Especially for you....

Another version of Blair in Kelly's fabric requested by a lovely lady.

George was such a sweetie to spring this surprise up for his gf.
We basically worked on this dress using a photograph and the size of a brand that she wears.

Customised Silk Brocade with embroidered Velvet Peach blossoms

wedding Qipao for a client in the States.

We worked on it using her measurements and email correspondence.

Mychang wanted a simple one without lace and frills.

S asked for a simple pure white Vneck dress for daywear without any frills , drapes or layers..

A customised version of Alayna as the client wanted to wear it for a chinese wedding.

Awesome contrasting of colours is at work here.

As you can see, all you need to do is just to ask and let us know what ticks for you:)

Colouring with Silk

I am falling in love with these colours of Shangtung silk.I am actually at a lost at what to choose as there are soooo many favourites. I have thought of a really beautiful design for a cheongsam and now I am just left with deciding which 2 colours.

I will blog more about choosing the right colour palette for your skin tone in the next couple of entries. Colours are important as they enhance your complexion, choosing the right ones that complement you make you look so good that you probably wont want to go back to black too often ;)

How to take your body measurements video

How to take your body measurements

Step 1) Get a measuring tape, a pencil and paper, and put on lightweight clothing with the type of bra you intend to wear under the customised garment.

Step 2)

A :Bustline: Draw the tape around the fullest part of your bust. Make sure the tape is taut but not tight, and it is flat, not twisted. Write down the measurement where the tape meets itself.

B. Waist: Start by tying a narrow piece of string/ribbon around the waist.

One should then move around a bit until the string/ribbon settles at one's natural waistline.

Keep the string/ribbon in place for the rest of the measurements.

Using the tailor’s measuring tape, measure over the string/ribbon, around the natural waistline. The tape measure should be held snug, but not tight

(Picture of measurements from nexteve)

C. Hips: Measure around the widest part of your hips.

D. Length: For Full Length Measure from top of the shoulder through the nipple to floor, including the height of shoes. Otherwise measure

to where you want the hem.

E. Under Bust:

F. Nipple to Nipple: The measurement between your two nipples.

G. Shoulder to Nipple: Measure from top of the shoulder to nipple.

(This might not be necessary all the time)

H. Shoulder to Waist: Measure from top of the shoulder through the

nipple to waist.(This measurement is important)

I. Shoulder to Hips: Measure from top of the shoulder through the

nipple to hips.

J. Shoulder to Shoulder: Measure your shoulder width from the back.

K. Neck: Measure around the fullest part of your neck.

L. Armhole: Measure around the widest part of your arm.

It's good to measure your backlengthto waist as well. That means measuring from your shoulders to your natural waistline on the back.

There are alot of DIY tutorials on how to measure yourself.

Just to give you a few links.

Sew, Mama, Sew is quite a good one and you can refer to here for the good 3D pictures they have, it's really idiotproof here.

There is even a good video on youtube to teach you how.

The Birth of DYLAN

Let's take a step back to 8, 9 years ago....

One of my first professional outfits was from MNG and then ZARA opened its first store here before more outlets of the 2 brands started sprouting out ...Then I started moving on to BLUM for more OOAK (One of a kind pieces) but I realised that even though I was paying a premium price, I still remained not fully satisfied of my dress. I was still teaching then and was not given much time aside to grouse about my wardrobe , but I made daily efforts daily to dress up well just to teach. I dare say my sense of style never fails to lend a "perk me up at work" and sets me apart from the other teachers. My students were often fascinated with my workgear and mind you, girls at the age of 9 already have an eye of a hawk for fashion. They could tell if I ever wore a pencil cut denim skirt on consecutive days.

I guess I am a vainpot and a girl who loves looking well groomed.I love colours and have learnt during my St Nicks school days what are the kind of colours complimented my skin tone. As I grew older, I still continued to experiment until I discover the right palette for myself.And one thing for sure is that I dont follow any fashion trends. Before you lambast me, dont get me wrong.I love reading up on the latest fashion trends in magazines and blogs but not everything suits me and my lifestyle you see. It's just like I covet those Herve Leger bandage dresses but I seldom get a chance to don them. Those boyfriend blazers are absolutely trendy and raging!!! But it's just really hot to wear them here in Singapore (as compared to the streets of New york or London) and now that I'm a mom, I am all the more a firm believer of practicality.

The birth of my son gave me more time to delve into this world of fashion. Many have noticed that the label is named after my little boy.This is because the birth of him is a very significant part of my life that brought about this change in career.DYLAN also falls in line with my strong advocacy to STAND ON YOUR OWN which is both applicable to dressing up and to my lil boy gaining independence.

Getting back to how my love for designing first started. It actually began when I was scouring through vintage clothes selections online or be it estate sales and flea markets in the other countries, I realise that my love for the 1950s and 60s holds strong.I notice that what reign in my wardrobes are the classics sheaths and shifts.It was inherent that classics designs are definitely my love, but unfortunately I have too little of them. It's then when I start to turn to the stores locally to look for the kind of dresses I wanted and was very much disappointed.The kind of hemlines I wanted could not be found, the kind of colour, the kind of fabric.. it jus goes on...This was when I started exploring the idea of designing and making my own dress...

I bought tonnes of books on fashion designing projects, I started practising on sketches and I visited the fabric markets both locally and overseas to study the fabrics and even linings.I actually did enrolled in a school for dressmaking, I asked and tried to learn everything that was needed in this line. Unfortunately due to rigidity of time in looking after my boy, I had to stop lessons and started learning under an experienced seamstress which gave me more flexibility to juggle work and being a mom.

I keep the the pieces of each designs to a minimal few pieces to maintain exclusivity. That's why I turn to designing my own frock in the first place---to be unique. Like I say, it would be an utter embarassment to run into your twin at any event even though you both could be wearing a 8, 9 hundred dollar ,designer number.No lady would like that to happen to her.Having a sharp eye for good quality and unique fabrics helps in this line and this is what brings clients back for more, along with more personalised services.So with the mantra of being unique and to STAND ON YOUR OWN, I created 3 lines for DYLAN this year--
-No More Monday Blues, In the Mood for Love and Get Carrie-d away. You could read more about the meaning behind them over here.

I am really pleased and happy with the support and advice I am getting on this journey since the birth of DYLAN , thanks everyone and I do hope for more good things to come.^-^

With love,
Elaine