Q's: "I've been interested in your gowns on the site and was wondering where your stores are located?Are they all over seas?If so how would I go about purchasing the items?I also wondered if you had more views of ******?How long does shipping take and cost?"A: My showroom is in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. I do not supply any stores in the UK or overseas.Clients that book in for a design consultaion have access to my portfolio & further images of designs. I do not supply alternative views of gowns via email.I do not sell my gowns by mail order. All my gowns are made-to-measure & require clients to attend fittings in the UK. There is a page that has been set up to answer questions from overseas clients. You will find it on the 'Gowns' section of this website under the heading 'Overseas'.Q: I would like a dress just like the dress worn by ******* in the film *******.Q: I really like this dress (see attached) can you tell me how much you would charge to make it?A: Please do not ask me to copy costumes or other designer's work. Apart from having very strong views on copyright infringement, what makes a commission exiting is coming up with fresh ideas & solutions, selecting the fabrics & trims to bring the gown to life, gradually seeing the design come together & then seeing your original vision finished & being worn by the client it was created for - making someone else's design is no fun at all.Q: I would love to have a replica of the gown the lady is wearing in this painting (see attached), is this something you could do?A: I would happily make a gown using a painting as the initial inspiration to set the colours, mood, type of trim used, etc. but have never been interested in re-creating authentic period gowns or creating wedding dresses that look like an authentic costume (for the same reasons as above) - I also find working within the constraints of a particular period when creating a design stifling. For a commission like this you would be better suited finding a costumier.Q: "I was wondering if you would ever consider selling a pattern of one of your gowns (under a one use only contract) if the person wasn't considering on coming to England."A: There are no circumstances under which I would consider selling one of my patterns.Q: I live in the US. Do you know of anyone here who makes dresses similar to yours?Q: "I've seen your website a few times and know it's a bit cheeky but I just wondered if you would/could recommend someone/where else that does dresses as I really cant afford £2K+ for a dress."A: The US market seems to be very different to the UK. Of my limited knowledge of US designers (or indeed designers from other countries in general) I like St Puchi & Reem Acra - they're not like me but I like what they do. As to the second question, my answer would be sorry but no, for any number of reasons I will not not recommend alternative designers or dressmakers.Q: Would you consider making the bodice/top to go over a skirt, or do you only do complete outfits?
A: I will not create a partial wedding outfit the minimum that can be commissioned is a corset & skirt or a dress. I am aware if I offered a 'just corset' design service it would no doubt be popular but I would not be comfortable having my corsets teamed up with skirts from other suppliers & would not wish to water down the exclusivity of the Chantal Mallett label.
Q: Would you consider making a matching Groom's outfit?
A: No. I have no knowledge of men's tailoring techniques or fitting men's clothing & menswear has never interested me remotely, so I simply wouldn't dream of going there! There are people out there offering great menswear who really know what they're doing, so I leave menswear to the experts. I like www.ozwaldboateng.co.uk for a modern Groom, www.favourbrook.com for a more period look. I can however get in matching fabrics or work with the menswear company to make sure we are using the same fabrics.
Q: Do you make matching bridesmaids outfits & if so, how much would bridesmaids dresses cost?
A: I only create bridal & evening gowns but I realise that finding bridesmaids gowns to match one of my designs is difficult & I therefore offer a design service to my clientele to design bridesmaids gowns & source appropriate fabrics & trimmings for the bride to take to a dressmaker to have made up. The service is complimentary, the costings will be whatever the fabrics cost & your chosen dressmaker's fee.
Q:Prices: "I've always been a big fan of the dresses that you do but unfortunately my bank balance doesn't stretch that far! I was just wondering if the prices shown on the website are the absolute minimum, in particular the Elizabeth one? I'm only little.... size 8 & 5'5" does this make a difference to price?
A: The prices shown are the prices a client would expect to pay for one of my sample designs in the same fabrics. In some cases a plainer silk may shave a couple of hundred pounds off the price but the main cost in one of designs is the number of hours it takes to create it. Loosing hand beaded seams in favour of piped or plain seams for example is another way in which the costs can be reduced.
I publish my prices because I feel that is an honest thing to do. Brides can weigh up the prices given & get a good idea of what their dress might cost before they come to a consultation & they can have confidence that the quotation they will be given is based on the design discussed. Lots of designers do not publish their prices & in some cases this is because they will give a quotation based on what they believe the bride will pay.
Does size matter? As I have already said the bulk of the cost is in the hours it takes to make a dress, a big girl may use a little more fabric but it could be a very tiny girl who's corset takes longer to fit, if for instance she has a curved spine, etc. & I do not like the idea of charging brides according to their dress size. So in my showroom., size does not matter.