I’m participating in this great ecourse by Liv Lane, called How to Build a Blog You Truly Love. I’m sure some reading this may wonder, “What Aimee, you don’t love your blog already?” And my response, “No, I don’t. In fact, I’ve fell out of love with my blog and business altogether.”

For me, taking this course was much greater than my blog, in fact, I signed up for the course because I wanted to use it as a way to fall back in love with my business.  In my mind, I actually renamed the course “How to build a business you love.” You see, Style for Grace started because I had such fabulous memories growing up with my mother constantly sewing, making my sisters and I these one of a kind dresses. When I was pregnant with my oldest daughter Grace, I wanted her to have the same thing.  I also wanted to be my own boss, create something unique that reflected who I was and I wanted to be in the driver seat of my destiny. I need to emphasize that at that time, I really, really wanted to be my own boss.  So off I went, I launched styleforgrace.com in 2008 and it has been and interesting ride, but truth be told, the site never really blossomed into what I wanted it to be.

A photo of Grace from the first Style for Grace photoshoot

And I’m the one to blame for that not happening!

You see, instead of digging deeper into what I wanted Style for Grace to be, I thought I would broaden my services and become a catch all and do weddings, proms, and really any and all special occasions for anyone. My business grew, but I wasn’t loving it. I was going through the motions. Everything felt forced. This fairy tale image of me serving as my own boss was at times misery.

I actually thought about closing up shop…

Photo from Dermot O'Halloran via Flickr

Then I stumbled upon Liv’s ecourse and thought this would be my opportunity to really hone in on what’s important and how I want to define my business. At this point, I’m three years into the business, I’m older, wiser and understand that my journey is so much larger than “being my own boss.”

So for today’s post, which has been inside me for quite some time,  I thought I would be bold and announce a new direction for Style for Grace.

In the next few months, Style for Grace will take a new, more focused direction. We will say farewell to some of our offers (wedding dresses, prom dresses, design your own dress center for girls) and continue to offer the services that are closest to my heart and what I know is Style for Grace’s true niche. We absolutely love our heirloom dress services and flower girl dress services. Together they are the heart and lifeline of Style for Grace!

Caroline, my second, is wearing the LaLiberte Family Heirloom Baptism Gown that I made from my wedding dress. Grace wore it, Caroline wore it and I hope it becomes the family heirloom piece for generations to come.

Can I tell you how liberating this annoucement is for me? Yeah!

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Ready for the reveal? This is part 3 of our three-part series on Baby G’s heirloom baptismal gown. For part 1 and 2 check here and here.

Ok, Baby G’s mom selected design #2.

Yeah! I love that the ruching would be front and centered. Baby G’s mom asked if we could create a bonnet, of course, that amazing lace will share top billing with the ruching.

Ok, before, a beautiful bride’s wedding dress:

After, a sweet, lovely baby’s baptismal gown:

I love this dress, its classic, simple and full of grace.

I love the bonnet – the lace overlay gives that feminine touch.

I love the slip – we took the lace and did a simple applique for the top. We also monogrammed Baby G’s name and baptismal date on the slip as another keepsake. This a great part of making this an heirloom piece, now, any Baby in the family wearing this dress,  can have his/her name embrodiered on the slip! Cool, right?

Thanks to Baby G’s mom and dad for inviting Style for Grace to be a part of Baby G’s special day!

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Let’s pick up where we left off. Baby G is being baptized and Style for Grace is recreating her mother’s wedding dress into a family heirloom baptism gown.

Now that we have ideas for how we can recreate Baby G’s mother’s wedding dress, we start sketching. Typically, we create 2-4 dress concepts. If you recall Baby G’s momma wanted simple and classic so let’s check out sketch #1:

Sketch #1: Simple ruch and piping: The bodice starts with a round neckline. The ruching from the bodice of the dress would be centered on the baptismal gown’s bodice and vertical piping would frame it. The gown would cascade down and we would add an extra detail of piping on the bottom of the dress. In addition, I suggested the creation of a jacket to accompany the gown using the lace from the sleeve and back of the dress. Personal note: I LOVE the lace on the dress.

Sketch #2: Simply classic: We would use all of the wedding dress fabric to create the silhouette of the baptismal gown. The detail is where the bodice and skirt parts of the gown meet. We would take the ruching from the wedding dress bodice and make it the sole focal point. There is a center knot in the ruching and we recommended keeping that as a design element for the baptismal gown. Again, the jacket from Sketch #1 would be created.

Sketch #3: Classy Feminine: Ok, sketch #3 is the most feminine. We would take the lace from the sleeves and back of your wedding dress and used it as an overlay on the christening gown’s bodice. We would take the ruching bodice and place it immediately below the lace overlay. Again, the knot in the ruching would remain. The skirt of the baptismal gown would cascade down. If you notice, this is probably the most layered representation of mom’s wedding dress.

Ok, so these sketches were sent to Baby G’s momma for review. Any guesses which one she picks? Be sure to check back for Part 3 for the conclusion of Baby G’s Heirloom Dress!! You won’t be disappointed!

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I must say, I’m partial to the Heirloom Dress Division of Style for Grace. Don’t get me wrong, I love the little girls dresses, the wedding dresses and alterations, but I’m tickled when someone hires us to recreate their wedding dress for their child or grandchild! And that’s what Family P asked us to do for their precious Baby G.

This post would run a mile long if I took you through the whole process in this one entry, so instead, I’m going to share Family P/Baby G’s heirloom dress experience over a 3-part series.

The first part for any heirloom dress creation is for us to examine the garment in its current form. Take a look at this wedding dress…

Can you say a-may-zing? I love the lace, the ruching and the sheath cut. It has the perfect combination of classic and sexy. Once we see the dress the brainstorming begins! This wedding dress will be re-purposed for Baby G’s baptism. Baby G’s mommy told us to create a baptism gown that was classic and simple.

I can tell you that within seconds of beginning the sketch process, I know I want to incorporate the lace and the ruching.

Ok, are you curious to learn more? Join us again for part 2.

Filed under: Heirloom Dressesby Aimee 2 Comments »