Sada By Sarah: Custom Lingerie Review

I often rave about my love of Sarah Dawson’s work, so getting a custom piece made was at the top of my list of things to do. When I initially reached out and shared what I wanted I didn’t imagine the piece becoming what it became.

The concept of the piece came from Season 6 Episode 21 of Girlfriends. Joan is going to this A-list party and she wears this green halter neck dress that appears to be a suede material. I have always loved this dress. You could say it lives in my mind “rent free.” Sarah’s work also lives in my mind rent free, so when I decided I wanted the dress, but in the form of a body suit Sarah was the only person who came to mind that I knew would be able to do the piece justice.

I reached out to Sarah and shared what I was thinking. She required a $50.00 deposit to begin the process and within a week she followed up with sketches of the piece. She provided three different versions of the bodysuit. Each version varying slightly from the previous. I decided to go with option 3. It was the bodysuit I envisioned, but with a special touch,

We did our consultation for the piece virtually because I am based in Nashville and Sarah is in New York. The consultation was scheduled for 30 minutes, but we did not need that much time because I had most of my measurements. She requested to have the measurements of the center of my breast to my navel, as well as the measurement from the center of my nipple to the top of my shoulder. I didn’t ask why these measurements were necessary, but I would assume these measurements make sure the piece fits like a glove.

After providing the measurements and selecting a sketch, the next step was to pick the fabric for the piece. In the sketches, Sarah imagined the mesh pieces to be a nude color; however, we ultimately decided to make the mesh the same color, or as close as possible, to the velvet fabric. Unfortunately, I deleted the swatches prior to writing this post, but Sarah provided three color options for the fabric. There was a hunter green velvet, a lime green velvet, and an emerald green velvet, all with coordinating mesh. I opted for emerald because it’s my birthstone and favorite color.

In order for the piece to go into production, Sarah required a payment of $100.00 and the remaining balance to be paid at completion prior to shipping.

I received the piece sometime in April, so the entire process from sharing my idea to receiving the package took about two months. I do not believe this to be the normal turn around time. At the time there were personal factors on Sarah’s end that caused the process to take a little longer; however, she communicated this to me. Additionally, I did not need the piece for any particular event.

When I received the piece I was very pleased. It looked better than I even imagined when I initially started the process. Sarah took my idea and elevated it to something I don’t think I ever could have imagine. It fit perfectly. The velvet had a good amount of stretch, but there was also structure to the piece. I appreciate structure in lingerie because I have larger breast and prefer my bodysuits to have underwire for lifting. The structured bodice and stretchy halter detail provided exactly that.

In total I spent $266.00 on the piece, which in my opinion, is extremely reasonable for a custom piece. The pricing is very similar to the price of bodysuits listed on the Sarah’s site that are not custom, so the fact that the piece is custom fitted to me makes the additional money worth it.

I was eager to wear this look for a shoot, but I wanted to make sure it was perfect. I didn’t want to take the photos on my own, so I decided to hire a photographer to capture the piece to my liking. I got an idea for the creative direction for the shoot and hired Nita Reddick, a local iPhone photographer, to capture the vision I had come up with for the shoot. (Sidebar; if you are local to Nashville, I highly recommend working with Nita. She is amazing and extremely affordable.) Just as Sarah had done with the custom piece, Nita captured the piece exactly how I imagined it. I felt good and I looked good.

Overall, I really enjoyed the entire process and I have recently reached out for another custom piece. I know I have recommended shopping with Sarah before, but if you are looking for a custom piece for a special occasion Sada by Sarah would be my first recommendation. If you would like to see the process from Sarah’s perspective, you can view it here:

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