The Little Black Dress

Every girl needs a little black dress, right? Isn't that what every fashion magazine tells you?

Well, this is mine! Simple dress but very chic.

 

I have been looking for a black dress that I could wear on a daily basis, one that I could wear at work as well as at a party. I remember reading a post on Gertie's blog about the same topic. She was saying that the typical dress you visualize when you thing LBD is a sleek and usually thight dress. Well, that kind is dress is not very comfortable for me and I feel better in a full skirt. There was one dress I kept thinking about from the tv show Glee. Worn by the character of Rachel Berry (so irritating but with the best dresses ever):

My dress is not very close but that was one of my inspirations. I think every outfit of Rachel is an inspiration, this is crazy how cute and polish her dresses always look. Sorry, I digress. Back to the dress.

I found this fabric, which is a black cotton piqué with a flower pattern embroided and I knew it would make something nice. The pattern is very subtil, but it gives a little extra something to the dress. Fom up close, it almost looks like lace.

The pattern I used is Retro Butterick 6582, a reproduction from a 1960 pattern. I wanted to make version A at the beginning, with a pencil skirt. But I knew I would wear the ful skirt version a lot more often. So view C it was. 

As I am getting used to these reproduction patterns, I cutted directly size 6 based on the finished garment measurements and I was happily surprised to discover that it fitted perfectly. It's a good thing as I was too lazy to make a muslin.

 

I really like the simple shape of the dress and the subtle gathering at the shoulders. The crossed neckline is very elegant, as the V-shaped back. I added some in seams pockets for more practicality and kept it unlined as indicated by the pattern. There is facing on the front and back necklines, and the seams are bound with self-made bias tape for a nice finish.

I know I am going to make good use of this dress. As the magazines say, it's a wardrobe staple (at least I think that's what they said in the last one I bought). I feel very stylish now with my LBD!

Week 4 MMM12

Well, I tought this was to be the last week of Me Made May but it seems May is a very long month.

This week, I found it more difficult to wear Me Made items as I have already worn everything at least once. And as my Me Made wardrobe is composed essentialy of dresses, it's not so easy to accesorize in order to change the general look of the dress. But I managed to wear my 4 garments during the week.

On Tuesday, I wore my winter dress from Butterick vintage. As you can see on the picture, it was very windy, so the wool-cotton fabric was more than welcome, especially during the evening.

On Friday, after three days without Me Made, I decided to wear again this flower dress. 

 

Saturday, to go to the market and visit friends in Valencia. It was very hot outside and this dress is quite heavy, not the best combination. But the colours are so pretty I had to wear it.

 And finally, Sunday. I finished the dress this morning and wore it to go eat paella with family. I am planning to write something about the dress as it's a very nice one.

I hope everybody had a nice week end.

Week 3 MMM12

There it is, already week 3 of the Me Made May challenge. And it's official, I don't have anything left for the last week, you can expect some repeats next week.

But the challenge is to motivate yourself to wear what you've made, and it has allowed me to rediscover some things I made.

Without further ado, the summary of my outfits for week three:

On Monday, the striped dress was perfect as the weather has been very warm during the last couple of weeks.

I wore one of my few separates on Tuesday, a blouse from Burda magazine, white with dark blue polka dots.

A circle skirt on Wednesday. And I am not sure if it's the position or if the hem is really so wrong.

That's the first repeat on Thursday, so to compensate, I wore a "cardigan" I knitted over the winter. I haven't written anything about the knitting I have done (a cardi, a sweater and a headband) but I am planning to make a post on all of them. Better late than never!

And finally, yesterday I wore the first dress I made since I own my own sewing machine. White cotton with navy stars. The back is cut very low, which I really like.

I am now working on a Burda pattern, a reproduction of a 1961 pattern, this one also with a low cut back. I am nearly finished, I only need to go to the notion store and buy a grey invisible zipper. I am hoping to post the result during the week.

Have a nice Sunday!

Berlingot

Another one down! I just finished my new dress for the Colette Palette challenge on the morning and I decided to go to the park and take some pictures.

I bought the fabric during sales in January and I've been saving it for a special pattern with chevrons. I found Vogue 8789, a reproduction of a 1957 original. Version A's bodice is cut on the bias making it perfect for stripes.

The pattern is very easy to make, the bodice is composed of  four main pieces and the skirt is just a gathered rectangle. My only complaint would be that the pattern runs very large. According to the enveloppe I should have made a 12. I knew that with the normal amount of ease, a size 10 would be better. But I should have cut a size 8 as I had to take in the seams after the first try.

Other than that, the dress is a breeze to sew. And to wear thanks to the fabric. It's a meduim light cotton I bought it in the decoration section of the fabric shop, so my guess is that I might meet its twin hanging around a window. How Scarlett O'Hara of me! I just couldn't resist the colourful stripes. Perfect for the Palette challenge!

Some detail photo of the bodice chevron. The stripes match perfectly, apart from the darts of course. The bodice is still a little bit large, which might come in handy when I have a big lunch. And with the belt, it's not so bad. But if I decide to make version B, I'll be sure to make the smaller size.

And last details: there are in-seams pockets (invisible with some much volume) and it's has some twirling in it! For me, the most important quality for a dress!

As for the name of the dress, Berlingot, that's the name of a french type of candy it reminded me of:

Week 2 MMM12

This is week 2 of the Me Made May challenge and I have almost worn everything I've made. I will need lots of imagination for the two following weeks.

My major problem is that I make lots of dresses but very few separates so I can't make different combination so easily. Ar least I know what to do very soon: two or three tops would come in handy.

Enough bla-bla, here is what I wore this week:

On Monday, I wore my Sewaholic Crescent skirt. Sorry for the wet hair look.

On Tuesday, another pattern from Sewaholic: the lonsdale dress. This is one of my favourite summer dress, perfect for every occasion.

I don't even know why I bothered wearing the jacket as the weather is so warm now. But on Friday  morning, it was a little bit windy, so my Chanel inspired jacket was keeping me protected.

I finally fixed the zipper of the Mad Men challenge. So on Saturday, I decided to wear it with my new matching sandals. I should make a zoom as the stripes are like a sewing meter. So appropriate!

Aren't they fun?

And finally, today I am wearing my new dress for the Spring/Summer Palette Challenge. Two challenges at the same time, I like that!

Week 1 MMM12

First week is done and the results are here. This is what I wore during last week, five different outfits, actually one more that what I first planned.

 On Tuesday May 1st, I wore a vintage inspired dress I drafted in the summer. It doesn't show this the busy print, but it buttons on the front.

 On Wednesday, I wore my green dress to work. This one is made from Butterick 5603.

Other working day. Thursday, I wore Vogue 8766. With the warm weather we are having right now, I don't need to wear tights or even a jacket. So nice!

 

On Saturday, we went to a friend's wedding. I wore the dress I made for the occasion, Vogue 1174 by designer Cynthia Steffe. Contrary to my belief, the dress was actually very easy to wear. I appreciated the boning and foundation, it was a nice support while dancing!

Sunday, after the wedding and little sleep, we headed to celebrate Mother's day. I wore a dress I made last summer for my cousin's wedding. I wore it quite a lot during the summer and I know I will wear it even more this summer.

Week 2 has already started, I will post pictures during the week-end and hopefully, I'll do some actual sewing to complete the Palette Challenge.

Have great week!

Burda Member project of the week!

WOW! I mean WOW!

I am Burdastyle's member project of the week! I am so happy, surprised and proud at the same time. When I look at the Burdastyle webpage, I always admire the people featured in these categories and they chose me to be part of it. How cool is that?  Well, for me, it's a lot.

Oh my god, how much pressure now! What a melonhead I am. Please let me enjoy fame for the next days before the Burda team replace my photo with someone else's picture, then I promise, I'll let modesty kick in.

For the moment, I am happily and proudly the Member project of the week! Thank you all for visiting my blog, I am very grateful!

Now, on to the next project: multicolour stripes and vintage pattern.

Me Made May Challenge

Because when I am finishing a challenge, I like to start a new one!

So here it is, the Me Made May challenge. It encourages us, seamstresses and knitters, to wear selfmade colthes during a month. It might seem a little bit difficult but you actually don't have to wear only selfmade clothes. You can decide to incorporate at least one garment you made in your outfit, and this for 3 days a week. I know I am not ready to wear only the clothes I've sewn, I don't have enough for a whole month and they are not all work-friendly.

The pledge I am taking is the following:

I, Pauline, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '12. I endeavour to wear at least 4 garments Me-Made each week for the duration of May 2012'.

I will post a summarise of the outfits I wore at the end of each week. Have a great week and I am loking forward to see all participants' photos.