From baby showers to weddings, holiday parties to everyday celebrations—there’s something incredibly special about designing for your own sister.

When people think of Sarah Kolis, they often think of couture bridal gowns.

But if you’ve followed along for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed another familiar face wearing Sarah’s designs…

Her older sister, Colleen.

Over the years, Sarah has created a growing collection of custom dresses for Colleen—each one thoughtfully designed for a different season of life, celebration, or milestone. While every dress is beautiful on its own, together they tell a much bigger story: one of family, creativity, and dresses made to be treasured.

Designing for Someone You Know So Well

One of the greatest joys of couture design is creating something specifically for the woman who will wear it. When that woman happens to be your sister, the process becomes even more personal. I know Colleen’s personality. I know what she loves, and what she doesn’t love, what makes her tick and what brings her joy! Over the years I have learned just what silhouettes make her feel confident, the colors she naturally gravitates toward, and the little details that make a dress unmistakably “Colleen.”

I have always been Colleen’s general stylist as well. Since high school, I have always helped her pick out and buy her everyday clothes. Her first big girl job out of college involved countless shopping trips where I hand selected each piece of her new clothing and even made a photo collage to help her know what-goes-with-what. In the past several years, I have been SO busy with our other two sister’s weddings that I have not shopped for Colleen much, and the true colors of this mistake showed when I spotted her in a nursing bra in a bar on a bachelorette trip. It was accidental, she just said “it’s comfy!”. Hence, I must always and forever be her personal stylist.

With couture, rather than shopping from a rack and hoping something feels right, each design begins with the person herself. That’s the beauty of couture, and you can’t buy that in stores! By the way, if you’re looking for the perfect piece for any occasion, and just can’t seem to find it in stores, maybe couture is for you! Learn more!

A Dress for Every Occasion

Throughout the years, Colleen has worn Sarah Kolis designs to countless celebrations. In the past couple years, I made her dresses for:

• Baby showers
• Wedding weekends
• Family portraits
• Holiday gatherings
• Special events

Each dress is truly unique because each occasion deserves its own story. Some leading questions when creating a new dress are: Every design starts with questions like:

• How do you want to feel?
• What does the event call for?
• What details make you smile?
• What will you still love when you look back at these photos years from now?
• ….however sometimes I ask MYSELF these questions for her and come up with answers so she doesn’t have to overthink it. She will wear anything I tell her to without question!

Those answers become the blueprint for every couture piece!! For Colleen some staples are pockets (duh!), typically a shoulder or sleeved design, reasonable comfortability (she hates spanks!) and most practical length!!

A Growing Collection

Looking back at Colleen’s wardrobe is like flipping through a family scrapbook.

The gingham green bridal shower skirt

A fun, tea-length skirt perfect for attending a bridal shower! Circa April 2019!

The blue Maid of Honor dress

This dress is made of my all-time favorite fabric ever: a light blue and cream vintage floral brocade from the 1950s! She should feel honored to have worn my favorite fabric of all time. I still have a little bit left on the bolt!

She gave the ULTIMATE maid of honor speech in this dress. People still talk about it! Even a band member at the wedding came up to tell me how good her speech was. It was very Colleen-esque! It was funny, not serious, and truly iconic!

The Green and Purple dress for Angela’s Shower

Colleen is the family’s green enthusiast; she simply adores the color green! Isn’t this vintage floral fabric (that I discovered on Etsy) just perfect? It beautifully combines Colleen’s style with a touch of purple flair, creating a unique look that truly stands out. When she wore it, she looked absolutely stunning, and above all, she felt incredibly comfortable, which is the most important thing for Colleen!

Green Bridesmaid dress for Angela’s Wedding

Her gown is VERY Colleen, it is so her style! Another green look, of course, so I made sure she had the best of the best gorgeous soft sage green brocade. She likes a sleeve, but instead of doing her traditional cap sleeve, we opted for this unique wide strap to sit on the tips of her shoulders.

Pockets of course!

A Blue gingham number for Melissa’s Bridal Shower

Perfect for the springtime bridal shower, and a bit different from previous styles!! We could rinse and repeat this design in a variety of colors and patters, so cute!!

Vintage Pastel Florals for Melissa’s Baby Shower

A bit of a shake up to her standard dress style, and so fun!! This beautiful pastel vintage floral fabric fit the occasion perfectly, and the tea length was so chic! Of all the dresses I have made for her recently, this might be bridging the gap a little TOO close to more of a Sarah style dress. But, the baby shower was pink and girly, what do you expect?! Honestly I really do want one for myself.

So the question now is what will she wear next?!

Interested in your own couture gown? Whether bridal or something else, let’s dream it up together!! Learn more here!