The Girlfriend Gown: First Final Fitting

Sis came over this morning to try on the final dress for the first time. There are some minor tweaks to be done: she needs more support in the bust area, and the underbust needs to be tightened. I put some bust cup inserts in to test them out and they will definitely help. Ignore the puckering and creases; the whole dress will be carefully pressed before delivery.

Here's the front view.

The neck edge will be trimmed in a sparkly band to match the sequined motifs. Also, the hem will be trimmed in a beaded trim that looks like picot edging.

The darned shoulder straps still keep slipping down, even after narrowing them. I'll be providing her a package of Res-Q Tape to help keep things in place; the deep neckline just doesn't help anchor the shoulders. The wrinkling in the front is due to the excess underbust width being pinned out in the back.

Side view:

It's really a lovely silhouette for Sis.

The back view:

I can see her right hip is a little higher than the left; there really isn't much I can do to camouflage it and she doesn't think it's an issue. The puckering at center back is due to the 2" pinned out. I can't adjust it at center back, though, so I'm going to take 1/2" out of each of the side and side back seams.

The skirt:

The six-gore skirt has six sheer godets set into the the seams. The muslin didn't have enough flare for Sis, so I increased the flare in each gore and now she's satisfied. Also, the beaded trim at the hem will give it some weight for extra twirling drama.

I was thinking of adding a lining to the skirt, but the godets are so sheer it might be distracting. However, I might just tack one in for the final fitting and she can decide whether she wants to keep it or not.

So, there's some unpicking to do, then the bulk of the work is hand-sewing the trim. She is wearing flats with the dress (she can't wear heels) so the length should be good.