Testimonials
Jo
I've known Ali for some time and when I got engaged I was excited to talk to her about making my wedding dress. I thought I knew how brilliant she was, but she totally surpassed my expectations and made me the most beautiful dress; a dress that was ultimately unique and exactly what I wanted in style, comfort and cost. This for me (and my mother) made the whole experience of wedding dress shopping an absolute delight. Along with so many fabulous comments from our wedding guests I had a very happy husband on the day who has also personally thanked her.
I can not recommend Ali highly enough for her friendly advice and expertise, done with limited fuss and fittings. High five!
Sam
I would really recommend Ali. Not only do you get the beautiful dress you dreamed of, you get an original dress that no-one else has, designed and made just for you and which costs less than you would think. Not only is Ali a talented and brilliant dressmaker, she is creative, reassuringly professional and extremely reliable. It was great fun getting my dress made with Ali. And the result was stunning - everyone said so.
Alex
Ali did a fantastic job in a very short period of time, given that I found out I was pregnant after our two initial fittings! Ali managed to help me design a dress that was flattering, elegant and still very close to what I had originally wanted so I still felt great on the day despite being almost 6 months pregnant. My sister's bridesmaid dress was also gorgeous, based on a picture of a vintage evening dress and was also turned around with very little fuss in only a few fittings. Ali has an incredible ability to translate design ideas straight into something that is wearable, combining both technical expertise with design flair & a good ear for what clients want.
Amanda
Ali was fantastic, she made my dress in a very short time and was so helpful, I couldn't ask for a better service. Everyone said on the day how beautiful the dress was. Ali is a very talented lady.
Shazia
Thanks again for the gorgeous bridesmaids dresses and the professional, personalised dressmaking service you provided. The dresses all fit perfectly, the girls were chuffed to bits with them and received lots of compliments from our guests on their beautiful, individual designs. It was a pleasure working with you (though I imagine it took you a while to recover from our visits, particularly when we all invaded your studio en masse) and I will definitely be looking for an excuse to order a bespoke creation from you for myself in the future.
Jeng
Ali was fantastic in helping to create and design my wedding dress. She was extremely patient, pointing me in the right direction for ideas and inspiration. I found a lovely vintage lace coat that Ali adapted and incorporated into the final dress design. Once the dress design was finalised I was amazed at how quickly she made it up. I love my dress so much I am wearing it again at my second wedding celebration!
Julie
I spent ages trawling around the dress shops looking for a dress to wear to my daughter's wedding, and decided that the best shape for me was straight down to the knee, but in the shops they were all sleeveless, and too wide at the hips. I went to Ali with my ideas and she made the perfect dress for me that fits me beautifully, with lace sleeves - I should be able to wear it again summer or winter. It's just gorgeous, I had so many compliments!
Claire
By the time I rang Ali’s mobile I had spent 2 months endlessly searching the internet and bridal fairs and stores for that special dress to make my wedding day complete. Ali’s knowledge of vintage clothing ended my fruitless search and turned my inspiration from a vintage Vogue pattern into my unique wedding dress – and all in four relaxed and friendly fittings. She listened to my ideas and offered sound advice when it was needed. The result was a wedding dress that made me feel like a Princess and a husband whose face lit up with adoration and pride when he first saw me. I could not have wished for more.
Valerie
As a woman of a fuller figure the prospect of finding a dress for my civil partnership that suited my style was a daunting prospect. Ali was enthusiastic about my vision for the dress and offered great ideas and was really accommodating with fittings. My dress was stunning, timeless and perfect for the occasion!
Caroline
Thank you so much for my lovely dress - everyone LOVED it! And I felt great in it. I would be and will be happy to recommend you to everyone. Thanks again. Caroline.
Chelsie
Just a note to say thank you so much for the beautiful work and alterations you did for me on my wedding gown, and also for the stunning veil that you made - it was so beautiful and made the wedding perfect! Thanks very much and all the best, Chelsie
Juliet
Ali made my dream of wearing a unique wedding dress come true. From my sketch she helped me through choosing the right fabrics, and relaxed fittings. It was exactly what I wanted, and fitted perfectly - she did a brilliant job!
Carrie
I have nothing but praise, compliments and flattery to say about my wedding dress "experience" with Ali. She was immensley helpful and friendly even from my initial email asking if she could take a look at a dress pattern for a 1950's dress that I would like for my wedding and whether it was achievable and prices. The whole process was extremely enjoyable, stress free and quite honestly good fun!! Nothing was too much trouble and Ali was always available at the end of the telephone and email if I had any questions.....I forgot to say that another of her qualities is patience!
Marina
Ali made me feel relaxed from our first meeting and was such a pleasure to work with. She found me some fantastic embroidered lace for my wedding dress which I thought I'd never find. Ali was so friendly and made the process so easy and after three fittings my own unique wedding dress was complete and looked fabulous. My husband, family and friends all loved the design, especially the lace. Thanks very much Ali.
Emily
I can't thank Ali enough for the absolutely stunning dress that she made for my wedding day. I'm not a perfect size 10 but the dress fitted me exactly to every curve and was so flattering, it really made me feel beautiful. Starting with only the most basic idea, a few pictures in a scrapbook and a very modest budget she designed and made the dress from scratch and every detail was tried out and tailored exactly to how I decided - even down to the placement of individual folds on the rouching! She was also really helpful at guiding me when I wasn't sure what I wanted, and made the whole process really easy and enjoyable - THANK YOU!
Becky
I just wanted to drop you a line to say thank you again for all the amazing work you did on my wedding dress- it was absolutely amazing that you managed to bring the 60s old dress I brought in back to life so beautifully so and I loved EVERY second of wearing it. And it got loads of compliments on the day.
Rachel
Ali came to the rescue when one of my bridesmaids announced she was pregnant and we had already bought her dress! It was "challenge Ali" when I presented her with the original dress plus another identical dress in a much larger size, and asked her to somehow combine the two into a maternity version. She came up trumps and almost seamlessly produced a dress that looked fantastic on the day - from the front you could barely tell my bridesmaid was 7 months pregnant! Thanks Ali you were a saviour!
Laura
Ali is, quite simply, amazing. She turned my dream of a long, beautiful, delicate wedding veil into reality just when I'd given up hope of being able to afford what I wanted. My appointments were really relaxed and friendly and I felt I could really trust her. I had so many compliments on my wedding day and I now have an heirloom that I treasure. Thank-you Ali :)
Marion
I wanted to say a massive thank you for all you did to make my dress so wonderful, it was absolutely perfect and I felt wonderful in it – you were so kind and patient and helped so much to firm up my somewhat vague plans. I had so many compliments and it was just perfect for the location and the day.
It was my first experience of having something made and it was a most enjoyable one all made so by you .
I hope some time in the future I will have the need to call on your services again.
Eustace
Alison helped our wedding by her outstanding service not only her suggestion on the design but also her enthusiasm and patience (I actually asked her to change the design several times!). She was always friendly and provided us very professional advice. If I got married twice I would definitely go back to her!! Thank you.
Louise
Ali helped make my whole wedding experience so easy and enjoyable - we had a very short engagement and as such, there was not much time to design an elaborate gown. I called Ali armed with material in hand and she made my design come to life. A few last minute alterations that could have been quite stressful were made simple and quick by Ali's professionalism. Ali was such a pleasure to work with, at all times professional but fun at the same time.
Emmi Avery
I came to Ali with a few pictures and doodles, however didn't have a clear view of what I wanted. Ali couldn't have been more helpful and fun; sketching for me, flicking through books, coming up with fresh ideas that I loved.
We managed to come up with a design that suited me to the ground. Ali didn't even batter an eyelid when asked to do a head-to-toe hand embroidery design that was taken from my doodles.
I have never had and never will have a dress that is so unique, individual and 'me'. Thank you Ali, the process was so enjoyable and you will never know how much it meant to me on my big day! Mrs Emmi Avery.
Dianne
Thank you so much again, the colour was amazing, the fit was perfect and everyone told me how good I looked. The dress was fabulous and I loved working with you to create it.
Helen
Alison offered a wonderfully personal and very friendly service and did an amazing job on my dress. My dress is 60 years old and the armpits had pretty much dissolved; I was so pleased with the work she did, it looked like new again!
Helen
I just wanted to say thank you so much again for the work you did on my dress - the wrap was just perfect and I felt like a princess all day ;-)
Debbie
I just wanted to say a big thank you for the work you did on my dress, I was so pleased with the finished product and everyone complimented me on it.
Caroline
Thank you so much for the fantastic work you did on my wedding dress. The dress fitted perfectly and I felt amazing all day! I was extremely pleased with your service - you listened to my requirements and the dress ended up looking even better than I had hoped! Many many thanks, caroline x
Joanne Smith
After struggling to find a dress, a friend recommended Ali Rouse and I can't thank Ali enough for the most beautiful dress. Alison was fantastic in listening to what I wanted and at our first meeting we had the dress designed and after getting my measurements, a pattern was whipped up really fast.
Ali made up a mock-up of the dress so we could ensure a perfect fit and also joined me at a gem of a fabric store to help choose the right fabric - both in texture to keep with the line of the dress and colour. My friends and family were stunned with what a gorgeous dress it was on my wedding day and I loved that my dress was unique, flattering and comfortable to wear. I highly recommend Ali for anyone who is after a special dress.
Allison
Ali, you made the picture in my head into a reality! It was lovely to be able to talk through the possibilities with you and for it all to come together so successfully. My outfit was much praised and I felt great in it on the big day - thank you so much!
Julie
Alison designed and made my beautiful dress for me making sure I was included in all decisions, even taking me shopping for material, I thoroughly enjoyed going through mags and papers and designs she had while she put something together just for me. She was brilliant as I (thank god lost loads of weight and she was able to change it dramatically but kept the design we wanted. The dress was absolutely gorgeous and fitted like a glove, I get so many compliments about it still, many thanks Ali.
Isabelle
Many thanks Ali from Izzi and myself, her dress speaks for itself in cuteness!!!!!
Kate Parker
Ali, thank you so much for doing such an amazing and beautiful job on my wedding dress and our lovely bridesmaid dresses. My off the hanger wedding dress required a lot of quite complex ammendments, but all your hard work and patience paid off and as a result I felt a million dollars on the day. It has been a real pleasure working with you Ali, I hope to see you soon and will be highly recommending your services to friends and family in the future.
Gabriella
I found a beautiful wedding dress in a vintage shop in London. The dress was in good condition considering its age, but even so it was in need of some alterations to fit properly and to look like the dream dress I had in mind. Ali proved to be absolutely fantastic! She is very talented, has a great eye for what works and what doesn't and is very passionate about what she does. She turned my wedding dress into my dream dress and I could not have been more pleased with the end results. Thank you Ali for such a great job!!
Sharen
Ali produced a beautiful veil to compliment my wedding dress – she has been a complete delight to work with and her friendly relaxed (yet professional) approach has been so very refreshing. After visiting her and seeing the stunning examples of her work, I just wish I had asked her to make my wedding dress too! I will certainly be recommending her to all my friends / family!
Stephanie
My friend assured me that you would be able to create the work dresses that i needed. I started out with the intention of a couple of simple shift dresses, but your creativity and enthusiasm for beautiful fabrics inspired me to commission a dress made from a sari. I have been so impressed by the stunning design and it really makes me feel truly unique. In addition the work dresses look great too. Thank you very much indeed, I cannot wait to find another occasion for which I can ask you to design me another dress.
Suzanne
I wanted a couple of simple but unique summer dresses that fitted me well but when I met Ali I was so impressed that she made all her own clothes (and looked so good in them!) that my request went up to four. And when I got my dresses I was so pleased with them that I asked her to make me another, and then a couple of evening dresses too. She made me a total of seven dresses this summer and I am so delighted with them all. I feel like I have my own personal wardrobe designer and I will no longer have to waste time trawling the shops every year – I will go straight to Ali!
