I searched everywhere for an Easter outfit this year and came up totally empty. I eventually bought a new top and some shoes and called it good. I wish I had known I was going to have such bad luck or I would have saved this dress for the special day.
As part of my ongoing efforts to fight the frump I’ve been itching to sew more clothes for myself. I end up needing to alter almost all of my clothes anyhow, I might as well just start from scratch. And my favorite thing to sew is dresses and skirts. I love dressing really feminine, and they’re super easy to make. Plus dresses might just be the one time it’s cheaper to sew your own clothes. In all my fruitless Easter shopping, even at Marshall’s and TJ Maxx, the dresses weren’t going for less than $50. I totally made this dress for less than that.
If I was a better model you’d see that this dress is totally a Joan from Mad Men silhouette. I’ve made this pattern twice so far and I’m sure it will crop back up in my future. It’s Simplicity 9481, one of those patterns that allows for a ton of adaptation to make it really fit your figure.
The fabric is just a plain pale yellow cotton, lined with a cream polyester to offer a little more coverage. I wanted to use the simplicity of the fabric as an opportunity for some surface embroidery, but I think it needs a little more. It looks pretty cool up close, but far away you can’t see much of anything. Then again, I might just leave it alone because it makes this dress perfect for accessorizing. I think I could totally wear this dress out and about with a little jacket and some wedges.
It's hot! I love the fabric and the necklace looks fantastic with it!