Haute couture - what would you have made?

[_Sera_]

What's your dream haute couture piece? If you could only have one...

My mother buys haute couture, as did her mother when she was younger. Despite not being one to buy every season, over the years she's certainly amassed quite a few pieces - I remember when I was younger there were things I could -not- touch with sticky hands... and then there were things I was not allowed within a ten mile radius with the aforementioned hands

Well the point of this, is that my 20th birthday is coming up in just over 4 months or so, and my mother broached the topic of making an appointment with one of the design houses to decide upon a piece (probably a gown/formal dress) and begin the fittings with a vendeuse . Discounting my short hyperventilating attack, I handled it with mature, controlled glee haha.

Anyways, there's so many delicious confections that my mind cannot think straight (and my mother's taste is a little different considering the age gap), so I thought I'd start a thread where you can pick your dream haute couture piece... and possibly give me some advice I'd love to have some ideas before I go!


(Remember couture can be adapted, lined etc - so feel free to add any alterations you would make for it to truly be your 'ideal' piece!)

 

[eternitygoddess]

I think my heart skipped several beats when I read this. You lucky lucky lucky girl.

I hope you post your experience for us tfs-ers to read! Many people here are fascinated with the process of haute couture. I'm sure we would all like to hear how the fitting and design works from an actual customer's mouth.

My questions to you are: are you looking for a debutante dress? A cocktail dress?Short? Long? Flowy? Slinky? What is your style?

That might help narrow the options down.

PS: CHRISTIAN LACROIX (!!!)

 

[gius]

my friend is getting something made to measure
he had a fitting today

it's just a suit/trouser with an overcoat
that's the main idea

what he wants i haven't seen at any shop here, so he has to have it custom made. he is combining all the things he likes (or his favourite things) into the clothes. a particular silk, which is actually too fine so it has to be made almost from scratch with some little quirks to get it to drape well and then for more fun he says, he decided a satin lining dyed a specific colour to contrast with the exterior. just two of many things

and the whole look was to look modern and young. it was difficult to figure out what modern means to him, till they made the toile and he wore it. then he could point things out.
essentially something that looked good on him. although i think many shapes will look good on this guy but some shapes look more formal and some too casual. and it goes all the way down to the silhouette of the garment, the V-neck opening of the jacket, the lining colour, the placement and width of the pocket, the shoulders, everything had a strong effect on how he looked/the message.

and i assume he is a busy guy with not a lot of time to devote to shopping (nor does he like shopping actually) so he just wants a very good suit/trouser with overcoat that he can wear at many outings. versatility...

another thing was that he really likes The Matrix and a coat worn in that movie but he wants it shorter and in a different fabric.. and also in a slight curved A-line shape.. with the same coloured satin lining. he also wore a toile of this and i told him it looks great longer, it balanced the jacket, so we kept it that way. a lot of his ideas changed when he actually wore the thing (and after he got some suggestions from other people)


so... i think you should just have fun with it!
go to a high end fabric store and try out all the fabrics and see what you like best on your skin.. and play dress up for a while and see a lot of movies and books... and then think of how a garment should tie in with your own lifestyle
i know it's couture but does it really have to be something extravagant that you can wear only to certain outings.. maybe getting an interesting design in a very rare fabric is fun enough!

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I agree, gius, about something that can be worn again and again ... I like the idea of a fabulous suit.

You may remember a couple years ago I went to a Balenciaga couture exhibit that was primarily pieces from two women's collections (although there were other things too, but you really got a strong sense of these two women). One was an executive for Neiman's, and there were suits that clearly had been favorites (i.e., worn till they could be worn no more). The other woman's collection was mostly evening wear ... there were these black velvet pants that I would love to have had myself. I think they were ankle length and tied in a bow at the ankle. (I in fact have some black velvet pants that I've worn during the holidays for years, but needless to say, hers were much better!) It looked like she'd barely worn them though ... I don't think they were really her style.

The most poignant piece was a berry red floor-length silk gown covered in pearls that she'd worn for the family Christmas each year. It was quite worn.

The whole exhibit was so personal ... it was billed as Balenciaga, but it was really about these women. When you are in a room with clothes women have really worn, the women are there too.

Le smoking would be something else that would be wonderful to wear for years ...

There were lots of pictures and letters, and the sadness of the woman with the evening wear when Balenciaga retired was palpable.

 

[CaitlinC]

Anything from Alexander McQueen.

 

[ChloeFrancoise]

I think I'd have to agree that it would be something I could wear more often. I'm not sure what specifically it would be though. I'm also trying to decide which design house I'd like it to be from.

 

[softgrey]

i would have EVERYTHING made for me if i could...
that would be the ULTIMATE dream...
...

i think if it was a first piece and i knew there would be more...
i would think in terms of building a wardrobe...
especially at your age...
nothing that is too trendy that will date itself- or you...

and i have to say...
it would probably be CHANEL....

def NOT mcqueen or dior...

for more modern, young and cool couture...
i would head to GIVENCHY!...
so sexy and rock n roll...
and very glam at the same time...

so maybe a dress from givenchy?!?...

what season are we talking about...the latest one..?
let me know and i'll have a look at the collections and post my picks for ya!>!>


....

fun fun fun!!!...
shopping for couture!>>!

 

[gius]

i agree with softgrey maybe get a whole little wardrobe in it
unless you can wear off the rack very well

 

[softgrey]

that's not at all what i meant gius...

the cost of couture is immense...
i would not suggest a 'little wardrobe' of couture on the first go...
i meant that when picking this first piece...
think in terms of one thing per season that will eventually add up to a cohesive wardrobe...

* is that what you thought i meant?......

anyway-
i don't think there is anyone who wears only couture...
i really don't...
anyone who loves fashion enough to spend on couture would have to buy lots and lots of clothes and no one could afford all couture...
plus lots of great stuff is out there that isn't couture...
i wouldn't restrict myself in any way...
i shop everywhere and anywhere...
and why not?

 

[KarlBear]

anyway-
i don't think there is anyone who wears only couture...
i really don't...
anyone who loves fashion enough to spend on couture would have to buy lots and lots of clothes and no one could afford all couture...
plus lots of great stuff is out there that isn't couture...
i wouldn't restrict myself in any way...
i shop everywhere and anywhere...
and why not?

I saw a movie about haute couture and there were a few ladies who wore only haute couture

 

[softgrey]

I saw a movie about haute couture and there were a few ladies who wore only haute couture

OMG>........
did they have lots of stuff or did they just wear the same few things all the time?
and how old were they???
what kind of lifestyle do they have?

it seems so crazy...
i would want so many other things....
i mean..couture is nice...but it's not the end all be all...
there are so many other nice things out there...



for example- nothing beats an old pair of levis..

 

[KarlBear]

OMG>........
did they have lots of stuff or did they just wear the same few things all the time?
and how old were they???
what kind of lifestyle do they have?

haha they had a lot of clothes, and they were like 60-80 year old i think, and i can't really imagine them wearing levis, or anything other than haute couture

 

[softgrey]

hmmm
yeah- that's what i figured...
a different generation...
that was long before karl lagerfeld was doing h&m etc...

there's just SO much more to choose from these days...


but that's really interesting kb...
thanks for that info...

 

[Crying Diamonds]

^ I think I saw that too.
If it was the same one, it was about the women who are on the front row at the couture shows, the Platinum AmEx crew.
The one old woman was like constantly decked out in a Chanel tweed suit and had her maid wheel in a rail of the couture she'd bought.
Daphne Guinness was also there lying around in her McQueen 08 kimono saying about the rush to be the first one to buy the piece you want because if someone else has it first there's no point in you getting it. It was really good.

 

[MimiV]

I would have a classic coat covered with embroidery and embelishments made... Classic in the cut, so it will last over time, but still crazy special and overworked so that you can tell it's couture

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I like the idea of a coat. I will say, though, that sometimes I get tired of things that are too embellished ... I do like feather work, that would be pretty.

 

[Feline]

I would choose to go to Alexander McQueen or Vivienne Westwood as their cutting is superb, and actually to have it made to measure, that would be something else.
I would like to have a jacket with both trousers and a skirt to make it very adaptable with my other clothes and for a wide variety of occasions.
I would like a black/purple (subtle) tweedy/tartan fabric with a bright purple satin lining.
One can but dream......

 

[MUXU]

i would rather design haute couture than buy haute couture
but if i gotta choose. givenchy via ricardo. he is not very traditional couture but he is about the only couture designer of now that is interesting

 

[dazzling85]

I buy haute couture, I have 6 dresses.
2 Dior
1 Elie Saab (comeing end of the month)
3 Georges Chakra

I dont buy every season. The Elie Saab is off the runway with few alterations this dress
The georges dresses were all custom made

 

[rangerrick14]

That's amazing!

Would you mind posting them? I'm sure everyone would love to see some the pieces you have.