Self-Taught Designer Tweets Photos Of All The Dresses She Made In 2020, And Her Thread Gets 337K Likes
Sarah Hambly is a self-taught fashion designer who has been sewing for just 4 years. She learned the craft from her mother and what she could find on YouTube and Pinterest, and kept getting better by trial and error. But even though Sarah's experience in the field is relatively short, she isn't short on skills.
Hambly has already proved that she is really versatile, and could probably dress up any Disney princess. Or villain. I mean, she has already created designs for beauty queens, rodeo queens, films, brides, and pretty much everyone you could imagine.
On December 14, Sarah tweeted all the dresses she made this year. From elegant, houses-of-Hogwarts-inspired designs to a daunting baroque Kylo Ren, the collection quickly went viral, generating over 335,000 likes, and we at Bored Panda decided to feature some of them as well. They're just too good!
More info: sarahhambly.com | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
This post may include affiliate links.
Dress I Made This Year
"Dresses can take anywhere from a few days to a week or two to complete," Hambly told Bored Panda. "I have previously done dresses that can take up to four months to complete. Once I have a clear design in my head, I usually work on figuring out how to execute it and what materials I should use, and then go about building it from memory. Sometimes, when I know the project will take a while, I will sketch out the design first and put it aside until I have more time to figure out how to make them."
Houses Of Hogwarts Inspired Dress: Ravenclaw
In 2018, the designer moved to Reno, Nevada, where she currently resides and spends her time creating couture gowns, wearable art, and incredible headpieces for photographers and clientele all over the world. This year, however, has been different. "Since Covid had forced us indoors for a big portion of 2020, I wanted to help myself and others pass the time by sewing and getting people interested in sewing. Normally, when a dress is finished, I would photograph them and then rent them out for other photographers to use, [but because of the pandemic] I haven't had the chance to photograph as much as I liked, so I have kept them until I can showcase them properly," Hambly explained the situation.
A Sorcerer Costume
The price of these dresses varies a lot and mostly depends on the materials and workmanship. "A dress can cost anywhere from $2—I made one from a shower curtain I got at a thrift store—to thousands of dollars for special dresses from fabrics like fiber optics," Hambly said, adding that she tries to make a lot of textiles too, so things like custom embroidery, beadwork, and color can add up fast. "I make them all myself, each one is bespoke, and I don't tend to repeat any designs more than once."
Houses Of Hogwarts Inspired Dress: Slytherin
A Folklore Inspired Wedding Dress
A Dress Made From Fabric I Found On Wish
Giambattista Valli
A Dress Made For The Film Wonderwell
A Loki Inspired Look
A Renaissance Painting As A Dress
Dress I Made This Year
Geralt Inspired
A Peek-A-Boo Dress From A Shower Curtain
15ft Train Black Dress
Yennefer Inspired
Daenerys Coat
Fairy Inspired
Houses Of Hogwarts Inspired Dress: Gryffindor
Houses Of Hogwarts Inspired Dress: Hufflepuff
A Strawberry Dress
A Dress Entirely Sewn By Hand Made From Chainmail
Holiday Barbie: 2019
Aurora
Sugar Daddy Robe
"Oh no, my poor husband! Who could have done something so cruel?" *sobs into a decorative pillow that hides the murder weapon.*
Fairy Inspired
For some reason this makes me think of the princess child (Oracle?) On the never ending story.
Fire
Stained Glass Bustier
Holiday Barbie: 2009
A Black Wedding Dress
Zodiac Sign Dress: Pisces
My Take On Christmas Belle
Armor Dress
A Black Wedding Dress
Holiday Barbie: 2020
Tiana
A Traditional Ankara Fabric Dress
Rococo Marie Antoinette Made With 8$ Curtains And Lace From The Sides Of Pillows
Cinderella Prom Look
Baroque Kylo Ren
Zodiac Sign Dress: Libra
A Dress Inspired By Pink Circus Cookies
Harry Style Vogue
Water
Fairy Inspired
Vampire Diaries Costume
A Dress Made From Plastic Chainmail
Giambattista Valli
Zodiac Sign Dress: Sag
Pendleton Wool Shirt Into Dress
A Dress Inspired By Hulu’s The Great
Strawberry Dress But Made With Hand Painted Glitter Pumpkins
15ft Train White Dress
this is really pretty, but the materiel is kind of cheap-looking, and the ends need to be hemmed or something, they look a bit jagged.
Armor Dress
I look forward to hearing/reading where Sarah goes with her mad skills. Art, fashion, theatrical/film costumes. There is no limit. She'd demolish the competition on Project Runway.
I loved them all. You’re so very talented you will go so far in your life congratulations!
These are absolutely stunning! I would love to see one inspired by Aquarius. Your work is amazing and I think it's quite obvious that you have showstopping talent.
You a very talented person and I love that. Keep doing what your doing!
I'm crying looking at these T_T They're so pretty and gorgeous and I want to wear them all ffs
I love her stuff, I've been following her on TikTok since her strawberry dress recreation! She's amazing!
I'd love to know the average cost and time taken to make each dress. They are each magnificent and totally unique. She has so much talent for constructing and designing these dresses, especially when she's only been sewing for 4 years. Her mum must be an incredible teacher.
“Self Taught” being the highlighted word, She definitely has amazing concepts, better than ones I got from fashion school. From myself as a designer, If she wants a career out of fashion, she might need to look at patterns more, like how to Create a slit but honestly she’s doing great seeing that she also recycles fabric to create garments. Lest we forget that she’s self taught & experimenting. ❤️
Two points. One, these are absolutely amazing and so creative and well-executed! You're clearly going places! Two, I seriously cannot understand the people making negative comments. People like these are the exact reason artists shy away from showing their work.
Stunning...can't imagine the amount of time, and love that went into each of these. The 1930's-'40's inspired looks are my favorite.
Very gifted and so much talent. Keep up the great work. I love all of these!!!!
STUNNING works, but the slit in the dresses that have them is perhaps a little bold. I'm all for a brazillian, but maybe showing it off in public is a little indelicate.
Honestly, the styles and ideas are amazing, it seems she has talent. But the execution is still questionable. Fabrics look cheap (she may want to save money but you can't step into fashion designing with cheap-looking fabrics) and the sowing is flabby with visible loose ends. These look more like costumes. It's great if she just plays around or do cosplays. But if she's serious about a career in fashion, she needs to step up her game.
I look forward to hearing/reading where Sarah goes with her mad skills. Art, fashion, theatrical/film costumes. There is no limit. She'd demolish the competition on Project Runway.
I loved them all. You’re so very talented you will go so far in your life congratulations!
These are absolutely stunning! I would love to see one inspired by Aquarius. Your work is amazing and I think it's quite obvious that you have showstopping talent.
You a very talented person and I love that. Keep doing what your doing!
I'm crying looking at these T_T They're so pretty and gorgeous and I want to wear them all ffs
I love her stuff, I've been following her on TikTok since her strawberry dress recreation! She's amazing!
I'd love to know the average cost and time taken to make each dress. They are each magnificent and totally unique. She has so much talent for constructing and designing these dresses, especially when she's only been sewing for 4 years. Her mum must be an incredible teacher.
“Self Taught” being the highlighted word, She definitely has amazing concepts, better than ones I got from fashion school. From myself as a designer, If she wants a career out of fashion, she might need to look at patterns more, like how to Create a slit but honestly she’s doing great seeing that she also recycles fabric to create garments. Lest we forget that she’s self taught & experimenting. ❤️
Two points. One, these are absolutely amazing and so creative and well-executed! You're clearly going places! Two, I seriously cannot understand the people making negative comments. People like these are the exact reason artists shy away from showing their work.
Stunning...can't imagine the amount of time, and love that went into each of these. The 1930's-'40's inspired looks are my favorite.
Very gifted and so much talent. Keep up the great work. I love all of these!!!!
STUNNING works, but the slit in the dresses that have them is perhaps a little bold. I'm all for a brazillian, but maybe showing it off in public is a little indelicate.
Honestly, the styles and ideas are amazing, it seems she has talent. But the execution is still questionable. Fabrics look cheap (she may want to save money but you can't step into fashion designing with cheap-looking fabrics) and the sowing is flabby with visible loose ends. These look more like costumes. It's great if she just plays around or do cosplays. But if she's serious about a career in fashion, she needs to step up her game.