Mom's Dress

Remake your mom's dress

Wearing your mom's dress, or your grandmother's, is a lovely idea, and it rarely fits the way it is. The good news is that an older gown usually has plenty of fabric to work with: long trains, full sleeves and deep hems that can become something new.

Small change or full remake?

Some brides change one or two things: take off the puffed sleeves, lower the neckline, shorten the train. Others take the dress apart and use its fabric and lace for a new design. Decide how much of the original you want people to recognize, and talk to whoever gave you the dress first. Some moms want it kept as it was, and some are delighted to see it changed.

Check it before you plan

Old fabric can be weaker than it looks. Look for yellowing, stains and brittle seams under the arms and at the waist, and have the dress cleaned by someone who works with vintage gowns before anyone cuts it. Then try it on and take photos, so you can see what's working.

How other brides did it

• I turned my mom's vintage wedding dress into mine (Maddy Matson): her mom's train kept as the outer layer, the sleeve lace turned into the bodice, and the cuffs made into gloves.
• My aunt's wedding dress, remade for me (Ella Pennington): the lace moved, the waist raised, and the original label sewn back in.
• Wedding Bells (Refashioning History): a 1960s silk gown taken apart and redrafted, with a red skirt and 40 covered buttons.
• Refashioning a wedding gown (Tamara Kenney): the train's fabric becomes a new open-back bodice.
• A mom's dress remade (video, The Tailorette).
• A bridal robe from mom's dress (Melly Sews): if you'd rather not wear it down the aisle, it can still be with you while you get ready.

Want someone to do it?

Unbox the Dress redesigns heirloom gowns by mail, and the linked story shows one 1980s dress before and after. A local seamstress who works on vintage gowns is the other way to go, and there are more on the Makers page.

What you'll need

• A good seam ripper: taking an old dress apart carefully is most of the work.
• Muslin: for testing the new shape before cutting the real fabric.
• A dress form: so you can see the old dress from every side.
• Acid-free tissue paper: for wrapping any pieces you take off and want to keep.
• Fine silk pins: old silk marks easily.

Keep a piece of the original, a scrap of lace or the label, and sew it inside the new dress. It's a nice thing to find again when the dress is passed on.

More ways to make the dress yours: adding lace, beading or pearls, changing the neckline or back, or start from all the projects.