Monday, October 3, 2011

My Birthday: The Woman in Red Revealed

Today is my birthday, and I feel fabulous!


I actually had a completely different birthday post planned, but given how great I felt wearing my red dress and how a picture is worth a thousand words, I decided: why not celebrate my bday by posting the final project dress reveal?



Honestly, I felt great in this dress and I think it showed. In all seriousness, I doubt I will ever wear a LBD to a wedding again. Red is the color for me! And the wedding was so much fun - lots of dancing! Even the bride had on a belly dancing scarf/skirt at one point. The only thing I'm a little disappointed with is that I didn't take pictures before the 30 minute drive to the church - there are now no pictures without some creases. Gah!

Isn't Magenta a beautiful bride?
I won't lie, it was a race to the finish to get this dress done. The day before the wedding I was just finishing up the hem and sewing the lining to the vent. But it all got done. And I felt great.

Me and some of the muses: Calliope, Erato and Mom Muse

A few parting thoughts on this dress - Vogue 1162 Bellville Sasoon. First, it was a lot of work! From the sleeves to the hand picked zipper to the fitting (and more fitting) and hemming, nothing was easy about this dress. Well, except maybe for the piped neckline, which really was very easy. (I see more piping in my future!)

All in all, this dress was beautifully drafted and everything fit together - no complaints with the pattern. The only thing that could have been better on the instructions was that Vogue could have had better directions and/or images of attaching the shoulder yolk to the bodice and in suggesting what kinds of hand stitches to use for the sleeves. Otherwise, they were very straightforward.

A few good decisions that I made were: using silk thread for basting and hand stiching, underlining in silk organza, hand picking the zipper, and pressing very very carefully and thoroughly. Thank you to ALL OF YOU who gave me advice and encouragement along the way. 

The lucky guy who was my date.

I thought that I would be exhausted after this project, but I'm not! I'm jumping right back into a project - the MPB boxer shorts sew along -  as a thank you to Phineas, who zipped and unzipped me about 100 times (every time I needed to try on for fitting purposes), marked the hem for me (twice, because I changed my mind) and didn't complain that he basically was living with a dress-obsessed maniac who would have forgotten to eat if he didn't remind her to for a month. (Thanks for feeding me, my love. You will have boxers aplenty!)

38 comments:

Make Me Over said...

You look gorgeous! No wonder you're so proud of yourself! And Happy Birthday.

Marie-Noƫlle said...

All your hard work paid this dress realy looks like a designer's dress and you are gorgeous

Auset's Stitched Treasures said...

Absolutely stunning. You look amazing! Great job on such a beautiful dress.

Cennetta said...

Absolutely beautiful. Happy Birthday!

Marybeth said...

Absolutely stunning! And, Happy Birthday!

The Hojnackes said...

The dress is absolutely beautiful!

gwensews said...

A very Happy Birthday. That dress is YOU. Perfect style and color, and OMG, those sleeves--to die for!

Sheila said...

Happy Birthday and you look stunningly gorgeous!

AllisonC said...

This is so perfect I am almost lost fr words, you look absolutely stunning and the workmanship on the dress is amazing, I love it. No wonder you are feeling good - Happy Birthday!

Anonymous said...

what an ahhh-mazing dress! you look beautiful and the dress is quite eye-catching! have a happy birthday!

Andrea said...

You looked amazing in that dress, just BEAUTIFUL. Happy Birthday!!!

Faye Lewis said...

Happy Birthday! You do look wonderful in that dress.

Sewtellme said...

You look beautiful. I hope you had a fantastic birthday.

Sheryll said...

Just stunning - it looks perfect on you! Perfect for birthday and wedding!

Eugenia said...

Totally awesome - and I mean that I am quite literally in awe of all the wonderful work you have put into this dress. The result is superb - a real couture dress - and you look fabulous in it. The style and colour are absolutely perfect on you. Well done!!! And Happy Birthday!

Anonymous said...

You look gorgeous and it felt like you achieved all the time-consuming steps really fast. Happy Bday!

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday! Your dress really stands out against the last picture w/ your friends' dresses: it looks so detailed, expensive, and stunning. It's an advertisement for sewing vs. RTW. Love it.

Kimbersew said...

oh! perfection! (sigh)
and Happy Birthday!

Clio said...

Oh thank you, everyone! I really felt like a million bucks in the dress and am so pleased and proud!

Tanit-Isis said...

GAWD it is beautiful! And the fit is spot on. I absolutely believe this was a TON of work, but so, so, so worth it. Gorgeous. And the sleeves turned out great. MMM.

Now I want to wear red to every wedding I attend in the future... :)

Meg said...

Phenomenal! You look fantastic and your dress is sheer perfection. What a nice birthday present to yourself. Me too, love a red dress. Well done!

Anonymous said...

You look STUNNING! Red is most definitely your colour and that dress is worth every single stitch.

A -maz-ing!

Many happy birthday wishes.

The Slapdash Sewist said...

Happy Birthday! You look gorgeous. What a fitting way to celebrate a birthday and a wedding. The dress is truly a work of art!

kbenco said...

A beautiful result. You look amazing in your dress.

Gordita said...

Seriously gorgeous! I have had this dress nearly finished for months now and have just lacked the motivation to finish it. How beautifully your dress turns out gives me the oomph I need to get in great. You look great in it. Great job!

Sharon Sews said...

Happy Birthday! You look gorgeous in this dress.

Alethia said...

This dress is so gorgeous on you, you should've felt luxurious in it!You did a superb job! This gives me some motivation in pulling my pattern out.

narcissaqtpie said...

You look S.T.U.N.N.I.N.G. I just found your review on PR and am going back to read all your post on this dress. Happy Birthday!

Nonny Goats said...

Wow that turned out gorgeous! I've had that pattern for ages, but I never had the guts to actually make it for something, partly because it seemed difficult, and partly because I didn't know where I'd wear it - but seeing it on you, it looks like it's totally worth the effort and totally wearable! I found you from the Vogue page on facebook, but I will definitely keep up with your blog now! :)

Gabrielle said...

What a beautiful dress you've created, and one that fits you perfectly too - all your hard work was definitely worth it!

Karin said...

You look amazing! All the time, effort, and expensive materials really paid off! Truly sensational!

Erica Bunker said...

That dress is gorge! You look amazing!

Bunny said...

Stunning and worth every minute of your effort.

katy@cowtales.net said...

Your dress looks even BETTER than the one on the pattern envelope. Awesome job!

Anonymous said...

That is a truly beautiful dress. I'd love to know - why do you think underlining with silk organza work so well? Did it really stabilise the fashion fabric?

Sassy said...

Absolutely gorgeous.

Sassy said...

Gorgeous dress.

Sassy said...

Love it.