Smithson 2013: Take me to the Zoo!

The dress is done! The purse is done! Bob's vest and tie are done! Now I just need to do my face and hair and we'll head down to the Gala at the National Zoo in just a few hours.
I am so, so happy with how this dress turned out. I had to use a few unconventional construction techniques, but everything worked well in the end. And it's so comfortable to wear!!
The nice thing is, I can wear it three different ways for three different looks. Here's the dress by itself.

 

I'm carrying the purse I covered to match the dress. Well, to pick up the red color in the dress. This is the same clutch purse I used two years ago; that time I covered it with blue fabric to match that year's Smithson Gown. This time around I also added a layer of batting under the cover to give the purse more of a rounded profile.

The back view:

 

Yes, it's a hair on the too-tight side. But my upper body fluctuates quite a bit, so getting the "perfect fit" can be dependent upon my salt intake. And we had Mexican for lunch yesterday, which probably puffed me up.

Now comes the fun part. I also needed a cover-up, and elected to make a bolero-style jacket. My PMB users' group was a tremendous help with determining what would look best on me. I drafted a bolero with a two-part sleeve. Then I thought, why not make it reversible? So the whole thing was constructed with a deep brown-black piping along the edge and cuffs. Here's the view with the print side out:

 

And, if I feel like it, I can turn the jacket the other way around and get a different look:

I like both looks, and may decide to switch off during the evening just to confuse people. Since the event is being held mostly outdoors at the Zoo, I'll probably be wearing it most of the time anyway.

I don't have any pictures of Bob in his getup yet, but he'll have a matching vest with the print fabric on the outside and the red for the lapels, and a bow tie that is also reversible depending upon how he ties it.

Now I'm going to put my feet up for a little bit to get ready for the festivities. As always, we are planning on taking lots of pictures of what other people wore and will post them tomorrow.