Cut from the same cloth

What would you do if your clients described your dress as "too beautiful" - so beautiful that they wouldn't know where to wear it?

That statement is a major challenge for Pusdee Muntarbhorn, 47, a designer for the 50-year-old elite fashion house Yoswadee.

The brand, she explains, was established by her mother, Yoswadee Boon-Long, now 85, who made exquisite gowns for her socialite friends to attend balls at the city's best hotels.

Those balls have been replaced by more modern events, including fashion shows at department stores, and Pusdee is struggling to keep the brand alive.

A graduate in landscape architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and an alumnus of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Pusdee has no problem with design.

"I've been helping my mother since I was quite young," she smiles.

A talented designer, Pusdee also sold under her own brand Busadee for several years, but halted production in order to focus on Yoswadee. The boutique is located at the Promenade in Nai Lert Park.

The most important requirement in a Yoswadee dress is timeless elegance. Creating just one dress is quite time consuming due to the hand stitching, but the customer can be certain that no one else will be seen wearing anything similar.

Pusdee is delighted by the improvements in Thai fashion over the past three or fours years. "It's well designed and we are receiving a positive response from foreigners," she notes.

She recently decided to re-brand Yoswadee and brought her designs to the catwalk at the recent Bangkok fashion week.

The theme of the collection was based on French Empress Josephine's dresses of the 19th century, with dainty chemises placing emphasis on the breasts.

"It's timelessly romantic. I believe in Thai silk. But I wanted to make it more contemporary, so I added chiffon and lace."

Unfortunately, though, it was the use of these materials that made the dresses "too beautiful" to wear, a problem Pusdee is taking in her stride.

"I think the light and shadow created by the quality of Thai silk blend very smoothly with chiffon, but I am open to criticism. That's part of the challenge for re-branding," she says.

"We have to target younger people, though. I realise that people these days prefer wearing simple clothes. They are afraid of standing out too much.

"But I really hope they don't think only models can look beautiful in my dresses. Just try one on, that's all I ask."

Pusdee admits that it's not just the fashion house that she's inherited from her mother. Her love for beautiful dresses has also been passed down and she, in turn, hopes to pass that on to her children.

Family bonding is still an integral part of society, at least in Pusdee's views.

"It's very important for my children to be close to their grandparents."