Clients find me in all sorts of ways but for Sue Smith it was quite a chain of events… After being notified that she was to be awarded an MBE she asked her stepdaughter, who is a wedding planner, where she could find a designer to make her an outfit for this very special occasion. Her daughter posted a request on Instagram and Jennifer, one of my brides, suggested Elizabeth Bessant Couture as I had made her wedding dress. One look at my website and Sue was on the phone talking to my assistant Sam to book a consultation and explain what she needed for her visit to Buckingham Palace.

As Sue does not live in London, I decided to source fabric samples before our meeting so we could get the most out of her first appointment. I had been given a clue as to what Sue had in mind because she had mentioned to Sam that shades of lilac suit her. I found a beautiful pinky lilac and cream woven silk linen and it felt right even though I had not met or spoken to Sue myself at that point. We hit it off immediately over coffee when we did first meet and when I produced the fabric sample Sue loved it and was confident she had found her designer.

Sue Smith collecting her MBE from Prince Charles wearing Elizabeth Bessant Couture

I created a shift dress with angled seam detail and short sleeves teamed with a fitted jacket to complete the look.

Over many fittings – always with coffee – we covered so many topics of conversation that I felt I knew Sue well. I also advised her on shoes and she was thrilled when she found the perfect pair.

It was now time to add the final touch – a fascinator. Sue was going to be curtseying to receive her award so she needed to feel confident that it would not move or fall off. There would also be a lot of photographs.

Her fascinator needed to be appropriately refined as an investiture is not an occasion for a big statement.

I looked at Sue while deciding what would work then tried a few sample fascinators on her and said ‘You are not feathers’ and she replied ‘You are probably right’. Sue was very trusting and agreed to my suggestion that I would come up with an idea and present a mock up version at her next fitting. I wanted to add a touch of another colour to her outfit. I found a beautiful dusky rose pink silk that complimented the colour of her outfit and a coriander green silk to make a cluster of roses. Twists of her dress fabric added structure and height to create a contemporary look. Her fascinator was unique and received so many compliments.

Lastly I suggested Sue should wear pearls to finish her outfit. The length of a necklace is very important and for Sue’s dress the pearls needed to be 18 inches long. Sue produced a selection of pearl necklaces and had the chosen string shortened. She was delighted with her outfit and I was thrilled to help dress her for this once in a lifetime occasion. Sue has been a lovely client and a pleasure to work with and will surely remain a friend.