Vanguard Allure

Top Menu

  • Vanguard

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Allure Magazine
    • Features
    • Magazine
    • Profiles
  • Allure TV
  • Celebration
    • Fashion & Style
    • Weddings
    • Lifestyle
    • Events
  • Wellbeing
    • Allure Woman
    • Healthy Living
    • Beauty
  • Happiness
    • Food
    • Shopping
    • Travel
    • Relationships
    • Career
  • News
  • Vanguard

logo

Vanguard Allure

  • Home
  • Allure Magazine
    • Hilda Baci: The Rising Star of Nigerian Cuisine

      March 25, 2023
      0
    • Female Influencers Cashing Out

      March 19, 2023
      0
    • IWD: Young Women Driving Tech

      March 12, 2023
      0
    • Buogo Obi-Oloketuyi: The Chic Carpenter

      March 5, 2023
      0
    • BOLANLE AND BUNMI NINALOWO: To Love And To Hold

      February 14, 2023
      0
    • Vanguard Personality Of The Year Awards 2022

      January 29, 2023
      0
    • Ruky Ogbetuo: From Fashion Writing To Prolific Designer

      January 21, 2023
      0
    • Bisola Alabi: Tech Savvy

      January 15, 2023
      0
    • Wumi Jubril - Providing Ultimate Wellness Experience

      January 13, 2023
      0
    • Features
    • Magazine
    • Profiles
  • Allure TV
  • Celebration
    • Fashion & Style
    • Weddings
    • Lifestyle
    • Events
  • Wellbeing
    • Allure Woman
    • Healthy Living
    • Beauty
  • Happiness
    • Food
    • Shopping
    • Travel
    • Relationships
    • Career
  • News
    • Porsche Executive reportedly divorcing partner of 16 years due to dementia

      Porsche Executive reportedly divorcing partner of 16 years due to dementia

      March 23, 2023
      0
    • 'Teni made people criticize me on social media' - Monalisa Stephen

      March 21, 2023
      0
    • Renowned English guitarist, Mick Slattery dies at 77

      Renowned English guitarist, Mick Slattery dies at 77

      March 21, 2023
      0
    • Whitemoney to sue BBN, real estate company over unfulfilled promise

      March 20, 2023
      0
    • Stop making statements that are oppressive and divisive -IK Osakioduwa urge Nigerians

      March 20, 2023
      0
    • How my dollar cash was stolen at Delta hotel -BBNaija's Phyna

      How my dollar cash was stolen at Delta hotel -BBNaija's Phyna

      March 17, 2023
      0
    • Olu of Warri, wife, joins world leaders to celebrate Commonwealth Day in ...

      March 16, 2023
      0
    • Amandla Ebeye reveals why she is changing name

      March 14, 2023
      0
    • Mercy Johnson's husband dedicates his Certificate of Return to her

      March 13, 2023
      0
  • Actress Kehinde Bankole, twin sister celebrates birthday in style

  • BBNaija star, Phyna visits Yahaya Bello, wife

  • Red Carpet Rules

  • REVIVING YOUR SEX LIFE @ LACK OF CASH PACT

  • TIPS ON USING FAUX PLANTS IN YOUR INTERIOR

Allure MagazineInterviews
Home›Allure Magazine›Mai Atafo – ChoosingThe Ultimate Dress

Mai Atafo – ChoosingThe Ultimate Dress

April 24,2016
Share:

While you may have envisioned your dream wedding dress, as far back as, when you were a teenager, when it comes to making the special gown, how do you pick the right wedding dress that fit and flatter your body type? We consulted one of Nigeria’s leading designers, Mai Atafo , who is Aer, who has a passion for making women look and feel fabulous, served up expert tips on finding the ultimate dress, as well as, his experience over the years working for brides.

When a would-be bride comes to you for a wedding dress but she doesn’t have anything in mind, what are the things you look out for?

Mai-Atafo

The first thing I take into consideration is her body type.  I look at what she thinks she wants to wear or would wear, or what she wouldn’t like to wear.  l try to see if what  she has In mind  fits her body type. If it doesn’t, I try to make her understand and pick something for her that will fit her body type. I also make her understand why what she wants is not possible or, why it’s perfect; and why she shouldn’t look at some other person’s body type to choose a design. Whatever she picks it should be chosen with her own body type in mind.

What if she insists on a particular style?

You have to make her understand that if she wants this dress, it may not look good on her, but if she insists, I might be forced to make it for her. If at the end it doesn’t look good, then she understands that she insisted on it.’  Not everyone can be Beyonce . You cannot bring Beyonce’s picture and say you want something like that. Some people are in denial ,and some people do not even know  any better. That is why consultation is more important than making the dress itself,  because if you get the consultation wrong, you make the wrong   dress. If you get it right, you make the right dress.

How long should a bride wait before picking out a dress?

I think once you choose a wedding date, the next thing is to pick out the dress.  It is very important so that you have enough time to make any sort of adjustments that may arise.  If it has handwork, or hand beading, there will be enough time to do it.  Again, the more time you have, the cheaper the dress can be.

What are the challenges associated with working for brides?

I think the greatest challenge is, a lot of brides are not realistic about what they want. Many of them want certain things that their body won’t fit into or they want a certain kind of dress that they do not have the budget for .  Those are basically the challenges in the job.

What is the trend for bridal dresses now?

I don’t think anything has changed so much. What people are doing is what they have been doing.  More and more mermaid gowns, Nigerian brides love mermaid gowns a lot.  What happens now is that they play more with the kind of lace they use.  Some People now do properly made hand appliqué on their dresses, which is now becoming a huge trend.  The fabrics are becoming more and more interesting.

What fabrics work better for bridal dresses?

The fabrics used are all the right ones.  I think the most important thing is to get the right fabric for a particular style.  You should know what fabric works for what style, and once you are able to achieve that, then there is no problem. However, if one fabric doesn’t work for a particular style, it can work for another. It doesn’t mean one is better than the other.  It could be richer than the other, with the lace or hand beading. But people are different; some do not want hand beading, but a plain wedding dress. So I don’t think one is preferred to the other.

How many times should a would-be bride go for fittings before the final dress is done?

For as many times as she wants. For instance, if she wants to come for fitting ten times, I will be happy to do it; so that we can get it right.

But, I will do a minimum of two fittings; to me that is just ideal. When you make the first fitting, usually, the dress is not quite done yet, but by the second fitting the dress is about 80% done. However, if I have the chance, I want to do it when it is a hundred percent done.  After that we can try it on again with her accessories. If she wants to wear a corset underneath, we can see it to see how it looks.  She should even wear with her shoes as well, to see how comfortable it is. I could even decide which angles you should take pictures from. What to do and not do with the dress.

How has it been over the years working with brides?

It has been great; every bride has her own special requirements. When bride’s come in with what they have in mind for their big day, it’s always quite interesting interacting with them. It feels very good to be a part of it.

By Yemisi Suleiman

 

TagsMai-AtafoWedding dress
Previous Article

MOCKTAIL DELIGHT FOR WEDDING

Next Article

Allure’s Weekly Fablist: Sporty Mesh, Low Slung ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • Allure MagazineEventFashion & StyleNews

    #HLFDW2017: Fashion week attendees share their Celebrity Style Icons

    October 30, 2017
    By allure1
  • NewsWeddings

    Irish bride-to-be wears her wedding dress to fiance’s funeral after he was killed hours before wedding

    August 26, 2021
    By Ashimedua
  • Allure MagazineEventVideos

    Lagos Grand Premiere Of Isoken

    June 17, 2017
    By allure1
  • winners-davidson-and-omoh
    Allure MagazineEvent

    Davidson Obennebo and Omoh Momoh win Elite Model Look 2016 Nigeria

    October 3, 2016
    By allure1
  • Allure Woman

    Nuhu Ribadu’s daughter, Fatima, apologises for wedding dress

    October 6, 2020
    By Temitope
  • Allure MagazineFashion & StyleNews

    The Assembly launches creative mentorship scheme to bridge the fashion gap

    December 14, 2017
    By allure1
0

  • Allure Woman

    TY Bello shares late Ibidun Ighodalo’s last message with her

  • Bridal StyleCelebrationEventsWeddings

    Rita Dominic Dazzles In Her Traditional Wedding Dress (Photos)

  • Allure MagazineNews

    Stop your childish behaviour- Veteran musician, Daddy Showkey calls out Blackface

  • 5312
    Followers
  • 12744
    Likes

Timeline

  • March 28, 2023

    Actress Kehinde Bankole, twin sister celebrates birthday in style

  • March 27, 2023

    BBNaija star, Phyna visits Yahaya Bello, wife

  • March 26, 2023

    Red Carpet Rules

  • March 26, 2023

    REVIVING YOUR SEX LIFE @ LACK OF CASH PACT

  • March 26, 2023

    TIPS ON USING FAUX PLANTS IN YOUR INTERIOR

Categories

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Sign up to receive email updates and to hear what's going on with our magazine!

  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Actress Kehinde Bankole, twin sister celebrates birthday in style

    By Temitope
    March 28, 2023
  • BBNaija star, Phyna visits Yahaya Bello, wife

    BBNaija star, Phyna visits Yahaya Bello, wife

    By joy onuorah
    March 27, 2023
  • Red Carpet Rules

    By RITA
    March 26, 2023
  • REVIVING YOUR SEX LIFE @ LACK OF CASH PACT

    By RITA
    March 26, 2023
  • Chioma Jesus, Sammie Okposo, Midnight Crew set for #THUGGLA2018

    By RITA
    April 24, 2018
  • American rapper, Kendrick Lamar wins Pulitzer prize for 2017 ‘Damn’ album

    By RITA
    April 17, 2018
  • Afrobeat singer, Seun Kuti drops new album titled ‘Black Times’ 

    By RITA
    April 23, 2018
  • Actor, Yul Edochie declares intention to run for presidency

    By RITA
    April 23, 2018

Entertainment

  • March 24, 2023

    I make 40k$ from YouTube monthly – Broda Shaggi

  • March 21, 2023

    ‘Teni made people criticize me on social media’ – Monalisa Stephen

  • March 21, 2023

    Singer Davido returns to social media, announces date for new album

  • March 21, 2023

    ‘Never give up’ – Yul Edochie writes open letter to Funke Akindele after election loss 

  • March 16, 2023

    Burnaboy to perform at Champions League final in Istanbul

Follow us