For any dressmaker, being commissioned to design and create a brides dream wedding dress is the job of a lifetime and entails many hours of painstaking sketching, pinning and stitching. The construction of a one of a kind gown is a labour of love both for the seamstress and the bride herself, with the result being an enchanting gown to make the bride feel like a superstar on the biggest day of her life. Many experienced dressmakers and designers make the job look so easy and simple that many do not realise the hours of hard work and stress that go into constructing a bridal gown. [caption id="attachment_7420" align="alignright" width="191"]grace-wedding-dress Grace Kelly wore a stunning dress with a gorgeous waistband which accentuated her perfect hourglass shape.[/caption] It is not only the careful selection of fabrics that are required to achieve the dress of your dreams, your hidden Haberdashery items are just as important in achieving the desired shape and structure of your dream wedding dress. One of the most used items of Haberdashery by wedding dress designers is boning. Boning is imperative for achieving a beautiful lift and desirable shape, particularly in the manufacture of fashionable strapless designs and ensuring the correct type and placement of boning is a crucial task for any dress designer. A poorly designed gown with the incorrect placement of boning will result in a gown that will not sit right and provides no internal support to the wearer. No bride wants to spend her big day tugging her dress to keep it up! Petersham is a type of boning which is used for creating waistbands, such as the one worn by Grace Kelly when she married Prince Rainer III of Monaco. A waistband is the ideal way for a bride to achieve an hourglass shape, particularly when paired with layers of tulle or other layering fabric. Our range of lace and trim is fast picking up pace as an essential item of Haberdashery in the construction of bridal gowns. Lace is a beautiful, lightweight fabric distinguished by it's open hole design and has long been one of the most popular of all of the bridal fabrics. Our range of lace and trim is an excellent choice for brides who do not wish to be swathed from head to toe in lace but would like to add a touch of it's elegant femininity to their special gown. Lace trim is a particularly popular choice for vintage inspired designs and can be used for adding a touch of beauty and elegance and is often chosen for creating straps on a gown for an ultra feminine touch. Buttons are an especially useful item of Haberdashery for many designs and are of course, first and foremost, a practical addition to bridal gowns. However, over the years dress designers have ceased to hide fastenings underneath layers of fabrics and it has become the trend to make your buttons and other fastenings a feature of the design itself. Self cover buttons are a particularly popular item for wedding dress designers as they make it possible for them to create a gorgeous button in a fabric which is an exact match to that of the gown itself. Brides who are opting for a more contemporary design often choose to cover their buttons in a contrasting fabric for a braver and more modern design. Our selection of bra accessories are one of the more practical choices of Haberdashery and are found on almost any design of wedding dress. Bust forms are often incorporated into a heavier design of gown to improve the look and fit of the piece or for when the design does not allow for a bra to be worn underneath. By using bust forms, dress designers can ensure that their bride will feel supported and ensure she feels comfortable and confident whilst wearing her beautiful dress. For brides who are not brave enough to go without their bra underneath their dress but do not wish to wear thick heavy dress straps to disguise it, our low back bra strap adjuster is perfect and will enable a bride to convert her favourite bra to accommodate a lower backed and more revealing design than what she may be used to wearing. Have you used any of our Haberdashery items on your wedding day? As always, we would love to see your pictures on our Facebook page.