Wednesday, June 24, 2009

One-Shoulder Draped Dress Or What Happens When You Play With Fabric



Last summer I was playing with a large yardage of fabric and ended up draping it around myself in different diaphonous styles. It was a fun and eye-opening experience. Then, some time in May I came upon this beautiful silk Philip Lim dress (photo from bergdorfgoodman.com):
Oh, I loved it! I loved the free-form, the play with the stripe, the cute haletr effect, everything.

So, I started playing around with some fabric again, draping it on my dress form and on me. The style of the Lim dress did not work out for me, so I gave up. Then, a few days later I decided to try again something different, and my draping attempts ended up with these two variations of the same draped muslin:

Here is how I determined what orientation the srtipe should have:



It was kind of perfect: long, drapey, grecian-goddesss style, utilized stripe in the design, and one-shoulder! I have always wanted a one-shoulder top/dress!

I needed the right fabric, though, because for this style the fabric either makes or kills the dress. Quite luckily, I had a beautiful cotton voile bought from gorgeousfabrics.com last fall. It was one of those whilsical buys when you get a rather unique looking fabric with no particular idea what you'd make from it.
Two photos of the back:


Constructions details:
  • fully lined in a taupe rayon
  • french seams
  • narrow hem
  • the dress is cut somewhat on a bias (the stripe of the fabric was vertical and I was after a slightly-off effect).
  • neckline is stabilized with interfacing strips.

The sewing part was obviously very straight-forward. Marking the hem, however, was a BEAR (from the grisley variety)! It took just about forever... Even DH got involved with marking the hem of the lining, so, yeah, it was something to remember.
I love the dress. It makes me feel pretty! And here it is with a jeans jacket:

18 comments:

megannielsen said...

Oh it's so pretty! You did a wonderful job :)

Erica Bunker said...

Gorgeous! That fabric is incredible!

Jada said...

Just beautiful!!Great job!

Anonymous said...

it looks absolutely beautiful! I've been looking to do something similar! Great Job!

Gail said...

It looks great, but then again you'd look fabulous in a teatowel!

Meg said...

Absolutely gorgeous fabric, it is a terrific dress.

Tanya said...

Gorgeous, beautiful, stunning, magnificent!

gwensews said...

Beautiful draping. Love the fabric.

Christina said...

I remember coveting that fabric last year! You are the best at knocking off RTW.

Unknown said...

You look amazing!

Tee said...

very nice, I have a piece of fabric that would work well like that. If I get it work I'll send you a pic....nice blog

www.dressed2atee.blogspot.com

Mon Café Couture said...

gorgeous! beautiful job!

Bridget Wang said...

Now that is a sexy dress!

Lory said...

Very cute dress. Kudos, the fabric is beautiful. :)

Hugs,
Lory

Tany said...

You never cease to amaze me... This dress is so very beautiful... My jaw just dropped, lol!

Grechen said...

that dress is amazing! so gorgeous on you...

Pam Erny said...

You have such a fabulous sense of style...truly a gift.

Dei said...

Looks like you had a great time with a goregeous fabric.