Dress 3: Ideas

Moving steadily along. This dress is going to look like another quick fix, although I won't really know until I start working on it. I seem to be going through a polyester phase. Dress 3 happens to be of the slippery, smooth and light variety.

The first reason the dress caught my eye was because of its colour. This green is everywhere right now. It's like we've exhausted every other shade except this one, this really bad, stand-out hue that says, I'm Kermit-the-Frog green, damnit, and you better like it. The second reason is because it already has a good design. Call me lazy, but it really helps when the basic idea is already there. And I'm not the only one who thinks so, because all that central gathering is somewhat reminiscent of what Lanvin showed for their Spring 2004 collection (check out slide 31).

Dress 3: Before, front detail

Dress 3: Before

Dress 2

Soundtrack: The Verve, Urban Hymns
Fuel: Half a pork chop, sauteed onions, Romaine lettuce with black olives

I forgot to upload the "Before" shots first, so all the photos were posted after the alteration.

This was a simple dress to change. All I had to do was shorten the sleeves and the bottom hem, and refinish. I also sewed the extra fabric from the hem into a scarf which I can wear with a blazer and jeans. The hardest part though, was to create the flower, which was made from scrunching up one of the sleeve remnants. I had to sew it by hand, and it kept shrinking with every stitch. I really do like the end result though. It's a dress I could definitely wear everyday.

Dress 2: After, flower detail

Dress 2: After

Dress 2: Ideas

This one's actually a housecoat. I had to cheat a little. But the first time I saw it, I knew it would make a really pretty 50's style wrap dress. The fabric is a sheer synthetic with printed gold dots, which would be really easy to sew. Not only that, but it's really what makes the housecoat worth altering. Good fabric goes a long way.

Dress 2: Before, tie detail

Dress 2: Before, shoulder detail

Dress 2: Before, front

Dress 1

Soundtrack: David Bowie, Singles 1969-1993
Fuel: 2 mugs of chai tea, 3 glasses of water, 9 cookies, 3 pieces of cheddar cheese with crackers

I've finally finished Dress 1! The photos here don't really do it justice, because it's hard to see how everything falls into place when it's not on someone.

The trickiest part was figuring what to do to the back, because those sashes are so damn bulky. They're about a foot wide each, but I'm glad I didn't end up going down to 2 instead of 4. It's more dramatic this way. I've left the ends squared off, because it reminds me of Japanese kimono ties.

For the final touch, I'm also going to add a ribbon to the centre front that knots behind the neck in a v-shape. I'll need to buy some more bias tape to do this, since the remnant I had was used on the front bodice to finish the top of the sequined area.

Yeah!

Dress 1: After, back

Dress 1: After, front

I've come to the conclusion that this whole 24-hour time limit is not going to work. I slept 12 hours last night, and yes, I believe that sleep is more valuable right now.

But at least I've decided what I'm doing to the dress. I've almost cut it to shreds this morning trying to figure out what the best option was. Too many ideas floating around. I've listed the different possibilities above, but I'm going with Option 2 (Front 2/Back 3) Option 1 was a weird one - I thought about wearing it backwards and then converting the silver detailing into a purse, but then it just wouldn't do justice to the original.

The only thing I have to do now is finish the sewing, which I'm going to do later tonight. This afternoon I need to go to lunch with the family for the anniversary of my Grandmother's death (it's a Chinese thing) and then I'm meeting Yoko after. Will update later tonight.

Dress 1: Ideas

Last weekend Lilli and I stalked down some dresses at a local second-hand store. Here is some advice if you're shopping for vintage gems. Grab a cart, and as you work your way down the aisle, pick up anything that looks remotely cool or interesting. The idea is to reassess your selection once you're in front of the mirror.

This is one of our finds from that day. As you can see, it's in a glam eighties' style. At first when I tried it on, I thought that only the back had massive sashes crossing it. But I was wearing it wrong, the front has them too. It's made of 100% polyester, but the satin-like finish helps to take it up a notch.

Dress 1: Before, back

Dress 1: Before, sequin detail

Dress 1: Before, side detail

Dress 1: Before, front

Some nostalgia

Since we're on the subject of dresses, a childhood reference might be useful. I used to have a white dress with green seagulls stamped all over it. It was the coolest thing to wear at the time, for a six-year old. But for some reason, it ended up in the Goodwill donations box. I was pretty upset. So here it is, rendered in all it's glory, by way of felt tip pen and pencil crayons. Sniff.

The Seagull Dress

The beginning

I think it was somewhere over the Atlantic, on my way back from London, when I first thought of this idea. I would buy 21 second-hand dresses. Then, I would alter each one, one per day, until they were all finished. The result would reflect my mood and effort of that 24 hours. I toyed with the idea of introducing a new sewing technique for each re-creation, but I think that altering the pieces would be exercise in itself.

This weekend, I practically ransacked two different locations of Value Village for my canvases. That's 2 down, 19 more to go. 21 is a good number to work with. Not only does it signify an age where you are at an ideal time of life, but it's also a powerful number, the highest number in Blackjack.