… and the colour of the year for 2017 is….!!
hehe, it’s kinda silly, but in early January I love looking up what the fashion Colour for the Year is going to be, even if I then forget about it and don’t add any of it to my wardrobe! This year it is Greenery, and serendipitous news, I had bought a length of this lovely summer weight wool pashmina fabric from Spotlight, in a colour that is well, not too far off. I love being inadvertently fashionable!
So I made a little dress. The wool is woven in a twill pattern, and is very light, practically sheer, so I lined fully with a springy yellowy-green polyacetate lining fabric. It was absolutely amazing to discover invisible zips in Spotlight, in exactly the right colour too. This is so rare, especially with more out-there colours like this one!
I used Vogue 1351, which I have previously made up once before, here. This time I followed the pattern to the letter and cut the skirts and bodice front on the bias like you’re supposed to. I let it hang for a few weeks for the bias to drop before hemming… why so long, do I hear you ask? well not for anything in mindfulness to the outcome of this dress, NO! but because like a ravenous wild beast my Zora Queen Comic Con costume has been demanding and devouring every scrap of my creativity to the exclusion of all else. AAAAAAAGH!!
Anyway! It’s finished now! This dress, I mean; not the costume. Although that is too, hip hip hooray. Slowly getting back to normal making. Well, normal for me, anyway 😉
It’s funny; the vibrant colour of this dress might make it seem kinda frivolous and not like a “basic” or a very core wardrobe staple, but it is a very plain dress really, and I actually think it’s going to be an extremely useful mix and match item in my wardrobe. The kind of thing that can either command attention in an outfit thanks to its colour, or also play nicely with other items in an outfit, thanks to its lack of detail. A useful little stayer. The lightweight wool is just the right warmth and breeziness for our current mild and just starting to get cooler autumn days, and I think I’m going to enjoy mixing it up in winter too, with black tights and boots too, and a dark leather jacket or coat. The bright green is going to look great with all my bright and colourful cardigans, and will also add a nice splash of colour to more neutrally neutrals too. I love it and am really excited about its possibilities!
Details
Dress; Vogue 1351, light green wool pashmina on a roll
Cardigan (below); my own design, based upon the Nettie by closet case.patterns, details here, paprika stretch
Shoes: sandals designed and made by me, details here
Location: Pt Walter beach, Attadale. I joined friends at the cafe there this morning for morning tea; it was pure delight!! I love these early autumn days!
The bottom layer is thin cork-covered, contact paper, cut to size, stuck on – more liquid nails, yo!! and then three layers of clear, enamel varnish to seal and strengthen.
My dear friend 
However.. modifications happened along the way. Of course they did. My dress has the same bones, but the original is actually a very boxy design, with quite a pronounced dropped shoulder. I’m sure it’s a lovely design for the right fabric; as in, something with plenty of natural “flop” that allows those shoulder seams to drop gracefully down over your upper arm.
Self-explanatory, really. #endblogpost 😉
Pattern; Vogue 1384. It’s a vintage pattern, hailing from 1984, sorry. Yeah, it’s annoying when people make things in vintage patterns that you can’t get a hold of anymore. But I’m sure this is not particularly aspirational actually, it’s a little weird in that 80’s way. That high, slightly floppy collar combined with a billowing pirate-y blousiness is giving me serious 
Pattern; Vogue 1351; bought aaaaaaaages ago. With the intention of making it up immediately, funnily enough! but more on that later…
Details:
Partly because of the colour. And partly because the designer is also French Navy. Truly!
So, recently I discovered 
The Orla is a super quick and fun little pattern which is exactly what I wanted to cleanse my palate, so to speak, after my mad Christmas making-fest… Featuring a gently fitted bodice, rather pert short sleeves, which I think I would be rather nice in elbow length too; a highish waistline, and with a gathered rectangle skirt. I think the low scooped neckline is really lovely, it’s my favourite thing about the pattern. I added 3cm in length to my skirt… just because I thought the gathered skirt gave it a rather young look and I’m.. well, you know. not. Hehe, to be honest I agonised over the length of this skirt, you don’t want to know for how long.. at least as long as it took to make the whole dress. I pinned and tried on, contemplated; re-pinned, re-tried on, re-contemplated… I finally settled upon keeping some extra length that I’d added while cutting out, but I’m still partially tossing up the idea of re-hemming it shorter again. Man, I am SOOOOOO indecisive sometimes, I drive myself batty… I think I’m going to be ok with this length… FOR NOW, she intones, dramatically. I may or may not change it up on a whim, whenever. But maybe not. Might do, though.
