Chantal Mallett - Couture Designer: Unique corseted bridal gowns & complementary accessories.

I specialise in creating made to measure, one off gowns designed specifically for each client & the service I provide is the ultimate couture experience:

* All clients are seen by & deal exclusively with myself from initial consultation to pick up. Orders can be taken from the samples gowns or you can take advantage of my wealth of ideas & have a completly unique design created for you.

* The patterns I work from are my own creations. New patterns are drafted for each client & the corsets etc. made up in a toile version first (calico cotton mock up) to check the fit & that the client is happy with the progress of the design.

* I make up each commission myself, nothing is sent to outworkers. There are also hours of hand work involved in the creation of a couture gown, much of which is on the inside of the corsets & never seen.

* As part of the service I provide, clients can seek my advice as a designer & stylist on the rest of the bridal party's outfits, hair & make-up, flowers, jewellery & accessories etc. I can also be booked to be on hand as the Bride's stylist on the wedding day it's self.

PRICES & TIMESCALES:

My gowns start from Ł2300 for straighter styles & Ł3500 for full skirted designs

Gown prices include all consultations, fabrics & necessary fittings & there are no additional fees to have a gown deigned especially for you.

I make a very limited number of gowns a year & pride myself on my made-to-measure corseted gowns fitting like a glove - a fit that is achieved by starting the gown in the 6 - 8 weeks before the wedding. With this in mind, it is essential that you contact me as early as possible, so that should you choose to commission me to make your bridal gown, you can secure the block in my diary closest to your wedding date.

For weddings dates that fall between April & September, I advise you book in for a design consultation a year in advance of your wedding date.

DESIGN CONSULTATION:

To view my collection you will need to book an appointment for a design consultation.

What to expect:

We would normally start the consultation by sitting down & getting to know eachother over a cup of coffee & whilst you browse through my portfolios, we chat about your plans, what sort of gown you are after, what image you had in mind, colours etc. This gives you a chance to see if we are on the same wave length & could work well together & gives me an opportunity to find out who you are & what you want & need from your wedding dress, so that I can best advise & guide you when you start trying on pieces from the collection.

You are free to try on as many gowns as you like during your consultation, the idea being to find out what design details & design elements you like & flatter your figure the most.

At the end of the session we sit down & make some provisional sketches based on our discussions, look at fabric samples & I will provide you with a quote.

Consultations generally take anywhere between two & four hours.

Appointments:

Appointments are avaliable seven days a week, with evening appointments avaliable on Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays. For more information or to book an appointment, please submit an inquiry via my contact page or telephone: 01296 661296.

Showroom location & contact information:

My showroom & studio is in Luton, Bedfordshire, five minutes from junction 11 of the M1 & about forty minutes by Thames Link train from London.

You can catch a Thames link train, which runs from Bedford to Brighton, from the following London Underground stations:
Wimbledon,
Elephant & Castle,
London Bridge,
Blackfriars,
City Thameslink,
Farringdon,
King's Cross Thameslink,
Kentish Town,
West Hamstead Thameslink.

For a complete list of all stations the train calls at plus timetables, please use the link to the Thameslink website provided below.

http://www.thameslink.co.uk/

Copyright:

All the gowns & accessories featured on this site are Chantal Mallett original designs. Both the designs & photographic images on this web site are copyrighted to Chantal Mallett (unless otherwise stated).

Cont: Many designers / bridal stores in London & throughout the United Kingdom are having their off the peg & 'made to measure' gowns made in China or other countries like India because labour & fabrics are cheaper, so when visiting other designers & stores, do not assume your gown will be made in the UK, do ask questions.

In one London shop a lady was told that the 'made to measure' Ł2500 gown she was discussing would be made in Italy but later on she was told the gown would be made to a standard size 10 in China & that she would have to pay a further Ł400 for alterations - I was told that this store was not the only one in that street having their gowns made in China though other stores were honest about it.

The rule of thumb is that fittings are an inherent part of making to measure as is making the gown to fit an individuals measurements, altering gowns can loose important details & fabric is not always avaliable in the right spot to fit the gown as it should be - altering will never achieve the same result as made to measure & customers should not accept it.

This is a sorry state of affairs, whilst it feels great to order a made to measure gown from a smart London address, it certainly does not feel as chic to discover your gown is being shipped in from China & is no more made to measure than a gown bought from Debenhams -stores have cut prices but only by compromising on quality & service. It does however explain why more & more bridal designers & manufacturers advertising in the bridal press carry a Union Jack.

To go to Chantal Mallett's home page click here www.18thcenturycorsets.com