Whewwww. Finally this dress is finished!


And just in time for ... nothing in particular.

Who doesn't make fettuccine in a fancy fuchsia frock?
The original intent was to wear it to my brother-in-law's wedding back in (ahem) May (ahem) but it just wasn't meant to be.  Now don't misunderstand, I did finish the dress in time.  It's just that I hated how it looked.  Has that ever happened to you? The entire time you are working on it, expecting gorgeousness and instead you get blah?  Well this blah happened to be the bottom half of the dress. It was so flat, it almost looked two dimensional!

Yes that is the old skirt... bo-ring - also GO BUCKS!  O - H -
When I referenced my original inspiration picture for this dress (Emma Stone at the 2012 Oscars - that bow!), I discovered it was much fuller on bottom that the pattern I chose (Burda 7260)


I knew what had to be done - rip the skirt off and attach a more voluminous one!  However, I had nor the time or energy for this before the big day, so I broke my 5 and 3/4 month no-buying-clothes-pledge (not too shabby, eh?) and bought a pretty strapless dress at H&M.

What???  It had to be done!
Fast forward eight months and I finally get back around to revamping the bottom of this dress. Keep in mind, I had done a heck of a lot already with the top half and didn't want to undo all that work. I admit, things got a little crazy...  Once I realized I had enough fabric leftover to make en entirely new skirt, I ripped off just the bottom half skirt fabric (not lining), including it's attachment to the invisible zipper. Then I cut the remaining fabric into 3 giant pieces (1 front, 2 back halves), gathered like heck, and attached the new skirt pieces to the old bodice. I then (somewhat) carefully reattached the skirt to the invisible zipper, sewed the back and side seams, and hemmed the whole thing.  I can tell you now, everything I did was probably wrong somehow, but those gathers cover a multitude of sins.


I love the end result!  It's now exactly how I originally pictured it! With the exception of the wonky back opening - it looked fine on the hanger, but apparently it doesn't like that my shoulders are not the same height. I will need to adjust the collar / neck thing just a bit for future wearings

 
   
but hey... it looks fine when you're twirling! ;)

Wheeeeee!!!
and check out the cute thrifted belt I got for $1, baby.


Ironically, after donning the "All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go" Dress" for some pics in the kitchen, my hubs decided to take me to the movies to see Les Mis!  He even put on a tie (with his hoodie and jeans). I guess now it should be called "All Dressed Up and Somewhere to Go" dress :)