American West summer plaid dress

American West summer plaid dress

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• 7.23.2010

I mentioned the other day that I was puzzling over a cute summer wardrobe for my upcoming family road trip from Oregon through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota.  The cowboy-themed Western look is now what this West Coast girl is used to, so I've been looking around for inspiration and thinking about my previous trips out there.
This dress was sort of a gamble, since I used a piece of totally late 70's or into the 80's lightweight textured cotton plaid that I got at Goodwill, I think $1.99 for the whole 3-4 yard piece.  It's totally dated, not sure if it's old or cool enough to be called vintage or retro!  But I looked around for inspiration and decided I could do a summery plaid sundress in a totally different style than the shirtdress this fabric may have been originally intended for...

From ModCloth:

Ruche:

Fred Flare:

Delia's:

So, I was looking for something a little more structure and almost 50's/60's Betty Draper summer frock flare.  I liked the blue and white Wizard of Oz-ey dress by Mod Cloth a lot, and looked at my pattern stash and found New Look 6557, with a modification similar to that.  I've had this pattern for YEARS, in fact I think it's the first pattern I ever bought to make for myself, and I've made it four times, I think?  It's super easy.  This was the pattern I learned to sew actual garments on!

So, I put together the gathered tube-top halter style, modified to end at the natural waist rather than dipping below, and gave it a retro gathered skirt.  I made the skirt pretty long, and added some vintage lace that I have had for a while--a long piece that has been torn and mended in a few places and looks like it came off a sheet or tablecloth many years ago.  I also put some on the top!

Like I said, I'm not 100% sure of the fabric, but I think the soft, warm colors and vintage-ey lace make a pretty, old-fashioned look, contrasting to the structured 50's look of the bodice, which hopefully will look nice against the Wyoming dessert. ;)