I was chuffed when Robyn suggested this dress would be a good candidate for a mix-up and match-up; thank you Robyn! And you were so right, yes, indeedy, this is an excellently versatile dress…
It is self-drafted and I was inspired by a Metalicus dress, pretty much my favourite RTW label. Everything in their range of thin stretch garments layers together and goes together so beautifully; so it is all very easy to wear. When I made my dress (dressmaking details here); I envisioned that I would be able to layer it up and down and all different ways, to go with a lot of things already in my wardrobe. These non-colours are good for any time of the year and any season… also being very light and flowy means the dress has no “structure” itself, making it very easy to throw over and under other things, it can adapt to different functions and not just be worn solely as a stand-alone dress.
And stripes are so hot right now! (thank you Zoolander for that awesome quote)
So here are just a few of the “ways” I came up with after a bit of a play session in my wardrobe…
First up, well (obviously) worn as a dress. I made it specifically the perfect length to go over this white petticoat, so this is the way I have worn it mostly so far 🙂 But at right; it can also work as a petticoat itself, worn under a shorter open dress.
It doubles as a tank top as well as a petticoat, when worn under a big skirt. Actually I wore this outfit last week, and it turned out to be a good idea… this skirt is very pouffy already, but I would love it to be pouffier still! and having a full-skirted petticoat on underneath gave the whole thing a welcome extra ounce of pouffiness. I liked that! And at right, put a light Tshirt and optional cardi over the top, and the dress is a skirt…
At left; the dress is a pinafore when worn with a Tshirt underneath. And at right; the subdued colours are a natural choice for winter too, so here is all layered up and ready for winter; with long johns, tights, a little jacket, gloves and a scarf.
What am I wearing today? well today has a definite and very welcome autumnal air to it, so I am wearing the pinny version just above with the raspberry half-sleeved tshirt underneath and my purple-y raspberry scarf… but one thing I learnt even in this short play-about with this dress is that I have so many more options and I’m really looking forward to wearing this dress a bunch this autumn and winter… What do you think? how would you wear this dress?
I am very impressed…as each one of these stylings is so very different. I remember a year or so ago hearing about a blog where a woman wore the same black dress every day for a year and styled it in 365 ways. I think this dress would be a good candidate for that.
Very inspiring! I really have to learn how to layer my clothes more and even sew clothes that work well as layers. It's something I'm not good at. You on the other hand are a pro. 🙂
What a versatile dress this turned out to be. I love the way it looks so different in each styling. I don't think about layering when choosing styles to sew – perhaps I should, it would make for a more wearable wardrobe.
That's amazing! How about with a belt and black boots?
I love your "6 different ways" posts as they are very inspiring. My matching abilities are 0.
Very inspiring!
I love these posts! You are so creative and have such an eye for detail. Thanks for the inspiration:-)
Awesome – each look is quite distinct!
I love it with the petticoat underneath! Could you please email me your address and i will post the Burda magazine to you.
alexandramason1510(@)yahoo(.)co(.)uk
Hi,
Your pictures are just gorgeous. I'm trying to get in touch to ask permission to use one of them in a book I'm doing research for.
Could you email me at hello@retrochick.co.uk
The deadline is 30th April, so it'd be great to hear from you soon!
Gemma x
Great post! Love the dress- indeed so versatile, and it suits you so much EVERY TIME! Also loving that front knot dress (burda3/12)- works so well in a thinner fabric- and what a great idea to wear it on top of another dress! Class!!!
Yes! I knew it'd be great – thanks for putting it together. They're all great looks but I think one of my favourites is the second picture, it plays so well with the other dress.
stripes do seem to be so versatile! My favorite is #1 but I like most of them. The best thing about these posts is that you really experiment with shapes and styles.so they are all different and unique. 🙂
Excellent styling! It looks so completely different.
Do you remember the last email you sent me, could you resend it? I wrote down the info you sent, deleted the email, and lost my notes. I have been hoping it would turn up and I could just look like a procrastinator and not a fool. Thank you for understanding. ellecsews at gmail dot com.
interesting…may be pack this dress for a holiday, so that you can pack light!
You keep amazing me :). You make beautilful dresses, you knit and know you've written on my blog – in Danish !! Wauw, just love it.
Great dress you've made here, like it very much under the blus dress
What an amazing dress and how imaginative you've been in styling it. I could love wearing all combos except the white skirt. I don't think I have the height to pull it off. The rest are to die for.
I love your "6 different ways" posts as they are very inspiring. My matching abilities are 0. Very inspiring!
Love, love, love this dress. The stripes are so flattering. I'm so impressed that you drafted it yourself!