New year, new pics... and a dress you haven't seen!
My lovely and talented wedding photographer-turned-friend Becky of Studio 623 Photography took these for me. It was hard to decide between them for what to use for the blog, my Twitter, Pinterest, etc.
Which reminds me, I've got to share the story of the dress with you!
Inspired by some of the romantic/retro-ey lacy things I've seen around stores recently, I went to JoAnn looking for something pretty to make a dress out of, hopefully to wear for the new blog pics. I was totally discouraged by the scratchy laces and too thin or too thick weights they had, until I realized what I needed was a stretch lace.
You've gotta love lace-covered dresses in cute colors...
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| ModCloth |
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| Lace Affair |
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| Fossil |
I didn't find any of the perfect stretch lace at JoAnn, but they did have this super cute stretch net with polka dots woven in! Even better!
I used an old fave pattern for the bodice, Simplicity 2444, and scooped out the neckline. I also made the bodice about 2" shorter than the pattern called for, to make it a little more contemporary and funky.
The skirt is just gathered. What really makes the dress, I think, is the lining--it's a mostly cotton interlock from JoAnn, but it was more expensive than the fashion fabric! Like $12.99 a yard! I had a coupon, of course, so it was okay, but that's more than I usually spend on any fabric, much less lining. But it was so perfect.
I wanted to make it a pullover style, but when I tried that it was a little too loose. So I added a zipper in the center back, which was good because then when I added the brown velvet ribbon belt it was easy to just hand-stitch it in, not worrying about it not stretching over my head.
I love the little brown velvet bow at the waist! And the crocheted lace around the neck and sleeves. The velvet kind of makes it seasonal for winter, right? Haha. I look forward to wearing it to a party this winter or spring! Any recommendations for accessorizing?
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