Since I mentioned my paint spattered ball gown yesterday, I thought I’d post pictures of it today, plus a picture of the dress that inspired me, to allay suspicions of “copying”. (And just to clear up any misunderstandings, I am not a professional designer by any stretch of the imagination; I’m strictly an amateur who only sews for myself, and definitely not for money but for the love of it!) And, new confession, I could have sworn my inspiration was a Dior gown, but I dug out my old Vogue magazine to check and it was actually a Dolce and Gabbana, so I’ll have to go back and correct yesterdays’ post…
So here is my gown….
There is a story behind the gown… the theme for the ball was “Happily Ever After”, so peoples’ costumes ran to fairy tales and nursery rhymes etc. I wanted to do something a bit different as usual… In our marriage we have renovated several houses, and I have myself to date painted the interiors of a total of three houses now, top to bottom, so am pretty sick of house painting… So for my “happily ever after” I’m dreaming of a world with the house finally painted and finished!! What looks like a cigarette holder in my hand is actually a paint-brush, continuing the theme…
I used Butterick 4657, but altered the length to be a full length gown, and eliminated the sleeves and substituted the thinnest black satin ribbon straps I could find. I laid out five metres of off-white satin on our lawn and literally spattered slightly thinned fabric paint (from Spotlight) directly onto the fabric and let it dry in the sun…then made the dress. The separate petticoat is multi-layered black bridal tulle with triangular inserts sewn in around the bottom to get the puffiness required.
I hope I get another opportunity to wear this gown, it was a hit on the night and we laughed at my “happily ever after” as it was so relevant in our lives at the time…!
Details:
Gown; Butterick 4657 with minor variations, paint spattered satin
Petticoat; black bridal tulle, own design
Gloves; Dents, from David Jones
Shoes; Nina, from David Jones
That is such a nice gown! The odd thing is though, a couple of years ago I saw a dress in the window of a very expensive (now out of business) store in town which had the same kind of colour-on-white paint splatter as yours. This being the kind of store that would have sold Dior etc. I assumed, from your post yesterday that that dress must have been Dior, and your inspiration. This is what I meant about doing the same thing, at the same time, without knowing it. The dress in the shop was a very simple day dress, by the way. Kneelength, no gathers.
Oh, my gosh! This is so wonderful. I just love, love, love it. You are so creative adding the splattered paint and the petticoat. I so want to steal your idea. Maybe I will one day. I'm filing this one away so I can remember it. This is the best yet.
Thanks for your great comment on my blog. Your comment was inspirational to me. I so often put off my dreaded tasks, but then I can't get them off of my mind; so I stress over them. I'm going to try to implement what you do and get them out of the way first. Thanks.
This is a fantastic idea! Love this dress!
What a quirky, interesting gown that is really elegant to boot!
I love this dress! So unique, and a fantastic shape and fit on you! I'm sure it was the talk of the ball!
I came over to your blog from wardrobe refashion, and am really enjoying reading your posts and seeing the amazing variety of fabulous stuff you create! Thanks for sharing it half a world away ….
That is awesome! The touch of black tulle at the bottom is perfect.
This is really cool, I want to do this paint splattering on fabric now! I'm actually making this dress pattern soon and it's nice to see how good it looks on you.
It just looks stunning. I am going to try paint splattering too.
Dad and I thought for one awful moment that you had started smoking!Phew the paint brush is much more you.
Totally unique. I have to share it with my daughter – an artistic type who sadly does not sew.
I love it, excellent work!
Wow! what a fantastic result with the paint splattering. You will definately be the talk of the ball. Love the tulle. As usual you have chosen perfect accessories. Oh do wear the gloves and take the paint brush to the ball.
What a fun dress! Your paint spatters worked out beautifully.
The paintbrush is absolutely brilliant.
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Truly beyond fabulous. Clever, strong, glamorous.
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