Boy, am I late in getting started on this project. How late? Well, the Smithson gala is on April 21. That's right; just over two weeks away. And I have no idea what I'm going to make.
This year's gala will be at the Museum of American Art and Portrait Gallery, which is actually not on the mall. It's in the old U.S. Patent Office building, The gala was held there once before, in 2007. I wore this red dress.
I had a few ideas about what kind of dress to make for the upcoming gala, thanks to some discussions with my ASG friends and the members of my PMB users group. The basic idea was a sleeveless sheath dress in a solid copper, with an overdress of some kind of beaded or sequined sheer fabric with long sleeves and a shawl collar.
I had no luck at all finding fabrics locally, so I decided to take a quick one-day trip to New York City to scour the fabric district. I brought along two friends from Maryland, and met up with two more from New York, and together we tackled the mission of finding just the right fabrics for this dress.
Here's what we came up with:
The base fabric is a charmeuse that is probably polyester but is so luscious it feels like silk. The embellished lace is a French Lace that really appealed to me, although I nearly gagged at paying so much for it (after some haggling, it was just over $50 per yard). But it was just perfect, so I had to get it! My friends all agreed, luckily.
So, now I have the fabrics... but I'm not convinced about the design. What do you think? I'd love to get some input from my readers as to what design would look good on my and showcase the fabrics. I have four yards of the charmeuse and three yards of the lace.
Help me, Sewing Readers! You're my only hope!
This year's gala will be at the Museum of American Art and Portrait Gallery, which is actually not on the mall. It's in the old U.S. Patent Office building, The gala was held there once before, in 2007. I wore this red dress.
I had a few ideas about what kind of dress to make for the upcoming gala, thanks to some discussions with my ASG friends and the members of my PMB users group. The basic idea was a sleeveless sheath dress in a solid copper, with an overdress of some kind of beaded or sequined sheer fabric with long sleeves and a shawl collar.
I had no luck at all finding fabrics locally, so I decided to take a quick one-day trip to New York City to scour the fabric district. I brought along two friends from Maryland, and met up with two more from New York, and together we tackled the mission of finding just the right fabrics for this dress.
Here's what we came up with:
So, now I have the fabrics... but I'm not convinced about the design. What do you think? I'd love to get some input from my readers as to what design would look good on my and showcase the fabrics. I have four yards of the charmeuse and three yards of the lace.
Help me, Sewing Readers! You're my only hope!
I once made a sheath dress using S&S 1511. It was slightly shaped, with a jewel neckline, back zipper, and just below my knees. The "neato" factor was the long sleeves I made with eyelash burnout sheer fabric, with a point at each wrist. Alas, I have no pictures of this dress, and it was "long enough" ago that it would not fit me now, even if I still had it.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful fabric and I like your idea of a simple sheath dress with lace overlay. I'm not sufficiently familiar with patterns to recommend any.
ReplyDeleteSomething this colorful and beautiful must have a simple pattern to allow the fabric to come alive. I think you're right on! wear it with pride its beautiful...Annie-
ReplyDeleteI'm using V2779 as we speak to create wedding outfit. I think it would also serve you well. Btw, I just love, love, love your fabric choice!
ReplyDeleteWhat gorgeous fabrics! No suggestions for a pattern but I like the direction you're going. The lace is magnificent.
ReplyDelete