For those of you who did not guess who the mystery Country Music Superstar is... the elegant Victorian lady showing off her Victorian Mourning bustle dress in a period perfect room is none other than lovely Country Music Sensation, Ms. Patty Loveless!

Alethea designed and custom made the ebony taffeta, Gothic style Mourning gown for Ms. Loveless's latest music video project (the project is currently under wraps, so you will learn the name as soon as we know, so shhh!).

Alethea used her tremendous sewing talents to create a period correct mourning masterpiece. She "worked her fingers to the bone" to quote Alethea on how long it took from gown inception to completion. She finished the intricately ruched gown in less than a week's time for the tight schedule that it was needed for. For those of you who do not know how long a custom gown can take to make, most intricate gowns like this one can (in many circumstances) require approximately 3-5 weeks of sewing effort.

Most people underestimate the tremendous amount of tailoring skill it takes to produce one of these gowns. In comparison, most wedding gowns are much simpler in style, and often use few hand finished details, and use zippers and modern additions. Victorian style dresses are often made with many small buttons (some 20-30!) and hook and eye closures which can be very time consuming as they are added by hand work.

This time frame includes to design a style, make special patterns, traveling or buying purchase correct fabric, set up a fitting mannequin, making the gown layers, boning and closures, plus additions. This does not include the time it takes to pack and send across the US! And time can take longer, depending on the amount of hand finish work, knife pleating, ruching, tucking and other ornamentations, but as you can see, the time is well worth the splendid results!

Ms. Loveless was even kind enough to show off her bustle especially for us, and judging by her expressions in her photos below, she appeared pleased to be wearing it!

We at Bustledress.com would like to extend much gratitude to Ms. Loveless for sharing her ravishing photos in the Victorian room with us, and also to her wonderful and kind stylist (you know who you are! Thank you!!!) for taking the time and effort to send the timeless photos of the lovely Ms. Patty, thank you. Also, sending a shout out to Alethea Sayers, who makes such beautiful bustle gowns for you! Really, there truly is no project she cannot tackle, that is why she is the queen of making many gowns you see on Romance Novel Covers!

The one of a kind custom Mourning gown actually worn by Ms. Loveless in the project will soon be listed on Bustledress for sale, so please check back soon for availability, and the measurements. If you would like to have a custom gown made in your own measurements by Alethea even if it is an unusual request, please check out her custom made for you listings below, and available items ready made. I know she can make your dreams come true!