Dress Fitting

Before the ball I went two more times to Felicia's atelier: one to do the first fitting of the dress and the other one to pick it up. With her excellent way of working, she always makes sure to meet once with the client to discuss the model and take their measurements, another time for the first fitting and a last time for the final proof of the dress and for you to take it with you. So, on Saturday afternoon I went to her atelier to finally see my dress.

... and this is what was there waiting for me! When I saw it ready on the model I was stunned! It was really beautiful and so great to see the finished result and realize it was even prettier than what I had hoped for.

Felicia helped me to put it on and I gave it a final try, but of course there was nothing to change as it was perfect and made to measure. I was then ready to go to my ball! Thank you so much again for having made this beautiful dress for me and making my night remarkable (everyone commented on it!).

Hungarian Ball

Last Saturday I participated in the so expected Hungarian Ball, organised by arcFAM, a non governmental organisation and whose profit will revert to charity. It took place in Concert Noble and counted with the participation of many important people, including around 40 of us trainees.

The ball room where they had traditional Hungarian dances

My dress, by Margueritte Couture.

My dress, by Margueritte Couture.

My dress, by Margueritte Couture.

A table with typical Hungarian delights

Tombola winners being announced

It was a very nice event to attend, everyone looked gorgeous in their dresses and suits and we danced throughout the night (after the traditional dances there was a band playing and singing more modern songs). There were always things going on and the night flew fast. It was great to have been able to be in this sort of event, not so common for me, here in Brussels.

Margueritte Couture

This is the most extraordinary thing of having a blog: being able to, through it, meet extraordinary people and come across projects that you would never know otherwise. That's why I want you to meet Felicia Teleuca and her story.

Felicia is from Romania, but she lives in Brussels for 5 years now. She has studied and learnt the crafts of designing and sewing from a young age, but has passed several years of her live working in other areas, until she rediscovered her passion for dress making here in Brussels. She has a beautiful atelier, the one you see in this pictures, from where she manages her own brand: Margueritte Couture.

She's been making personalized dresses for her clients (or shall I say friends?) for some years now, both wedding dresses, cocktail dresses and evening dresses. She pays attention to every little detail and takes into account the personality and style of her client before proposing her a dress, which she then makes with much love and care. The quality standard is then very high, as you'll have an unique dress made with the best materials, your own measurements, carefully crafted just for you.

I had the opportunity of meeting her as she kindly offered to make myself a dress for the Hungarian Ball I am attending next weekend. We have already had a first meeting to discuss the model she's going to make (it's not the one pictured in these sketches!), to take my measurements and by the end of the week she will have it finished (made in only one week without compromising quality, that's a challenge!). It will be my pleasure to attend this event dressed in a gown made by Felicia and an honor to have met this brave woman, who wasn't afraid to follow her dreams and doing what she loves and who, being an expat herself, showed a great amount of generosity and kindness to receive me in her atelier and offer me her services. If you ever need a ball gown, an evening or cocktail dress, or even a wedding dress, be sure to talk to Felicia and I am certain you won't be disappointed! As she mentioned herself, her work is so emotive and time consuming, that it's hard to see a dress go away in the hands of a client. But the recognition she has from her work and the pride of seeing it being worn in a special occasion, are the motivation she needs to continue to do what she loves.

Felicia Teleuca

Couturière Independante

sales@margueritte.be

www.margueritte.be

+32 475 42 48 22

Rue Auguste Heene 10/1

1190 Bruxelles

Yves Saint Laurent

Last weekend I have visited the exhibition Yves Saint Laurent - a visionary, at Espace Culturel ING. It is a very nice exhibition on the life and work of this great French fashion designer. The exhibition shows a large number of creations from his collections, jewellery and accessories, as well as drawings, sketches and other documents.

The normal entry price for adults is 6€, but if you have a students' card (thanks, Alliance Française!), you only pay 3€. In the end, for an extra 5€, you can participate in either of these workshops:

• “Textiles-Tactiles” workshop: dressing of paper doll cut-outs, decoration of fashion posters and creation of “Love Cards” with various fabrics and objects.
• “Textiles-Couture” workshop: create and clothe dolls and cuddly toys, accessories, bags and jewellery from recycled materials.

Then the dolls and the toys will be sold in favour of the ING Chances for Children project (to which the money collected from the tickets that give access to the workshops will revert as well). But you can also take your doll or toy home as a souvenir!

I participated in the paper doll one, where you can style up a known Yves Saint Laurent creation yourself, using all kinds of fabrics and beads for such purpose, and it was great. This is the final result, now hanging in one of my studio's walls:

And this is the original Yves Saint Laurent dress (a tribute to Tom Wesselmann) whose sketch I have used: