.

This envelope back tells you how much cloth you’ll need depending on which dress you choose. As you want a different length you’ll need something in between.

As I said before, if you Google this dress pattern name V2000 you also get other wrap dress patterns to look at. But this one is by a good designer.

V2000 pattern envelope back showing cloth quantities etc

You can get that pattern through Amazon.

How far from Faversham are you, OP? Not quite the same, but there's a lovely seamstress there that made me a dress. It was an approximate replica of one I liked from a film, so nothing to use as a pattern. She also altered a wool coat for me which she did super job on. Couldn't see what she'd done at all, but the fit after was excellent.

Justlovedogs, Thank you, I could certainly travel to Faversham - used to call there regularly when I was a rep.

ScrollingLeaves,

Thank you for going to so much trouble, I really appreciate it.
This could be my new favourite dress

One pattern reviewer said she’d made six of them!

Just a thought if Faversham didn’t work out - if you found a local college of further education teaching sewing ( rarer these days), you could ask the instructor if they or anyone they know takes on sewing jobs. Or ask in clothing alteration shops.

There must be some skilled work-from home people doing this too.

I just googled my ‘Local City seamstress dressmaking’ and got a few coming up, including of wedding dress standard.

Example page of services offered from one of the sites I found in a quick Google.

If it the Chelsea, could this be a possible replacement?

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads

Thank you for posting this, but I would only go for plain, and these colours would not suit me. Mine is made of viscose elastane whatever that may be, but it feels very silky. I am very tall, so I need a calf length midi to make it midi on me!

@Somepeoplearesnippy that's really interesting, do you know when they're in the UK please? I can only see an American trunk show on the site.

Can I ask a rough price for how much your son's suit was please?

Justlovedogs

Have picked up your message, many thanks!