Vespérine
Silk mikado, 4.2m
Cut on the true bias so the skirt falls in one unbroken line from the waist seam. Bodice boned in eight panels, no zip — forty-one covered buttons down the spine.
- Hours in hand
- 186
- From
- €4,180
Made to measure since 2014·No. 14 Rue des Merciers
Cut once,for one body,by six pairsof hands.
We make wedding gowns the slow way. A calico toile before a metre of silk is cut. Three fittings in the back room. A hem decided while you walk the length of the floor in the shoes you will actually wear.
Plate 02 — ColombeToile
Chantilly, Calais — 1962 bolt340 h
- Founded
- 2014, Lyon
- In the workroom
- 6 seamstresses
- Lead time
- 7 to 9 months
- Gowns a year
- 38 — no more
The six plates
A vocabulary, not a catalogue.
These are the six shapes we know in our hands. About half of what leaves the atelier is a crossing of two of them — the Marisol hip under a Neve neckline, an Anouk cut in duchesse. Prices below cover the toile, three fittings, and every alteration up to the week of the wedding.
Colombe
Chantilly lace over silk tulle
Nine layers of tulle, each one hemmed by hand and graded a half-centimetre shorter than the last. The lace is a 1960s Calais stock we buy by the bolt when we can find it.
- Hours in hand
- 340
- From
- €6,740
Neve
Crepe de soie, 2.6m
For brides who want the seams to do the talking. Two darts, one back slit that opens to mid-calf, and a cap sleeve set by hand so it never pulls at the shoulder.
- Hours in hand
- 124
- From
- €2,950
Marisol
Duchesse satin
The flare begins at 61cm below the waist — measured on you, never from a chart. Interior corselette takes the weight so the satin stays smooth across the hip.
- Hours in hand
- 268
- From
- €5,320
Anouk
Silk georgette, 5.1m
Weighs 780 grams finished. Brides who dance choose this one. The under-bust seam is set on a grosgrain stay so it holds its place through the evening.
- Hours in hand
- 152
- From
- €3,480
Lisette
Embroidered organza
Sleeves embroidered in Lyon with a scattered wheat motif — 4,300 stitches per sleeve, three weeks at the frame. The 2.4m train unhooks in seconds at the six hidden loops.
- Hours in hand
- 412
- From
- €7,900
Inside the atelier
Nine months,
four rooms,
one hem.
Solène Rouvière founded the house in 2014 above a silk merchant on No. 14 Rue des Merciers. Six seamstresses work the frames now, and the order book closes at thirty-eight gowns a year so nothing is rushed to the door.
Start the first conversation- I
The first conversation
Month 0Ninety minutes in the front room with tea and the fabric drawers open. No gowns pulled off a rail. We talk about the room you will walk into, what you refuse to wear, and how you want to move.
- II
Croquis & toile
Month 1 – 2Solène draws three sketches; you keep one. We then cut the whole gown in cheap cotton calico and put you in it, so the shape is settled long before a single metre of silk is touched.
- III
Three fittings
Month 3 – 6Structure, then surface, then stillness. Between them the gown hangs on your own labelled stand in the back room. Bring the shoes to the second fitting — the hem is decided there.
- IV
The hem and the hand-off
Month 7 – 9Final press, a stitched label with your name and the date, and a lesson for whoever is doing your buttons. The gown leaves in a calico bag, boxed, with the offcuts if you want them.
The drawers
Seven cloths we keep on the shelf.
We buy in bolts, not in metres, so what you touch at the first appointment is the same run of cloth your gown is cut from. Drag the row to see the rest.
In their words
Three brides, three drawers in the cabinet.
I came in with a photograph I had been carrying for two years and left with something better than the photograph. At the last fitting Solène made me walk the length of the room eleven times before she would touch the hem.
My mother wore a gown from this room in 1989. They still had her pattern card in the drawer, filed under her maiden name. We used the same lace for my sleeves and nobody warned me I would cry over a drawer.
I am 1m58 and every rail gown drowned me. This is the first dress that has ever looked like it started at my shoulders instead of ending at my ankles. I wore it for fourteen hours and forgot it was there.
Before you write
The five things
everyone asks.
01How far ahead should I come to you?
7 to 9 months before the date is comfortable. We have made a gown in eleven weeks twice, and both times it cost 30% more and everyone slept badly. If your date is inside four months, write to us anyway and we will tell you honestly whether we can do it well.
02What does a gown from the atelier cost?
Between €2,950 and €7,900 depending on the cloth and the hours at the frame. That figure includes the toile, all three fittings, alterations up to the week of the wedding, and the final press. Embroidery beyond the house motifs is quoted separately.
03Can I bring a dress that already exists?
Yes — inherited gowns are some of our favourite work. We remake, re-line, shorten, and rebuild bodices around original lace. Bring the gown and any photographs of it being worn to the first appointment.
04Do you make anything other than the six plates?
The six are a starting vocabulary, not a catalogue. Roughly half of what leaves the atelier is a hybrid — the Marisol hip on a Neve neckline, an Anouk in duchesse instead of georgette. Nothing is fixed except the standard of the finish.
05Is the atelier accessible?
The front room, fitting rooms, and lavatory are at street level with no step at the door. The workroom is up a narrow stair, so if you would like to see the frames we bring the frames down to you.
The first appointment
Ninety minutes,
no rail,
no obligation.
Tell us the date and roughly what you have in mind. Solène replies to every note herself, usually within two working days, and will say so plainly if we are not the right house for you.
- Atelier
- No. 14 Rue des Merciers, Lyon, 69002
- By telephone
- +33 4 72 41 08 63
- Fittings
- Tuesday to Saturday