First-Class Mayle

Posted by Katie, Fashion Editor

I recently got this e-mail via this blog, and I thought I'd share it here.

Hello,

I am requesting the assistance of the visionary Katie Hatch.

I just recently bought this Mayle dress without trying it on, and it 
is WAY too short. The fabric is a bit tricky and there is a liner. 
The bottom of the dress has an extra hem of about an inch and a half 
but it still needs to be about an inch longer.

Katie, please use your magic to help me.

Thank you,
Alysha

Hi Alysha,

First of all, you are way too kind. Do we know each other? (My co-workers are probably suspicious.) I have a few ideas, some crazier than others. Let’s start with the craziest. 

Ostrich-feather trim, attached to the lining. I love this stuff. I want to try to use it in our November/December fashion story. We’ll see if that flies. (I guess no pun was intended?) It’s about 4” wide and you could use it in black or white. And if you like this, you might really like my new favorite site, ostrich.com.  I’ve been bringing pictures from it to meetings lately, just to keep people guessing ... I love the pink feather purse.   

Or what about wide lace trim attached the same way? I mean, the dress is Mayle, so it seemed logical to do eBay and Etsy searches for vintage lace trim. But I kept going back to the pictures you sent and nothing seemed right. I ended up bidding on some very interesting looking vintage fringe. You are welcome to buy it from me at my cost if I win.

Or what about a visible slip?  I went on style.com for a good example of the look in my mind but found only an adequate example, from Giambattista Valli. It takes some imagination to transfer this idea to your dress:

As for a source for pretty slips, I look for them all of the time and am constantly frustrated. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve Googled “silk slips” or “silk organdy slip” or “cotton slip.”  There are responses for all of these, but nobody’s remaking my mom's 1950’s pleated slip, which I spent much of my childhood dancing around in. (Sounds idyllic, right? Even better was her leopard-print pant slip. I never wanted to take that off.)  Anyway, I found a vintage dress slip and a half-slip version. However, it may be best to nix this idea, since there are so few options. I don't know about you, but I don't really love the feel of nylon.

Enough with the crazy ideas. I think the safest way to make it long enough and not really mess with the design is to add fabric or wide ribbon to the liner. With fabric, you wouldn’t need to buy much and it would be a fairly simple alteration that a tailor or even your dry cleaner could manage. You could use black, taupe, or golden fabric for an intentional contrast, rather than attempt to match the dress. It could be a slighter heavier fabric than the dress, with a little tooth or texture. I looked on style.com and once again had to go with an example that's pretty, but not exactly what I'm describing. It's from Behnaz Sarafpour.

Wide ribbon would be even easier. It could be hand-sewn using a needle and thread, or again, your cleaner or tailor could do it. I take it you live in New York?  If you do, you may like the fringe and pleated-ribbon selection at Daytona Trimmings (no website, but their prices are so good in person that I’m not complaining). Or you could check out M&J Trim. Their website doesn’t show everything, so it's better to go in person; I think they have some pleated trim that would create a look similar to the slip idea I mentioned earlier.

If you do live in NYC, you could also stop into Hyman Hendler. I also think Stephen at Masterstroke Canada could help you find just the right ribbon. The website doesn’t do his collection justice, but the wide grosgrain was looking pretty good to me. He might have an even wider, black version. You may want to call Stephen and ask for a couple swatches. While you're at it, try to get on his Christmas card list -- his cards are beautiful.

I hope this helps. I digressed, but I was looking for an excuse to avoid digging through my piles of holiday lookbooks. So thank you for the question. 

By the way, I think the dress is great.

Best,

Katie

Comments

[Nancy Bernal]

No please don't mess with the dress.. It's so beautiful just like it is. I think you should get some really opaque tights. Wolfords sells them, and sport that adorable dress. (I work with clothes for a living, I'm a stylist) I also think you could where it with a wide leg pair of pants, think sailor-wide and sport that little number that way. GOod luck.

[whitbo]

It's a shame to alter the dress. Mayle clothing is so exquisite and every detail so well considered that I would be hesitant to mess around with it too much.

[Alysha]

Katie,

first of all, thank you so much for all of your work researching my options. I ended up bidding and winning on a vintage accordian slip. I am going to lengthen the dress a bit and then sew the slip underneath. Unfortunately I haven't gotten to the sewing part, and I need to take in the top of the dress, its a bit big. I will send you the after pics when I am through!

Thanks again,
and you are visionary,

Alysha

[joy]

love this post! and the Giambattista Valli look is gorgeous and such a great example...

[abby]

katie,

i wish i had had this info for the bridesmaid dress i just bought for my brother-in-law's wedding. the dress was just a tad too short, but was in the "champagne" colorway that the bride had requested. i think i may just go ahead and buy an accordian slip to be able to wear it to other occasions.

you are awesome!

abby

[Caitlin]

So excited about some of the recomendations for ribbon and trim. As far as slips go, I always comb vintage/antique/thrift stores and have had some awesome finds. They just don't make slips like they used to...but I definitely think there could be a market for classic beautiful silhouettes.

I also wanted to echo the earlier comment about embellishments on cardigans and shoes. So often when I am shopping off the rack I pick up and item and imagine how it would look with different buttons/sash/trim whatever.

I know it has been done before, but I would love to see you take some items and revamp them. Are you up to the challenge?

[Fannie]

Katie,

Could you do a post about embellishing flats or cardigans, or both? I recently (in a moment of being fed up with high-fashion prices) bought an adorable pair of black suede flats for 12.99 from target and a black cashmere cardigan for 49.99 from target, as well, and then embellished them myself--the shoes with a big pearl on each toe (they look like a great pair of bruno maglis from the eighties that my mother wore...and I stole on occasion) and the sweater with some amazing jaquard trim. I'd love to see your take on this idea--I'm sure it would be great, as always!

[Emily]

I don't like this, but I prefered to dhothis and pants.

[angela]

can't wait to visit the NY sources for trim & ribbon, thanks for the recommendations. BTW - how clever are you? w-o-w

[amy]

Just wear the dress over pants!

[Jessica]

Hi Katie,
You should check the Erica Tanov store for silk and cotton slips. Both full and half slips.
Inspired by the 1930's and 40's with beautiful seam and lace trim detailing.
She does them every season as part of her collection in a variety of colors.
See www.ericatanov.com for store locations.
Thanks!

[Anita]

Katie, you rock. I love it that you not only respond to people's out-of-the-blue requests, but you also go out of your way to research and recommend multiple solutions. Brava!