Do you have a stunning vintage dress that needs a little more love to make it a lot more you? Let’s restore, resize, and restyle that beauty with our vintage wedding dress restoration in NYC and Baltimore, MD.
Every bride has their own reasons for choosing a vintage wedding dress. Some of our brides are carrying on a family tradition, finding meaning in restoring an heirloom. While others buy a pre-owned or vintage gown they want restyled to be an utterly unique, a one-of-a-kind expression of themselves. Whatever your reasons, the “dress whisperers” at The Wedding Dresser will keep your gown’s special details while tailoring to your style.
Our background in costuming and red carpet means we know vintage fashion and can turn on a dime! We’ve raised ‘50s dropped waists, lowered waists on ‘70s dirndls, added and removed sleeves, and changed necklines and skirt shapes, attaching veils and headpieces to modern hair accessories— you name it, we’ve done it! So, you can rest assured that your garment is in experienced, highly skilled hands.
Most brides are older (and larger) than the original wearer of the dress. We have several tricks we use to upsize dresses and we can make a dress up to 10 sizes bigger or 10 sizes smaller.
We have restored dresses from as far back as 1895, and we have restyled and resized dresses from the 1920s - 1980s. We can reinforce dry rotted fabrics, or source vintage fabrics and lace to use for repairs or replace parts of a dress. Our experience handling vintage and antique dresses means your heirloom will be in very experienced hands.
Every vintage dress is different, and restyling them takes a unique approach.
We’ll start with an in-person or virtual consultation to discuss your vision and look at your inspiration. It’s your dress, so don’t be shy when it comes to sharing your ideas! Once we have a plan in place, our vintage specialists will use careful techniques to preserve the integrity of the dress while updating it to fit your preferences and flatter your body type.
For more detailed information, check out the FAQ section below!
Vintage and antique dresses usually require up to six fittings, depending on the amount of work required.
Most brides are older (and larger) than the original wearer of the dress. We have several tricks we use to upsize dresses and we can make a dress up to 10 sizes bigger.
We have restored dresses from as far back as 1895, and we have restyled and resized dresses from the 1920s - 1980s. We can reinforce dry rotted fabrics, or source vintage fabrics and lace to use for repairs or replace parts of a dress. Susan’s background in costuming and experience handling vintage and antique dresses means your heirloom will be in very experienced hands.
You just need to bring your dress and shoes with the heel height you plan to wear. We have shapewear, corsets, and crinolines in stock that you can try with your dress.
For restyling projects we recommend collecting images of necklines, sleeves, skirt shapes, etc., that have the look you are going for. If you have Google Doc or Pinterest Board, please email those to us ahead of your consultation. If you are unsure about what you want, Susan is happy to guide your restyling.
We can alter or restyle your vintage veils. We often make vintage headpieces and veils that are attached to modernized hair accessories.
For vintage refurbishing or resizing we will charge a consultation fee of $35. For vintage restyling consultations, we charge a $75 fee. During your appointment, we will go through your inspiration, discuss restyling options, and create a sketch of your new design.
Some vintage dresses run the same as usual alterations, which average $495 - $995, but most work on vintage and antique dresses runs $1500 and up. We recommend leaving some wiggle room in your budget to allow for changes as we go through the process.
Book a virtual or in-person appointment at our studio to get started!
