I think this dress is my all time favourite summer dress.
Plenty of room for the chesticles. (newest favourite word from Skye)
You might be wondering what is the fail part of this dress? The bottom 4 inches of this dress are different from the rest. When I got the dress 2 years ago from Ruche I decided it was much too long and matronly for my tastes. Why waste a bunch of money getting it taken up by a professional tailor when I had my own trusty sewing machine?
The dress is made out of a very light-as-a-feather soft cotton. Perfect for tearing. I'd always been told, if you rip cotton it will rip straight. So…I measured where I wanted the dress to come up to and then proceeded to tear it. Everyone of you that knows a little bit about sewing is shaking your head in disgust with me right about now. A full circle skirt is cut on the bias which means on an angle which means when you go to rip it, it will rip on an angle. About 4 inches shorter than you had planned. When it was all over I was holding half of my shredded dress in my hands.
I had made myself a skating skirt. When the slightest breeze came along I felt it everywhere which although refreshing and quite liberating was not very sanitary. I felt like I needed to carry a towel with me just so I could sit comfortably. Like what they do at nudie resorts so I'm told.
I finally fixed the faux pas. It's not ideal but it is better than feeling like you forgot to put on pants. Don't you hate those dreams?
Linking up with The Pleated Poppy ,Wardrobe Wednesday, Rae Gun Ramblings , Random Wednesday The Style Sessions My Girlish Whims I Feel Pretty , Favourite Things Keeping It Casual
Gorgeous dress – wow it looks wonderful on you! Perfect fit and the colour scheme is lovely!!
I am so glad you forgot to wear pants because that dress is AMAZING. It fits you so perfectly, the colors are great with your skin and hair and those shoes? Ahh, so perfect.
Hi Suzanne
It’s a funny- or not so funny – story with a good ending. The dress looks fab.
You’re quite crafty ! I don’t think I could have fixed this.
I was laughing about your story 😉
Your dress is gorgeous and the final result looks really good – pattern mix is trendy anyway! Also love the upper part and cleavage a lot.
Fabulous 50ies styling!
Annette
Join my giveaway: Fabulous clutch
Lady of Style
Not shaking my head in disgust, but I am shaking with laughter. OMG, this is hilarious. Excellent come-back with the added panel at the bottom.
Sue xo
ROFL–not that I’ve ever done anything like that (yeah right!!!) i’ve also found that it may not tear like the pattern is lined up, either!!
However–love what you did with it and if you hadn’t admitted it i’d have thought you brought the dress like that!!
I love that dress! The print is so pretty. I never would’ve guessed that you sewed on the bottom panels because it looks perfect! I had a good laugh at your story though, that is too funny!
This dress is adorable. The hem looks great.
What a pretty feminine frock!
That dress looks gorgeous, and I love the colors of fabrics you chose for a fix! A too short dress is not comfortable to wear at all!!
Thanks Katie…not much longer till you have a new member joining your family : )
ha ha…thanks Allison : )
Yes I am happy I was able to fix it. I love the dress too much to let it go.
Thanks for popping by Lorena : )
You look gorgeous in this dress! I like how it turned out, the bottom gives the dress character. And way to improvise!
Loving the word chesticles – I’m totally using that. Lol!
xx
Candida
Merch Maven
And that is why I don’t sew 🙂 What a great story with a happy ending Suzanne! If you didn’t share about the trim was extra, I would not have guessed it. The trim is so pretty and makes this dress that much more unique and now it’s one of a kind!
Alice
http://www.happinessatmidlife.com
The dress looks great on you! If you didn’t mention it, I wouldn’t have thought the hem was not original. Tons better than no pants 😉
Very darling dress and color palette! So sorry about the tearing saga!
You are too funny! That sounds like something I would do. One time I decided I didn’t like my baby hair flyaways sticking out when I did a ponytail, so I decided to cut them off. I was 10, so pretty old to be trying something like that. I never imagined I would have two bald spots on the sides of my head for a few weeks. It was so embarrassing. Lol. At least you managed to salvage the dress!
And about the nudie resorts (and cruises, flights, skydiving planes… Yes, skydiving. Look it up).. I always wondered about that. Sitting on a towel makes so much sense.
It’s funny because when I was writing this I was thinking how you would be horrified that I would do such a thing LOL. Now you know why I’m amazed at your sewing skills : )
I wondered if I was the only one to make such a silly mistake : )
I wondered if people would be able to tell by looking at the dress or not.
Yes you constantly worried and fussing with the dress all the time. I’m much happier with the longer version.
Thanks to Skye for sharing that new gem of a word : ) She is a great writer.
Ha ha. Yep and one of the reasons you won’t see me sewing my own dress either. I barely scraped through passing my Home Ec exam in grade 8 where I had to make my own wrap skirt.
Thanks for popping by Jenn : )
Thanks for stopping in Mary Beth : )
Ha ha. I think we all cut our hair when we were kids. My sister got gum stuck in hers and had to have a huge chunk cut out. Then she had to have a “boy cut”. She was miserable for years after that.
Naked skydiving? My first question is simply …why? wouldn’t you get windburn on the way down? also what about the landing? road burn would not be fun.
Beautiful! I never would have thought the bottom was added to the dress. I totally thought that was the original design. I need to do that to a couple of my dresses that are shorter than I’d like them to be. I’m thinking lace trim.
No wonder it’s your favorite, you look so pretty! I love how you added the extra hem too, it makes the dress that much more interesting 🙂
xo
Ashley
Southern (California) Belle
Oh you do look super pretty in that lovely frock! And I am glad to see that I am spreading horrible Austrayanisms across the globe, I’ve got plenty more where “chesticles” came from…
Suzanne, you did a very good job! To add the fabric not only makes the dress more wearable but also unique. So it looks even more like a cute little vintage dress. I love it!
Sabine xxxd
What a gorg dress, you wear it well – and ripping it as you did is exactly something I would do. 🙂 But I wold never fix it ip as nicely as you have. Love the retro vibe with the shades too.
P,S. Thanks for your kind comment on my blog. 🙂 xo
I actually quite love the additions you made to the skirt. It breaks up the pattern and gives more interest, so win-win! Also, I’m jealous of the glasses. Where did you get those?
-Jamie
ChatterBlossom
Had no clue about any of those things about cotton; I learned a bit from this. Despite the mishaps, it is a gorgeous dress though and super-flattering!