I had the pleasure of chatting with dress designer, Callie Tein, of Modern Trousseau, yesterday afternoon. I so enjoyed learning about her background, her passion for wedding gowns, and some very interesting tips, which I’ll share with you today! ~KP
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Callie grew up in Melbourne, Australia and studied fashion design at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Before heading to the United States to pursue her goal as a wedding gown designer, she designed woman’s wear, children’s wear, and wedding gowns with a very prominent Australian designer.
While living in Connecticut, Callie has been designing Modern Trousseau gowns for the past five years, after launching her first line of gowns with Beth Chapman of the White Dress by the Shore in Clinton, CT. Callie made her first collection of 6 gowns herself, including all of the sewing, and was an instant hit with Connecticut brides. With the exception of their fabrics, which come from Italy and France, everything needed to make the gowns is produced in Woodbridge, CT.
Five years later, including many showings at Bridal Market in NYC, Modern Trousseau is carried in over 30 stores across the country and was recently featured on the cover of the October 2009 Inside Wedding Magazine.
Callie is a business owner and mother of two daughters, 11 and 13 years old. Speaking with a fellow mom about the trials and struggles of attempting to “have it all,” we both decided that balance is a lovely, but usually unattainable, goal. “I’ve missed a Halloween or a birthday because I’m traveling for a trunk show. You can’t really win either way- you just have to do the best you can. I always admired my mum because she was a business owner and a mother and I appreciated her work ethic. That’s probably why I became a business owner myself.”
When we discussed her 2010 collection of gowns and how she designs and works with her stores, the interview took a mind of its own…
KP: Do you visit all of your stores across the country?
CT: Absolutely. Having trunk shows is how we do our research. We want to see what the brides are looking for, what they love, what they’d like us to change. I have to keep all of my brides in mind when creating our collections.
KP: How do you design keeping your brides in mind?
CT: Well, for our CA brides, we have to create something relaxed and even a bit bohemian. We need something lightweight for southern brides because it gets so hot down there! We have fairly conservative brides in New England so we have to remember where are brides are coming from when we think about our collections.
KP: How do you think about the design process?
CT: We think about the fit, first and foremost. After having trunk shows and doing our research, I start sketching. From there I drape on a mannequin in muslin. I make the pattern after I drape, which is a little backwards for some people, and we break down the garment and start over again. With some technical changes a dress can take anywhere from 2-3 days to 2-3 weeks to design. Sometimes I’ll be designing 2-3 dresses at the same time too.
KP: Does the sketch and the final product look the same?
CT: Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I’ve had sketches and final gowns that are identical and others that just couldn’t work for a number of reasons. We listen and watch the fabric a lot. The fabric tells us what it can and can’t do and sometimes we think a design will work, but the draping just doesn’t. I remember working on Autumn from our 2010 collection and we were about to photograph the gown and I didn’t feel right about it so I started cutting up the lace. Everyone thought I was crazy and I was hoping my hunch was right… good thing I did it though, the final gown was perfect!
KP: Do you have a fabric you love working with?
CT: Silk organza, because it’s light, soft and floaty. I also love the structure of silk duchess. All of our fabrics are silk, we don’t work with blends at all.
KP: Do you have any tips for brides when thinking about their gowns? How about who should wear a strapless gown?
CT: I never like telling people what type of body should wear one of my designs. I feel like anyone can wear something if it’s made well and fitted beautifully. For a strapless dress, the construction and integrity has to come from the waist of the garment. The waist is the smallest part of the body so the gown can’t fall below that. If you have a larger chest, have the front of the dress raised up for better coverage, but make sure it’s up and not out and away from the body. Also, anyone wearing a strapless gown should consider small spaghetti straps for their reception. Wear your gown strapless for the ceremony and for pictures, but put on a pair of small straps for your reception so you can enjoy the night, dancing away. You would be amazed how much support those little straps actually provide.
KP: When should a dress be ordered?
CT: I would say 12 months. The challenge is if a bride is getting married a year from now, she needs her gown 9 months before so she has 2-3 months for her fittings. That immediately shortens our time to work on each gown. Sometimes we order our lace from Paris and they often close for the summer so we have to be VERY organized.
KP: Can you rush an order?
CT: Yes, it’s not easy, but we’ve done it. There was a lovely bride who had a terrible medical reason and needed her dress before going through surgery so we created her gown in 2 weeks.
KP: How does a bride know when the dress is THE DRESS?
CT: Sometimes I’ve seen projectile tears, sometimes a bride just sees a dress knows it’s the one before she tries it on. Other times it’s a process- eventually narrowing it down to one single gown.
KP: Any tips for brides going dress shopping?
CT: Make sure the salon you’re visiting actually have the gown you want to see. An average collection a salon carries of one designer is about 6 gowns. If you visit that designer’s website and find a dress you love and want to try, and that salon carries that designer, they might not carry that exact dress. Call ahead and request the style and see if they have it. If not, they can usually request the gown from the designer and can schedule your appointment according. Some salons charge a fee for this service; some will take it off of your total if and when you purchase the gown.
KP: Anything else you’d like to share for our readers?
CT: I tell this to every bride I work with. After you’re married, if you can take your dress to the honeymoon- especially if it’s a sheath and easy to pack- I highly suggest you take it with you. Pick a night and put your dress back on, walk down the beach with your husband. No one will bother you because you look like a bride. Even better, go to a bar and you’ll get free drinks all night long! I promise your husband will ask you to put it on again back home to get the free drinks again…
Here are some of Modern Trousseau’s fabulous designs!
Autumn
Poppy
Lena
my Kate Parker Wedding is your online wedding resource guide launching in January 2010 geared towards directing couples to quality vendors based on their price range and state.
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