The Dress 003: Labor

I'm a sucker for nostalgia. I can honestly say that I'm tearing up right now at the thought of wearing my mother's wedding gown for my big day. I'm also tickled that she said I can do anything I want to it.

My scanner is acting bloopy, otherwise I'd show you the sketch I have for Pettibonifying this dress, but here's a rough outline:

1. Detach tank straps and reshape bodice neckline to a wide scoop.

2. Remove alencon lace over bra area and cover with gathered silk.

3. Use alencon as flanges to shape bust line at outer seams and create cap sleeves.

4. Reshape skirt to a sheath.

5. Add alencon appliques to lower the waistline and obscure it.

I'm hoping to accomplish all that without ever removing the skirt from the bodice and keeping the zipper in tact. (insert incredulous "HA" here)

*****

What's in a name?

Monique Lhiullier. I can only imagine what popped into your head. There is a Monique Lhiuller silk ballgown at my favorite local thrift shop. On half price day, that puppy will be a whopping $95. It's covered in plastic, a floor sample castoff, pristine. All silk. And it fits me. I'm so tempted.

Do I love the dress? Not really. But it's a Monique.

I'm trying so hard not to be one of those girls.

I think I'm in Love

... with Claire Pettibone.
True story: They tell a newly engaged bride to tear out magazine pages. Keep a file of everything you like. I've been doing this with dresses for a while. Unbeknownst to me, over half of the dresses I kept filed in my Big Bridal Folder are from one designer: Claire Pettibone.

I always freak out when I sketch up a dress idea and then mysteriously find it in a designer's collection. Like this:




















Love love love these looks:





















I admit that I would secretly love to help support a family in China, rather than make the dress myself. Is that "Bad Sewist" ?




PS Blogger you are killing me with this spacing between paragraphs. ARG.