Family heirloom redesigns are one of the favorite components of my business but this one in particular has more meaning to me than I can explain because of the connection I have with this beautiful family. Lola is the great niece of my lifelong friend Lori, and Lola’s grandmother Lynda was and always will be my hero. I was asked in February to design a 1st communion dress for Lola made from the fabrics of her mother Janet’s dress, her grandmother Lynda’s dress and her great aunt Lori’s dress.
Lola’s great aunt
First, the family sent the actual dresses to me so I could get an idea of the condition and how much material I actually had to work with before I could start my design process. Then after having conversations with this wonderful little girl about the types of dresses she likes, I was able to start sketching. I designed 3 different looks based on the information I obtained and sent the family the sketches for Lola to review and a measurement chart to get started. We scheduled a zoom call to find out what Lola had selected and any other ideas she had for the dress.
After receiving the measurements, I drafted a pattern and made a muslin (a sample of the garment) of Lola’s design and mailed it back to the family. We scheduled another zoom call to review the fit and any change requests. Only two small adjustments needed to be made at the outcome of the meeting so I could proceed with truing up the patterns and deconstructing the original dresses.
The family wanted to use as much of the original dresses as possible, but at Lola’s request a little sparkle was added to the new design and a lining as there was not enough original lining to construct the new dress. I then sewed up the shell (the design unfinished) of the dress and sent it back to the family for another zoom fitting with Lola. The fitting went so well that I could finish the dress as soon as they sent it back.
It took just a few zoom meetings, mailing of muslins back and forth and lots of input to bring an idea of Lynda’s (the Grandmother) to life for her granddaughter Lola. It’s difficult to put into words how special and emotional this project was for me, but I was truly honored to have been asked to design a new 1st communion dress from 3 family heirlooms and I know Lynda was with me every step of the way. Lori, Lola’s great aunt made a special trip to Las Vegas to pick the dress up and safely hand carry it back home to Illinois.
This lovely and vibrant little girl was thrilled beyond belief about making her 1st communion in this dress, it was all I could do not to film every minute of every zoom appointment we had together. I loved that she has a mind of her own and knew what she liked, she had ideas for her hair and all the accessories she would wear on her special day
Arron Peters
The video’s say it all, I am sure this delightful little girl will do great things in this world; I hope we are all ready for her! See Lola’s video’s here: https://youtube.com/shorts/RENgSTlYqv4