Can this dress be hemmed?

I received the green Nicole Miller dress from Bluefly today (see "sage

lslep...

...

green bridesmaid dress" thread) and it is beautiful and perfect, except
for the fact that it is at least six inches too long. The hem is a
little bit flouncy and there is a gathered part in the back that is
continuous with the rest of the hem.

Is it possible to hem a dress like this, and if so, will it be
cost-prohibitive? This dress was made for an Amazon.

ami kio...

Hemming the dress shouldn't be a problem if you don't mind losing some
movement (i.e. Smaller circumference at the hem = less swooshing), but I'm
not quite sure how that back gather is attached at the bottom (if at all).
I can't tell from the photo, but that may complicate things. Normally I'd
agree that taking up the extra material at the bust would be a great way to
maintain the original hem, but that'll probably cost more since you'd
probably have to redo the zipper (assuming that it has one).

As a fellow member of the "vertically challenged", I feel your pain. I have
similar dresses sitting in my closet that need to be hemmed -- just haven't
gotten around to it for one reason or another. Well, ok, that's not true --
I'm just lazy. :p

FYI, it may be more expensive to hem this dress than a typical frock due to
the difficulty of working with smooth fabrics (i.e. Slippery, probably
requires invisible hems), but it all depends on who you find. As for cost,
it'll probably be around US$30-50 depending on whether there's a lining, but
I'm just extrapolating based on a quote I got for a dress alteration. If
you're wary of finding a good seamstress, the best rec that I've heard is to
go to a good local store (e.g. Local dress boutique, Nordstroms) and ask
whether they'll refer you to their seamstress. A friend of mine found her
seamstress that way via Banana Republic.

lslep...

That is a very pretty dress. Other posters have suggested hemming the bottom
or taking it up under the bust. Those are great suggestions, except that I
think it would throw the hang of this particular dress off. It's hard to
tell from the picture, but I think that seam across the front near the knee
is there because the bottom piece is cut on a bias to add fullness to the
flounce. If you take out six inches under the bust, you may end up with that
seam mid-thigh, giving more flounce from there down than you would like.
Likewise, taking six inches off the bottom would make a little flounce right
above your ankles. I think the best way to keep it in proportion is to
remove 4 inches above, and 2 inches below that seam to keep it in the knee
area. It's hard to tell from the rear view photo where the seam ends up, but
I suspect it dips down to the hem in back. From there you could take the six
inches (or less) off the bottom of the rear drape.

I hope this makes sense, and good luck!

cofarb...

That's what I was trying to describe, too. It's about proportions. And I
hadn't even considered the zipper issue.

Melanie, have you contacted any bridal salons in your area to see about
ordering something that would be designed/proportioned/measured for you? It
would probably be a lot less scary than finding an independent seamstress,
picking a pattern, fabric, etc.--and trusting a stranger. A bridal
"boutique" probably deals with these issues all the time.

S./NYC...

Are the dress's bust-waist-hips are in the right place for you? If not,
you're probaby looking at several sets of adjustments.

Best case scenario would be that from the hips up it's fine (and that
back hanging thing is a separate piece of fabric and not actually part
of the main body of the dress) and you could have it taken up at that
curved seam at the top of the bottom flounce.

If there are length issues between the bottom of the bust and the hips,
you've got a problem because there's nowhere to take anything up
between the bust seam and the lower leg seam.