Look what came in the mail today!

It's still unhemmed and unpressed, so more shots to come!

Dress 1 - Almost done!

We made some great progress this weekend! We're working with 2 Colette patterns, making 'practice' dresses out of each of them, comparing and tweaking the designs/lengths/fit... and then picking the winner for the real deal. I love Colette because they're gorgeous vintage-style dresses with some funk, room for creativity, and such tailored fits. She really makes beautiful patterns!
Dress 1 is Eclair, a strapless little cutie with a big sash that goes from the front side waist. The bodice is pieced together with 6 panels, meaning great tailored fit. Especially with Courtney's careful sewing!
She put the bodice together, we fit it to me and realized we could probably cut the bodice about 2 sizes smaller! But with the seams re-done, it was perfect. Then Courtney put the skirt together. Last up is putting them together, which is on tap for the next few weeks. The question with this dress is whether we would need to boning in the bodice. We'll see how strong it is with the lining once it's all done.

Next is up is Dress 2, i.e. Chantilly. I have to say, I'm a little enamored with Chantilly, mainly because it just has such a classic style and looks so flattering and comfortable. While Courtney was sewing away, I pressed the main and lining fabric for the practice dress, cut the pattern pieces and the main fabric pieces. This time, we cut the bodice smaller, so everything is to measurement on this one. It should work out since the pieces are joined by gathers at the midsection.
Once we have both practice dresses done (which I can't wait to wear!), it really comes down to fit and comfort. We'll try to imagine each dress in a calf or floor length (maybe?), in a creamy billowy fabric, dancing around at a bbq joint in NYC...

Grecian Style

I seem to be falling for Grecian style...

Audrey Hepburn - What a Gal

We all know Audrey Hepburn's got style, yet there's nothing I particularly love about her wedding dress. What I do love is the story around it, what a drama!

Thinking About Fabric

Things are busy on all fronts here, but don't worry, we're still making the dress! I came across this wedding today, and the bride wore a gorgeous dress that her friend made! What I really love is the fabric... tissue-y, billowy, goddess-y, like it's made of angel's wings.

In something like this, I could sweat and you wouldn't even know! Nice.

Everyone wish Courtney luck in her half-marathon this Sunday!!!

More on Making Dresses

This post by soon-to-be-practically-wed blogger reminded me of why I have yet to (and hopefully will never) set foot in a bridal store. I've heard the horror stories, and it's just not my style. I've known all along that we would make the dress. And I'm pretty sure it will come out just right. As Meg mentions, things can go wrong, something about the dress can come out not quite right, it happens. But we've still got a year to get it right, and to be honest, I'm not superbly picky, so I'd probably even wear a dress that had stains or busted zippers or fallen hems...

But that won't happen. It'll be just right, however it is.

Meet Bea

(Hi. I'm Beatrice. Bea for short.)

Bea is my body double, or more technically, my dress form! It's pretty cool having a body double. At least the trunk of one. Courtney will use her for fittings since we live 2 hours apart. Then after the wedding, I'll get Bea for my own sewing fun!

Court will give more details on the process and getting the right fit. But long story short, it took about 1 1/2 hours, involved a trash bag and 1 grocery bag, a roll of paper tape, a bowl of water, and keeping the cats away. Speaking of the cats. They reeeallly liked Bea.

So it was a productive weekend. We finished the dress form and took every measurement you can imagine. We looked at fabrics to get an idea of what kind of cream color we'll want. Who knew there were so many different kinds of creams!

JoMar served us well, and we found lots of goodies. At $1-$2/yd, it was a steal. We also picked up some fabrics for Court to start work on the two Collette patterns, now that she has Bea. We got a blue lightweight shirting for the sleeveless eclair dress, and cute green and brown floral for the chantilly. These will be practice runs to check out the fitting and shape of these dressees, see if either of them will work before we add length and details. That chantilly dress looks oh so much like the vintage ebay dress from the previous post, that I LOVE. Looking forward to see how that comes out... In the meantime, Courtney is taking care of Bea, and I will miss our special bond...

Oh Heaven!

Closest to perfect I've seen yet.

Pretty, but not too modest. A vintage find from etsy|wedding. Imagine it more like ankle-length, with some of Court's detail ideas mentioned previously... Maybe more of a v neckline. But I love the sheer band, adds just enough interest while keeping it simple.

It's soooo pretty.

details...

Bex and I are getting started next weekend and I'm caught up in the fun details-

Like pleated necklines:


via: http://shoesandpie.com/2009/06/18/vintage-sewing-part-five/

And fabric flowers (in clusters, but not at the neckline):


via: http://katiedid.squarespace.com/katie-did-journal/2009/5/1/tutorial-flower-collar.html

And pretty skirts:


via: http://www.theflashdance.com/index.cfm

Hammer Pants Take Over

Totally unrelated? Or am I hinting at the not-so-subtle fact that I want to wear gold hammer pants at my wedding. And have a choreographed dance. You decide.

Really, you must watch it.