I am obsessed with this dress, have been for years, I will never afford it - please help me find something like it I can...

[user23124]

https://pauw.com/en/products/a-lijn-jurk-11201301199a700
I have been obsessed with this dress since I saw a woman in the navy version at an event years ago. I accept I will never have the ££ for it. Is there anything I can do to get a dress like this but under £250?

You are all so talented at finding things! Thanks for any help :)

@botemp sadly I am not, I am in West Yorkshire!

It's not all silk though - it is only 15% silk. So I think the fabric would be less expensive than that by some margin? I agree if you bought 100% heavyweight silk it would be wonderful but that's not what the dress is made of.

Could this work as a budget version? Add the bow yourself?

Cos have made some similar dresses over the years..

depop.app.link/SWU1VwXIUPb

https://m.ouku.com/p/a-line-cocktail-dresses-elegant-dress-minimalist-dress-formal-fall-knee-length-3-4-length-sleeve-shirt-collar-satin-with-bow-s-slit-2024_p9659438.html?litb_from=paid_adwords_shopping&sku=1_45|20_34

Nothing will be your dress though OP!

Try google images. It might bring up a cheaper alternative that might like even more.

I'll keep an eye out, if I ever randomly come across it in the local consignment shops I'll send you a DM @user23124 what size did you try?

It's absolutely gorgeous OP. Now I want it too 😍

I like this one better.

Wow that Ouko one is lovely and all the lovely colours

I bought that dress in navy in 2017. It is amazing on. The seaming and construction is not as simple as posters are making out. It's also fully lined, including the sleeves.

If its been years could you not set yourself axsaving goal and just buy the damn thing? Bung it on a credit card and pay it off bit by bit?

Life is short.

If you can possibly afford it @user23124 buy it!

Get everyone who might buy you a present (shame it's just been xmas) to chip in and start a fund.

Honestly, now with decades of hindsight, there are things like this I so desperately wanted when I was younger. Now, I look back and think I should have moved heaven and earth to just buy them! Nowadays I have the money but there's very little I want.

@IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle I don't suppose you have gone off it and fancy selling it? 😂😂I genuinely think it is the most gorgeous dress I have ever seen - did you get much wear from it?

@Bigearringsbigsmile life is short and I have a medical condition that means my dancing days are numbered. I cannot stretch to £900 for any dress thou - my wedding dress was only £300!
But I agree, life is short and life is for living and dresses are for wearing!

@SereneCapybara that is absolutely beautiful!

https://www.eshakti.com/shop/overstock/Bow-tie-belt-satin-dress-CL0088111OSS_16

Can you confirm if there is perhaps a little horsehair braid in the hem?

I'm a dressmaker and already have a pattern a similiar shape although not exactly the same and was already planning to use it for a a posh wedding I've got later this year but hadn't decided on a fabric. This has given me some inspiration!

I have a shein one on VINTED that's almost the same. But with a pattern. It's a simple classic shape.

The fabric's a twill, you can see it in the close-ups. It has a sheen, not a shine like satin. A good twill has plenty of body but I agree there must be some stiffening in the skirt and belt.

I knew @IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle had this dress - I've been on S&B too long! Don't know if she could be persuaded to take loads of construction photos for the dressmakers here?

How would I go about finding a dressmaker and or fabric? Sorry to be an idiot!
Ask for recommendations on face book.
Use your local community page to see if anyone knows.
People are always asking fro recommendations for seamstress, tailors, knitters etc on mine and usually there's loads of suggestions.

I suspect it's more like a silk faille than twill, which is what Dior and Balenciaga used in the 50s for these type of dress silhouettes.

When I was in Hoi An in Vietnam, I had a number of silk dresses made by a bespoke tailor called Yaly Couture. They make them remotely too. Their website details the way to take your own measurements and you can send them a link to the dress and they'll make a pattern from it. I asked them to make a replica of a 1950s Givenchy silk gown and the outcome was gorgeous (and cost about $100 US) yalycouture.com/en/about-us

Mine is slightly different. It has a round neck and the belt isn't a full obi. It cost €470 in 2017.

I get lots of wear out of it as I don't mind wearing the same dress many times. I wear it to industry black tie dos, Burns Suppers, lunches and dinners in posh hotels.

Good call, yes.

The material is quite heavy with a deep hem. I don't know what is giving the weight.

It has a sheen to it but it's not shiny. The skirt is very full but that's achieved by 2 deep inverted pleats back and front as the skirt when attached to the waistband is flat.

I bought this one as well.