Amanda's Atelier Designs with Distinction

When you have any sort of embellishments on a garment — whether it be a formal gown or a dance costume — your designer/dressmaker should only be using items that can be washed or dry cleaned. The only time there is an exception to this rule is if the garment is clearly marked that there is no safe way to clean the garment.

No matter what the occasion, the beading and/or embellishments that are put on your Irish Dance solo dress, wedding dress, or pageant dress should be safe to clean. People who make garments “on the side” generally do not have enough background to be familiar with the applicable laws governing the garment industry. (We will cover some of those in another post.) If the dressmaker purchases the mega bag of craft beads that are 500 beads for $1.99, I will almost guarantee you that they cannot be cleaned or cared for properly.

At Amanda’s Atelier, we use beads and embellishments that you can clean. We want our garments to stand up to the test of time, be worn and be enjoyed.

The one common thread of all the garments we design is that they are a focal point for an event. It can be a solo dress at an Irish Step Dancing Competition (feis), or eveningwear for a contestant in a pageant, or a weddng gown for that once-in-a-lifetime dream come true. Attention and focus is on the wearer of the garment. Therefore, we really play close attention to the details of the embellishment and make certain that they enhance the garment, add that special touch of sparkle, and are able to be dry cleaned or washed when the event is over.

Why would you want to pay for an expensive garment that you know you will perspire in (sometimes extensively) and not be able to clean? The fabric of the garment isn’t happy if the only source of cleaning is spraying a little Febreze on it!