Well, that was quick. Last week I went from having no dresses to having two. After I posted about the BCBG dress I fell hard for (and I’m not alone, it is very popular as a less formal/rehearsal/dancing at the reception dress) Diana wrote to tell me that she had one that she hadn’t ended up wearing and that she was willing to sell to me and it was in my size and she lives nearby. Yay! Then, the morning after I got the dress Nordstrom reported that they’d shipped one of the ones I’d ordered, about two months earlier than I had expected. So, it seems I spent a bit of energy freaking out unnecessarily. Nordstrom is sending a different size, but I’m fairly certain the dress I have hanging in my studio now is just perfect.
So, now I have my dress. I had been anticipating a flurry of sewing and now I have much more time to devote to finding shoes and this idea for a purse that makes everybody look at me like I’m crazy when I try to describe it to them. You’ll see, you’ll probably look at me like I’m crazy too.
I’d like to say thanks again to Diana for taking the time to contact me. Check out her knitting patterns and don’t miss her Knitted wine bottle cover with Glögg recipe.
Hooray!
PS. I didn’t look at you as if I thought you were crazy. Just a bit strange
Thanks Paola! And you’re not the only one who has given me a strange look when I describe my idea. You’ll all see, though, it’s gonna be pretty great.
Huzzah!
Yay! The dress is even more gorgeous in your photo!!!
Hi, I’m wondering if you had any dress patterns in mind before this worked out. I feel like I have a style similar to yours and would love to make my dress - but, oh, where to begin?
That is a seriously fantastic dress. No wonder!
I want to know about the purse!
Katie - I was going to build my dress over top of a corset from Period Corsets. I figured most of the structure and the actual keeping it up part would already be taken care of. But I did go look at patterns and I was thinking of using a vintage Vogue pattern, coincidentally the same one A Practical Wedding picked out and which you can see here where she talks about making her dress and which modifications she is making. Looking through the pattern books I found myself attracted to the vintage reissue patterns far more than the other formal wear dresses, so keep an eye on those keeping in mind that you might be able to modify or decorate them easily so they don’t look too retro if that isn’t what you’re going for.
If you want any poof underneath your skirt I found an already made bridal petticoat at a Goodwill, having one would have saved me a lot of time. Specifically because a lot of the tea-length petticoats I was finding on bridal sites looked like they were meant for square dancing and didn’t have the rounded shape I would have liked.
Thank you Mary. And don’t worry Julie, I am going to document my plans for the purse.
Love that dress- in fact, I would like to propose that you sell it to me after you are done! I am getting married in July.
ps. I have been a longtime reader of notmartha and am excited for you. We are very much in the same boat; together 5 years and finally feeling like, uh, we should probably make this legal. Good times.