TROUSSEAU
For the woman the photographs will remember.
Six Gowns.
One Woman.
Each gown is shot against the same charcoal backdrop in the same directional light. The fabric is the variable. Click any gown to open it.
The Obsidian
Duchess Velvet
The Garnet
Hand-Beaded Silk
The Smoke
Italian Crepe
The Inheritance
Chantilly Lace
The Bronze
Silk Jacquard
The Reverie
Duchess Satin
Every gown begins
as a question of cloth.
The difference between a dress and a gown is not price — it is the decisions made before the first cut. Here is how we think about fabric.
320gsm
Minimum silk weight
On fabric that holds its shape
The Weight of Silk
Duchess satin at 320gsm does not drape — it stands. The bodice of The Obsidian holds its architecture because the fabric has enough mass to resist the pull of gravity without the need for boning that restricts. You move, the gown follows. It does not lead.
Every silk we use is weighted above 280gsm. Below that threshold, silk photographs as costume. Above it, it photographs as clothing.
47,000
Beads per gown
On hand-sewn embellishment
The Logic of Beadwork
Machine-applied beads sit on the surface of fabric like gravel on ice. Hand-set beads are stitched through the weave itself — each one threaded, positioned, and secured by a needle moving at the pace of thought rather than machinery. You can feel the difference with your fingertip.
47,000 beads per gown. Three artisans. Twelve weeks. This is why The Garnet costs what it costs, and why it will still be perfect in forty years.
45°
Bias cut angle
On lining that moves
The Bias Cut
Every lining in the Trousseau collection is cut on the bias — 45 degrees to the grain of the fabric. This is not an affectation. Bias-cut fabric stretches diagonally, following the body's movement rather than resisting it. You will not feel the lining. That is the point.
A gown with a straight-grain lining announces itself with every step. A gown with a bias-cut lining disappears into the movement. The photographs show only you.
Not poses.
Candids.
These photographs were taken at real weddings by the photographers hired for the day. No studio. No direction. The gowns are doing their work.
"I stopped looking for something I wouldn't mind wearing. I found something I couldn't stop thinking about."
Constance M.
Chicago, IL
"My daughter cried when she saw me. Not because I looked like a mother. Because I looked like myself."
Patricia L.
New York, NY
"I wore black. Everyone told me not to. I have never been more photographed in my life."
Diane R.
Boston, MA
"The photographs are the permanent record. I wanted to look like a woman who had lived, not one who was apologising for it."
Rosalind K.
San Francisco, CA
Honest sizing.
No euphemisms.
The following information is written the way a seamstress would explain it to a client she respects.
Size Reference Chart
| Size | Bust | Waist | Hip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 33" | 25.5" | 36" |
| 4 | 34" | 26.5" | 37" |
| 6 | 35" | 27.5" | 38" |
| 8 | 36.5" | 29" | 39.5" |
| 10 | 38" | 30.5" | 41" |
| 12 | 39.5" | 32" | 42.5" |
| 14 | 41" | 33.5" | 44" |
| 16 | 42.5" | 35" | 45.5" |
| 18 | 44" | 36.5" | 47" |
| 20 | 46" | 38.5" | 49" |
Measurements taken at the fullest point of each area, in inches. If your measurements fall between two sizes, order the larger and alter down.
Order by your largest measurement.
If your bust is a size 12 and your hip is a size 14, order the 14. Fabric can be taken in. It cannot be let out beyond the seam allowance, which we build in at 1.5 inches — generous by industry standards, but not infinite.
Allow six to eight weeks for alterations.
Couture gowns are not adjusted in an afternoon. A single fitting on a beaded gown can take three hours. We will refer you to a specialist in your city. Do not use a bridal alterations service that charges by the hour.
Your measurements will change.
If the wedding is more than four months away, wait. Order when you are within twelve weeks of the date. Bodies respond to stress, travel, and the particular metabolism of anticipation. Four months is too long a margin.
We do not use euphemisms.
Our size range is 2 through 20. If your measurements fall outside this range, contact us. We extend select styles to custom sizing at a 15% surcharge. This is not a policy of exclusion — it is an acknowledgment that custom cutting costs more.
✦ Private Styling Call
Still deciding?
We have done this before.
Thirty minutes on the phone with a stylist who has dressed over 400 mothers of the bride. She will tell you which gown is yours before the call ends.