Dresses start with a consultation where we discuss your ideas, how you want the garment to fit and move, and what you are hoping to achieve. We can look at reference images, historical patterns, existing garments, fabrics and details and begin to develop the design together. Works in progress in our studio, samples, mood boards and our Ruby Room fabric library will all provide inspiration.

Expect a bespoke dress consultation to take at least one hour. A 50% deposit will be required to get your project started. Our tailors will take your measurements during the consultation.

Depending on the complexity of the dress design and construction, expect to come in for between three and five fittings over 10 to 12 weeks

Our first fitting is what we call block development. A basic pattern that captures the shape of your body will be fitted and adjusted.

These blocks will serve as the foundation for our tailors to achieve more complex, stylized designs. These blocks are kept on file and can be used again for subsequent dresses and blouses in different designs.

Once your blocks have been established, our tailors will use these to develop more complex, stylized patterns for your dress. These stylized patterns will be cut in a material we call muslin and mocked up for another fitting.

In this fitting, we can adjust the shape, proportion and styling of the piece, knowing that a balance has already been established for your body in the block development stage.

As this is a mock-up, major things can still change. This is a chance for us to communicate with a physical piece that is on your body. Length, skirt fullness, collar shape and size, suppression, shoulders and sleeves are just some of the design aspects that will be addressed at this stage.

If there will be any embellishment on your dress, these details will be discussed at length at this fitting stage.

After your dress design has been tested in muslin and any adjustments are made to your pattern, it will be cut in actual cloth.

Depending on the complexity of the design and construction of your piece, your dress may be ready to take home at this stage. In the case of dresses that are lined or made with more structured details, such as a tailored collar or complex closure, we will talk through details like linings and buttons at this stage and have you in for a second fabric fitting.

If your dress has embellishments like embroidery or trims, we will usually have started this before putting your fabric pieces together and will review any additions or alterations to the embellishment at this stage.

In a second fabric fitting for a tailored dress, we are looking for harmony between the self-fabric and the lining of your dress. We can still get inside the garment and make minor tweaks before your garment is hand-sewn closed and completed for your final fitting.

You will have a chance to see what your finished piece will look like at this stage. Most embellishment or embroidery on a piece will be complete at this stage for review as well.

take home. This is an opportunity for us to try on the finished piece. We may do some final moulding and pressing with our irons to get the final shaping just right for your body.

When we make dresses, where the design and construction of the piece make it possible, we will leave inlays or extra seam allowances so that the dress can be altered in the future.

As with all the pieces we make, they can be brought back to us for mending through the life of the garment.

We specialize in tailored dresses, including shirtwaist dresses, shirt dresses, smocks and other structured styles.

We don't make corseted dresses, strapless dresses, traditional wedding dresses or dresses from very soft, drapey, flowy fabrics or from knitted fabrics.

Yes. We can work from reference images, existing garments or historical examples as part of developing a new dress. During the consultation, we can discuss what can be reproduced, adapted or developed into a new design.

Yes, we can make period dresses. In particular, we have a strong foundation in making mid-20th-century day dresses. Have something different in mind? Book a consultation with our tailors to find out more. We also have extensive experience with historical and period garments through our Film & Theatre Tailoring & Costume Work in Toronto.

We need to take your measurements as you would like to present yourself in the piece. Wear or bring the foundation garments (or similar foundation garments) that you might wear with the dress you would like to commission.

Wear fitted clothing and pants or leggings so that we can take all of your body measurements, including around your legs and arms. Bring or wear a hair tie so that long hair can be tied up and we can see the shape of your shoulders and neck. This guidance should be followed for subsequent fittings as well.

Heel height change the shape of your leg and affect the proportions of a garment. While we don't need them for your consultation, bring the footwear you plan to wear to your fittings.