Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Falling in love with a novelty print

This weekend, I'm going to be a bridesmaid in a wedding. So like any good bridesmaid who's making her own dress, I made a test version first!


It's Simplicity 8398 c. 1950. The fabric I used is not particularly retro, but it's one I had my eye on at Jo-Ann's for quite a while.


Of course, it just happened to be $14/yd. There are some things I'm willing to pay $14/yd for, but not a basic cotton no matter how pretty the print.


Luckily, I spied it in the red tag section for $7/yd and even though I think that's still high for clearance fabric, I had to have it.


And I did actually need some more dresses I could wear while shooting weddings, like I did this past Saturday. The modern print keeps the whole dress from screaming vintage too much.


It's really bad form to steal the limelight from the bride on her big day so I like to tone down my retro-ness for work purposes.


I am really glad that I did make a wearable muslin of this dress because I did make a few changes to my actual bridesmaid's dress including raising the waist .5".


I'm really starting to think that I am ever so slightly short waisted but I still love this dress and know it'll get loads of wear!


And I love even more that I got my bridesmaid's dress finished last week so no panic sewing! :D

11 comments:

  1. A beautiful print for sure, and I love that style of dress on you. I like that you tone down your vintage look to be appropriate to the occasion. I think that's something women used to take into consideration more often, especially at weddings. I've been to some weddings recently where even the mothers of the bride and groom seem to be trying to attract more attention than the bride herself. Thanks for sharing your lovely new dress!

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  2. That fabric is so wonderfully pretty! I would have been drawn to it like a moth to a flame, as well.

    ♥ Jessica

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  3. Very pretty! I love the fabric... I've been quite drawn to oversize floral prints myself this summer. I adore the little slit details on the shoulders, as well, it's quite a unique look.

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  4. So darling! The print is lovely and you always do such a fantastic job on your sewing project.

    xo,
    Em

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  5. Beautiful fabric and getting it on the clearance table makes it even better. The details on the dress is adorable. Great job.

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  6. So lovely! And I think the print is pretty retro, myself. :)

    xoxo
    -Janey

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  7. Love this! The fabric is gorgeous and I love the pattern you chose. I hope you plan to share your bridesmaid's dress with us also.

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  8. It's gorgeous!

    (And I've never known anyone steal the attention from the bride. Short of turning up in a foofy white meringue or cutting off a finger, I'm not sure it's possible. Everyone knows which two people they're there to see!)

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  9. This is amazing! The pattern is fabulous, and it could totally be retro-fied when you want it to be. I'm also loving the little slits/keyholes (correct term?) in the sleeves. It's such a fun detail!

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  10. I have a blouse out of this! http://www.pinterest.com/pin/47850814761426074/ It looks fab on a dress!

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