Let me tell you : toddling around Ogmore Castle in those heels is no laughing matter… well, it is if you’re watching me do it but that’s beside the point…
This was the last ever project to come from good old Viktoria the German sewing machine! This year at the Summer Ball I wanted to make sure I made my dress myself. I knew that I wanted it to be based from a vintage pattern, but I was pretty fussy on what I wanted. Every day I kept changing my mind! In the end, I settled on the Butterick reissue 4792:
But alas! Monetary difficulties struck! My last month in Germany was pretty tight on the cash front, so I turned to my stash for help… and most certainly didn’t have enough for the full skirt on the original. So I opted to add a different skirt from this vintage pattern (which I bought from the wonderful ZipZapKap)
There were a few hairy moments along the way where I thought that there was no way I was going to get this to work. Like, argh the bodice looks awful! And eek should I have gone for View no. 2? But in the end it came together.
The neckline on this dress is so awesome, I may have to co-opt it into some sort of blouse version for everyday wear. I also made a belt with a fun belt buckle found on Etsy!
The leopard print heels I wore were so epic that I just had to get a matching umbrella, which naturally was used due to the menacing Swansea rain clouds!
The first two photos are by the wonderful Martha!
I know I’ve said this already (on the Flickr group) but the dress is simply stunning! I agree that the neckline should be co-opted a million times over.
And as far as I’m concerned, your frankensteining of the bodice and skirt is brilliant and probably looks loads better than the original skirt would have. There’s something about that neckline that feels like a slim skirt to me
Wow—I love that color! The slim skirt is perfect with the top. I’ve had this pattern in my stash for ages and now I want to dig it out and just try making tops from the bodice pattern; It’s so chic and flattering.
Cute! I’ve made that pattern before myself. I love it with the slim skirt, too!
I can’t decide what I love best – your dress or the original! It really does look fantastic on you – colour, styling – tops!
[...] anything at all. Shamefully, I ended up wearing something store-bought to the Ball; a far cry from last year’s achievement of completing my vintage style dress in time to watch Florence and the Machine rock Singleton [...]
[...] a big fan of making things especially for big occasions; in the past I’ve made clothes for university balls, interviews and weddings. There’s something deliciously satisfying about wearing something [...]