The first version of every dress we make is sewn in unbleached cotton, the fabric this house is named after. It costs little, it shows every line, and it can be cut, pinned and drawn on without anyone getting nervous.
At the first fitting you wear that toile. We pin it where it pulls, mark where the waist really is, and decide together how low the back can go. The lines on the cotton become the pattern for the real dress.
It is the slowest part of the process and the one we would never skip. A dress that fits in muslin fits in silk.