A new dressy-wess! This is dress 109 from the
Burdastyle magazine issue 09/2008, part of the Pattern Pyramid spoils that I had my clutches on for One Glorious Week! I did manage to trace off a couple more of the treasures within (hehehe) before sending it off on its way to gladden the hearts of
new and eager seamsters….
Brocades and damasks rich in surface texture have been popping up on the runways; and exposed zips have been hot hot
hot for a few years now… so my new dress is fabulously current, ticking two
trend boxes in one neat little package.
Trendiness doesn’t usually power my wardrobe choices, I tend to do my
own thing…. but it does feel nice
to have something that is the dernier cri every so often, oui? Oh oui!
above: at left, glossy gold damask at Marchesa; at right; Balmain damask jacket and shirt, heavily textured Azzedine Alaia skirt. both pictures from
Vogue Australia magazine
The damask from Fabulous Fabrics was a gift to me from Sam, for last
Christmas. The delicate lace-like figuring
against a rather divine background of pale Wedgwood blue whispers “luxury” to
me; bringing to my mind the type of expensive upholstery that would fit right
into a chic Parisian salon. I
think it contrasts beautifully against the slightly industrial feel of the heavy brass zips that I used for the pockets and the front opening. Shimmering luxury and tarnished toughness: together in one dress. I love the clash.
The dress is completely lined with coffee-coloured
polyacetate lining also from Fabulous Fabrics, and I bought the heavy-duty brass zips in Spotlight, of lengths reasonably
close enough to those stipulated in the pattern. Initially I was disappointed I could not find zips with pale blue tape
to match the colour of the fabric more closely, but in Perth you take what you
can get, haberdashery wise. I
counted myself super lucky to find four matching ones! And I came to like the white; how it holds its own; clean
and fresh against the delicacy of the blue and the gleam of the brass.
The three pocket zips are all jeans zips, and a touch
longer than called for in the pattern, dictating that I cut my pockets all a bit wider. That long centre-front, open-ended zip is 10cm short, but I opted to not hem my dress correspondingly 10cm
shorter, ahem! I hemmed the skirt
to my tastes, longer than the zip. I’m OK with that!
I left off the belt loops, so I can choose to wear it with or without a belt, whichever I so desire 🙂 I like it equally both ways.
The three pockets are all perfectly functional, but
the zip
teeth on those hip pockets are on the scratchy side against my tender skin. And the breast
pocket would look strange with anything bulkier than a credit card or maybe a
single slender hanky inside. That
one is pretty much purely decorative, although I have completed it to be a
perfect self-contained little pocket.
I cannot bear fake details in clothes, like zips that go nowhere and pockets with no pocket bags that are sewn shut. Loathe that.
I liked the instruction to topstitch closely along each side of each seam, and followed it. A subtle detail, and adds a bit of extra something…
The fabric is gorgeous, but I found
during construction it is the sort that finds snags on fingernails that you
could have sworn were perfectly smooth!
:S so I will just have to wear and
wear and wear my dress and thoroughly enjoy it for as long as I can!
Later edit: I added a full-length zip placket to the centre opening… those zip teeth are sharp against the tender tummy skin!
Details:
Dress; Burdastyle magazine 09/2008, dress 109, in a pale
Wedgewood-blue damask
Belt; Country Road, from yonks ago
Shoes; akiel, from an op shop
Pattern
Description:
Fully
lined, sheath dress with high stand-up collar, princess seamed front with a
centre front opening by full-length, exposed, open-ended zip, inseam hip pockets
and single slanted breast pocket all with exposed zip closure.
Pattern
Sizing:
European
sizes 34-42; I made the size 38
Did
it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you had finished
sewing it?
Yes.
Were
the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, in
my opinion the instructions are absolutely excellent!
What
did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
The pattern as is … there was barely any shaping, and when I tried on the basted dress and looked at my reflection in the mirror the words “Easter Egg” popped inexorably into my mind. I looked like an egg! Not the image I really wanted to evoke, so I made alterations so the dress skimmed closely to my figure. I’m very happy with the shape of the dress now, though 🙂
I really love the look of that double topstitching on either side of the seams.
The
instructions on lining the dress are really excellent; an elegant and tidy
solution to lining a dress that I am sure I will refer to for other lined
dresses in the future.
Fabric
Used:
Damask
Pattern
alterations or any design changes you made:
There
was re-fitting aplenty necessary to transform it from a cocoon to a shapely dress …
The instructions direct you to topstitch closely to either side of the seamlines; I was glad I delayed this stitching until after basting all the seams up to check the fit, and I recommend to anyone else to do the same!
I did
not transfer my fitting alterations to the lining pieces. Since it is quite blousy on me, there is a bit of extra
wearing ease in there, always a good idea in a lining.
A
minor consideration, but one you have to take into account before cutting the
pocket pieces: since the zips are fully exposed, the length of the zips you buy
strictly dictates the size of the pocket openings. There were only a few limited zip lengths available to me,
so I cut the pocket pieces in sizes to exactly fit the zips I bought.
I
made the belt carriers, but ultimately left them off. I thought they made the dress look tacky with no belt, and I
wanted the option of wearing it beltless.
I added a full-length zip placket in underneath the central opening zip… (
here) my industrial strength brass zip looked awesome but those teeth are sharp against the tummy skin! Ouch!
Would
you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I
think I will sew this again. I
know I always say this and then I pounce joyfully onto the next new-and-shiny
pattern to cross my path 🙂 but I do think this will have an encore. The pattern has classic clean lines and I think has the
capability to change its personality depending on the fabric chosen. I do recommend this on-trend little
number, if lengthened a tad it would make a lovely smart little dress for the
office. You just have to locate a
long enough front zip!
Conclusion:
Well,
now that it fits me, I just love it! the high collar, the simple, sleeveless, streamlined silhouette.
The exposed zips are very on-trend and the rich damask fabric I chose
ticks off another trend I have noticed cropping up in high-end designers this
season…
