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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

A new dress for a very hot late summer wedding



Wedding attire, hot weather, the end of the bright color season... a conflict! We went to an incredible wedding last weekend and I'm so glad I came up with this maxi dress to wear to it!

Earlier this year, I was brainstorming what to make myself to wear to wedding #1 of the summer. (My ideas here.) I came across this dress from Anthropologie and loved it, and actually searched for a fabric at all similar to this (really my main criteria were big, soft floral, in cotton or silk if I could find it) and came up with nothing after at least 3 trips to the fabric store. (So I ended up making something different for wedding #1, but I still love it, and I'll keep an eye out for the perfect floral print silk crepe!!)
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And in the meantime - I still love the loose, natural waist, drawstring halter shape of that lovely Anthro dress! So, when summer wedding #2 came up last weekend, and when the temperature was supposed to be above 90 despite it being September, I looked around for another fabric to use to make something similar!

My mom had a bunch of extra of this lovely rose-colored textured cotton, and I thought it was a nice late summer color. And I quickly found the perfect pattern for this shape: Simplicity 1355, which I actually still had sitting out since I just used it for this romper project. I knew it was simple to make, though I hadn't made this bodice style yet or the straight skirt... but they were both easier than the romper version. (I highly recommend if you want to make a maxi dress quickly!)

I made the gathered halter version (view C) but rather than have the split in the front of the neckline and the tie end there, I just did the split at the center back and did a wider self-fabric tie. I put a vertical dart in the center front where the slit would be, to give it some bust shaping and reduce bulk.

I lined it with self-fabric since I had so much yardage, and wasn't sure how much I wanted to change the color by lining it with a lighter cotton. It ended up a little fluffy since the fabric is textured, but I do like the opacity of the color. Plus, no lining peeking out to worry about.

And the back - the original Anthro dress has a cool crisscross strap and open back, but I stuck with the pattern to keep it simple, and I think this halter style is a little easier to wear (less to fuss with!).

It was so comfortable to wear and also pretty! Maxi dresses make the easiest outfits - even just coupled with a simple necklace and the sandals I wish I could wear every day (and practically do).
Sandals, crossbody bag: Old Navy. Necklace:? Dress: DIY!

The wedding was in the Pearl district near downtown Portland, and it was so fun to be in the center of the city for a private party. Plus, the food was ridiculously good and the party itself was really just super fun. All in all an awesome Saturday!

12 comments

  1. It is gorgeous and such a pretty color on you!

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  2. Love the dress and it's a gorgeous color!

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  3. Really pretty. You did an amazing job.

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  4. Great dress! The color is luscious and looks great on you.

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  5. Gorgeous dress!! Love this!! Such a pretty color too! xo - Katie - hauteallure.com

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  6. It's cute but I stand by my design.

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  7. Fantastic! Please let us know when and if you find that fabric to resemble the other. I really need a dress like that in my life, but without the open back...I've been eyeing that also...

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  8. I've sent this to my mom demanding that she make the dress for me or never see her grandchildren again. Oh yes, I did.

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  9. That colour is perfect on you!

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