Any recommendations for custom dressmakers?

[drskater]

I know...this, again.

I am sick to death of so-called Adult XL brand name dresses. As a classic pear-shape, I am tired of squashing my hips and thighs into a dress, only to have it fall off my shoulders. I'm tired of being seen as gigantic in the skating outfit world. I quit; I give up; finis.

So...if you've had a positive experience with a custom dress maker, please do share. I'm sure I speak for many who'd like a dress that really fits.

(p.s. I can't even glue stitch...there's no hope for me; I have no aptitude and I'm too old to even try at this point)

[Sk8tmum]

Wendesign. They're Canadian.  And they do make custom for adults as well as children.  Great quality work, and they do long-distance designing.

[Skittl1321]

I have not had experience with her custom dresses, however, I love the stock dresses that FigureSkatewear.com makes, and she does customs.
I spent about 30 minutes on the phone with her discussing my body needs, and from that she was able to recommend the stock dresses that best fit me.

She was an adult skater herself, so she knows the needs of adults.

[sarahspins]

See, I think Figureskaterwear is designed very oddly... the skirts are placed too low and are MUCH too short.  The skirt on one of the AXL dresses I ordered can't be any longer than about 5" and it doesn't cover ANYTHING.. my butt hangs out from underneath the skirt by quite a lot, and you can see the briefs from the front as well.  I'll probably never wear it on the ice unless I modify that one significantly (the other two aren't quite as bad, but still not ideal).  I didn't order them directly from figureskatewear and they were not stock sizes so I couldn't return them.  I wasn't happy because I have 3 dresses that basically can't be worn without altering them somehow.

All that said, I'd find a seamstress locally who is willing to work with your specific fit issues to make you a dress that fits.  You may be able to successfully work with someone long distance, but there's no good replacement for an actual fitting in person.  There are a number of patterns that can easily be altered to fit - Jalie covers a very wide range of sizes and it's usually pretty simple to combine the top of one size with the lower part of another.

[drskater]

Thank you ! I do know of Wendesign, but I wasn't sure if they were still in business since their website looks like it hasn't been updated for a while.

Finding a local seamstress is a good idea; I just have to figure how. Maybe I can ask one of the skate moms.

[Sk8tmum]

Thank you ! I do know of Wendesign, but I wasn't sure if they were still in business since their website looks like it hasn't been updated for a while.

Finding a local seamstress is a good idea; I just have to figure how. Maybe I can ask one of the skate moms.

Wendie is certainly still going strong; she does all of the stuff for my kids.  They are moving the website to another URL ... but, I did see a lot of new dresses there last time I looked. 

[PrettySk8Dress]

See, I think Figureskaterwear is designed very oddly... the skirts are placed too low and are MUCH too short.  The skirt on one of the AXL dresses I ordered can't be any longer than about 5" and it doesn't cover ANYTHING.. my butt hangs out from underneath the skirt by quite a lot, and you can see the briefs from the front as well.  I'll probably never wear it on the ice unless I modify that one significantly

Just a quick rant about this, and to say that I agree with you about the styling of the dresses. I have about four or five practice skating dresses that fit the above description. They are all Adult Large or Adult XL dresses, but all have the tiny, tiny ' cute little girl ' style attached skirt. When the dress is worn correctly, you can see the panties both from the front and the back. Why do makers of adult skating dresses think that adults actually like to skate in such tiny, revealing attached skirts ? And let me guess, their child's skating dresses have skirts that hang below the knees. Ya think ?

For custom skating dresses, you might Goggle something like ' custom made ice skating dresses ' and see what is listed for websites to go to.

[Skittl1321]

See, I think Figureskaterwear is designed very oddly... the skirts are placed too low and are MUCH too short.  The skirt on one of the AXL dresses I ordered can't be any longer than about 5" and it doesn't cover ANYTHING.. my butt hangs out from underneath the skirt by quite a lot, and you can see the briefs from the front as well.  

That's so weird.  I like her dresses because I find the skirts to be longer, and cover my large backside...  
I wear a large though, and am short (just a bit thick).

I do wish the skirt was placed a little higher on the waist though.
You can see in this picture how low it hangs down
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10100946059665724&set=a.10100946059555944.3327832.8371816&type=3

This is a stock dresses though. I'd assume she adjusts for custom to do what you ask for.

I like the idea of a local person.  We have a coach at our rink who makes amazing costumes.  He specializes in boys, though his dresses aer amazing too.

[sarahspins]

That's so weird.  I like her dresses because I find the skirts to be longer, and cover my large backside...  
I wear a large though, and am short (just a bit thick).

Well I've noticed that the skirts really aren't the same on all of them... not on the 3 I ordered anyways.  It really must vary by dress model (and I remember the pics of yours - I don't think we have any the same). Two are in the 'wow, that's short' category, but I could wear them if I got a little braver (the dresses I've made myself are all much longer which is what I'm more comfortable with) but the third is almost indecent.

This isn't something with just that brand though - that ebay dress linked a couple of weeks ago is also ludicrously short.  The price was right on that one and since it's black it will be easy to replace the skirt, but it's really a little bit silly that they come SO short in larger sizes.  I think there are swimsuits out there with longer skirts than some of these "dresses".

[hopskipjump]

Look for moms of higher levels girls and ask them about their dd's dresses.  I am sure they can refer you!  But they told me, once you have a great custom dress, you can never buy off the rack again so hold off as long as possible. 

[Sk8tmum]

slightly odd suggestion ... have you tried dancewear instead of skatewear? We've picked up some very nice skating dresses that were actually dance dresses. the skirt length is slightly longer on them ...

[sarahspins]

slightly odd suggestion ... have you tried dancewear instead of skatewear?

Have you checked the sizing from most dance wear companies?  An adult XL in many is really something closer to an adult medium... it's not even close (I'm talking bust measurement of only 36 or 37" for an XL, which doesn't really work when on a good day I measure 41" thanks to my gift from the booby fairy), and plus size dance wear is very limited. 

I think the problem with something like figureskatewear really stems from these patterns not being scaled correctly.  What works in scaling kid's sizes doesn't really translate well to into larger adult sizes (and just about everything they offer is available from a child's XS all the way to adult XXL), and it's not something that is just limited to the skirt length... I don't think they are actually test fitting them on people in those sizes, or if they are, they simply try them on a plus size model, who's proportions at a given size are not necessarily going to match up with someone more athletic.  Often there isn't enough coverage in certain areas, or the fit is too baggy or too tight in the arms/shoulders.

Part of me also suspects that the fetish market is larger for adult skating dresses than the actual market for adult skaters is.... which certainly doesn't help anything.

[icefrog]

I have a Figure Skate Wear dress and I really like it. Its the best fitting dress I've ever owned. I like that the skirt is lower and it isn't too short on me. It isn't a very sturdy dress so I stopped practicing in it, I bought it to test in and I want it to stay nice. I don't think I could wear it a few times a week for years with out it literally falling apart. That's my only complaint.

[retired]

My advice is to ask around at the rink, and ask at competitions and test days.   Ask skaters who look like your body type, not particularly how fabulous their dress is.    It's fairly easy to sew for a fit body, not so easy to make every body look good.   I'm thinking of the one lady at our rink that only sews things for adult skaters, and only if referred by someone else.  She had enough of diva kids and moms.

[techskater]

Flowerdaze - Leslie is very reasonable and an adult skater.   

[JHarer]

Kristen Aiello of ISkatewear.com does a god job. As does Icexquisite on Etsy.