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The Ultimate Commitment-Phobe Dress

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Dream dress of my life?

As a fashion commitment-phobe I jumped on the band wagon as soon as I saw Victoria Secret’s various convertible dresses. I got about 3.

And now convertible dresses fester on the internet. I won’t get into the debate of who came up with the idea first. But I’ve  just found a tutorial on making your own convertible dress…

How-to make the Infinity Convertible or Wrap/Twist Dress

…and a video tutorial for how to turn it into the various styles shown…

Apparently not…

To be honest, it’s good for photo shoots where you can hide a multiple of sins with clips and tapes and clever angle. In real life the dress is a bit of a failure. I never did manage to wear it different ways. All the twisting techniques makes you  feel like a sausage – it’s just too bulky even with the slinky material. And if you look at the video you’ll see that most styles will require that strategic double-sided tape if you don’t want to do a wardrobe malfunction (aka Janet Jackson).

So, I’m considering butchering my VS convertible dresses and commit them to one style each. Sometimes one good one is worth a hundred different mediocre ones! I thought I’d never said that.

It must be Karma…dress

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Plan B has veered off course as well. I’m feeling very run down and stressed out at work. So I’ve given myself permission to take the tortoise route to the Draft Along.

In the meanwhile, to keep you entertained, may I present…

my Karma Gingham Dress?

Karma because it keeps on coming back. I’m on version 3 now. Version 1 was about 2 decades ago. (I can’t believe I’m that old now!) I think I’ll probably still be remaking and revising this pattern until I’m pruny.

Today I’ll just showcase the dress, version 1 & 3. (I have no photos of version 2. It was during my Lost Years.) Please indulge me my pony show: If I keep on making this same dress, you know it must be LOVE…Then again, it can simply be Bad Fitting Skill karma.

Here’s the inspiration:

Another photo from NY Times Sunday fashion magazine
from long long time ago, in a land far far away.

Update: I stand corrected. It was actually a Frency magazine. Might have been Maire Claire bis. And probably S/S 87 or 88. The original dress is by Michel Klein.
Iconic isn’t it?

Version 1…

This must have been early 90’s. Youth and a pattern size 8 made it easier to carry off the shorter bodice and shorter hem without looking too street-walkerish.

About 13 years later, I attempted v2 with the same pattern, but in purple gingham. Maybe it’s the color, maybe it’s my body going south, something just wasn’t right. I felt stocky and exposed wearing v2.

So when it came to v3 I made some changes to the pattern and went back to good old B&W.

Version 3…



It’s as close as I’m going to get to the original inspiration without turning caucasian and taking up smoking and boat rowing. OK, maybe it’s more Bonnie & Clyde than Parisian Chic.

Anyway, I’m generally happy with the modified silhouette. The lowered waistline I think makes the waist look less thick. There isn’t a horizontal line  stretching the waist width-wise, which would have been further aggravated by puffy gathering. Instead this width emphasis is shifted down to my anemic hip, giving me more of a hour-glass shape than I normally have. The lowered hem also help lengthens the silhouette. Overall, more lady-like and befitting a woman of my age.

The Mug Shots

The fit still needs a bit of tweaking. Especially the back skirt silhouette. It makes my bum look droopy (which I’m sure it is, but there’s no need to shout about it).

It was even more twee originally when I had the skirt seams running straight from hip downward. It was bell-shaped and not slimming, I’ll tell you that. I tried narrowing the skirt below the bum. It now looks alright from the front. But the back is obviously still not  right. And now it’s also strangely constricting when I sit down despite the extra ease of the gathering.

So you can be sure there will be Karma Gingham Dress: The Next Generation. And when I finally get the fit right, I’ll be in Nirvana. That is if my shape doesn’t change so much that no amount of fitting will make the dress flattering anymore.

Stayed tuned for next installment: The Innards & The Oops.

I might even try to throw in some simple instructions on how you can draft your own version, that is if you already have a sloper and aren’t afraid of pencil, rulers, scissors, and a bit of cellotape.

Maybe one day I’ll figure out how to draft pattern on the computer and create downloadable patterns to save you the pattern-drafting hassle!

Draft Along Update: 2 steps back & 1 forward

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I’ve had to go to Plan B for the Draft Along as well.

There must be something in the stars. A lot of us seem to be a bit behind schedule. I still haven’t finished Sloper Plan B. So little chance of finishing the patterns drafting for my modestly ambitious design by the weekend. Sewing was originally supposed to start this weekend I think.

What’s also not helping is that I’m finding my stash yardages generally to be on the mean side. (I curse my honorary Scottish ancestors.) I thought 5-1/2 yards would be over generous for a dress and a summer coat. It’s now looking like a very tight squeeze. So I need to plan more carefully. Which means having patterns for both dress and coat ready so I can figure out a more efficient layout and hopefully have enough fabric for both. Fat chance of that happening by Saturday.

So Plan A to the back burner. Step forward Plan B.

The inspiration is this Michael Kors dress from his Spring Summer 2011 collection, featured in American Vogue:

I love the moss-green and tan colour combination. The original is a lace dress. My fabric is raw silk. But it does have both colors and texture that from a distance sort of give the same impression. I’m also toying with the idea of scalloping the hem to mimic the original’s lace hem. (I wish I have an embroidery machine for fancier edging.)

The dress is rather simple. I’m feeling the itch to throw in some complicated details. It just doesn’t seem worthwhile making something that you can easily buy off the rack.

But it’s a bad habit. The pieces that I wear the most are in fact mostly plain pieces that play nice with other pieces. I must remind myself that getting the right fit and combination of color – fabric – texture – silhouette is more than enough to justify making my own clothing.

Speaking of naughty habits, I am thinking of cheating and doing this as a 2-piece dress. Just so that I can get more moss green-caramel outfits out of it. Maybe throw in a dash of orange or red occasionally.

So here’s the compromise:

Plain front and a bit of added interest in the back.

Front skirt will be A-line (instead of pencil skirt in Plan A design). Back is still a variation of my Plan A design with extra pleats in CB. But the skirt will be waist down rather than with high-waisted.

The top – assuming I have enough fabric – will have underbust seam details. I can’t decide on the back neckline though. Option 1 is to have a mock cowl neck – basically a bit of extra fabric draped and attached to the back neckline. Option 2 is an asymmetric collar a bit like Vogue 8408.

Stay tuned to find out which I end up making!

Paradigms of retro glamour

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Hurray! The Crumb Catcher Cape is finished! But it’s getting too dark to take pictures for a Show N Tell. So you’ll have to wait.

Next up: all hands on deck with Petit Main Sauvage’s Retro-Dress Draft-Along. Speaking of retro dresses, I just have to share this luscious blog post on Sew Weekly blog which I found via Oonaballon’s ” I lika de lace” blog post:

So old worldly elegant. Yeah, if I were there I’d be staring and pointing. And if I were a British builder I’d be wolf-whistling. Way to go ladies! One for the Inspiration Board.

Detour to a Retro Draft Along

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Furry cape has stalled. I’ve been too distracted by Petit Main Sauvage’s Retro-Dress Draft-Along to finish off the cape.

Indecisions Indecisions Indecisions!

So the usual then…I’ve always wanted to make some retro garbs. I’ve pined my way through Wade Laboissonniere’s Blueprints of Fashion: Home Sewing Patterns of the 1950s countless times. I even have a few issues of 1950’s Vogue and Bazaar. But when it comes to the crunch, I couldn’t decide.

As Petit Main Sauvage said, we don’t have 1950’s figures anymore. And I have one too many No-Breathing sewing projects as it is. So the classic fitted bodice and puffy skirt is out of the question.

Plum Skyes in Pink DressI was a bit tempted by this take modelled by Plum Skyes in an old issue of American Vogue.

The lowered waist works much better on modern figures I think. It’s easier to see the waist and it elongates the torso so that it’s not so squat & square.

But most puffy skirt dresses takes yards and yards of fabrics. And most in my stash are only 2-3 yards each.

So I needed a different strategy than the others, who started by analyzing their figures and what silhouettes suit them. I started with a fabric, one that I have yards and yards of.  I ended up with this:

Prime candidate draft along

I was going to make an A-line summer coat with CF bust darts like a coat I saw in a Notting Hill boutique ages ago. I’m still hoping there’ll be enough left over for this.

The other consideration was that I needed a simpler design. Simpler than ones I’d usually be attempting. Otherwise I’d fall behind the Draft-Along schedule. But a plain fabric with a plain design is just…Yawn. So an embellished fabric like this would be just the ticket. It’s too fussy for intricate details. It’s my way of tying my hands, or in this case my imagination, so I don’t go OTT.

OMG, a decision finally!

Christian Dior Winter 1955-56In the end, my inspiration was this Christian Dior dress from Winter 1955-56, published in L’Officiel No 81, 1000 Models: Dior 60 Years of Creation.

I like the slimline shape coupled with the extravagance of the back sashes, the slight off the shoulder v-neckline alluding to a womanly hour-glass shape. But it probably requires a fabric with a bit more drape than my embroidered silk. And the neckline is perhaps a bit too risqué for every day wear.

Retro Dress Draft-Along DesignSo here’s my adaptation:

Bodice with raised / below bust seam fitted through high hip. Cap sleeves of some sort. Pencil skirt in the front and pleated skirt in the center back to mimic a overskirt. (Nope, a leopard doesn’t change its spots. Commit to one style – are you kidding?)

I’m still not sure about the sleeves and top back. And the skirt design is a bit of a risk. But nothing ventured nothing gained, right? (She says nervously.) The drawing by the way, was done on a custom croquis.

Custom Croquis Instruction

Basically you take photos of yourself in close-fitting garment like swimwear, leotard, or underwear. Do front, side, & back. Use a tripod if necessary. Then print out & trace out the outlines to use as your croquis / design dummy. Or if you have Photoshop or Gimp, try this YouTube tutorial on turning photo into a drawing. Then you can play paper doll with yourself & your own designs! Simple.

I’ll leave you with this image of Big Bertha caught in the act:
Retro Fabrics 2
Big Bertha getting decadant & vain: Pilfering another piece of silk I was considering as an accent fabric, and my furry pillbox hat-to-be on her neck. It’s faux fur on one side and faux suede on the other. I’m too scared to sew into it as any mistake would be fatal – the faux suede once pierced is pierced forever. But winter is coming so one day soon I will take the  plunge. Especially as faux fur stole seems to be all the rage in the shops right now.