One of the last projects that I was able to make for my Paris trip is this easy, breezy linen dress.
I bought this navy & white linen at Fancy Tiger Crafts this past spring when I happened to be in Denver for a work conference. I’ve longed for a rustic, looking linen dress and I bought it with that idea in my head.
I wanted my dress to feel like something Audrey Hepburn would wear in Roman Holiday – simple, chic, and perfect to wear while having an adventure.
The bodice, sleeves, and skirt of my dress all come from different patterns and I created the waistband piece and fit it accordingly. I call this pattern hacking – but Ms. TaniaSews so cheekily reminded me that its your “design” not a hack job.
The bodice is from a 1960’s dress, skirt is from a 1950’s dress, and the sleeves – I can’t remember. They’re my to-go-to sleeve that I always leave out as it’s perfect for my armscye; I believe I modified it from a 1940’s blouse pattern though.
The Rodin museum garden turned out to be a great place for sneaking a few photos of my dress.
I probably could have stood to hem my dress a bit shorter… I know I have a propensity to made my hems longer rather than shorter, but I think it’s the effect of my height. Sometimes when I’m looking in the mirror, the angle is off and it appears that I have more length than I do, resulting in slightly longer hems. #ShortPeopleProblems
The skirt is in between a full circle and a half-circle skirt, perfect for swishing along the boulevards of Paris and Bruges.
I love center, lapped zipper insertions. I nearly do them on all of the dresses I’m able to because I love them so much. I stitch the one side down and then pick-stitch the remaining side by hand.
Now the hem looks fine in these pics – what the hay?? I’m guessing it’s my photographer’s height that is throwing off my own hem angle. Ahh well…
As you can see, the linen takes on a different color depending on the lighting conditions. Sometimes it’s very navy blue and other times it’s more rustic looking.
It was perfect to wear on my travels and it has a spot in my regular wardrobe now for work. It’s a breezy summer dress and now it’s turned into a great transition piece for fall paired with a cardi and brogues. All in all, it’s a simple dress, but I love it so much.
In: Sewing
I can attest, this dress looks amazing on you! I think you struck the perfect balance of classic/elegant/chic with this one. :-D
Lovely dress! This is the perfect match: fabric + pattern. I think the length really has a Roman Holidays vibe and you look wonderful – just ask your tall photograph to kneel down a bit!
Charming! Lovely LOVELY tweak-design and a testament to the fact that you are an awesome judge of style-fabric combinations that work best for you. IMHO, the length looks perfect, and I feel sure that Audrey Hepburn would be proud.
PS. Luuove the less-pink coif too – jus sayin :)
Thanks Bonnie. It’s been a long journey to learn which fabrics pair with which patterns and now that I’m sewing with knits, it’s a whole new learning cycle. It’s fun though.
The less-pink is actually what I wanted my hair to look liked. It fades so bad & quickly with my hair that I have to make it “more” pink at the beginning so that it fades to the pink that I like, which is nice pastel pink. :D
It’ll definitely be the photographers height making the hem look longer – happens to us too, even though I’m tall my husband is even taller!
The dress looks great, and the fit is ideal. I love simple, easy to wear dresses like this!
What a lovely dress for a lovely holiday! It looks perfect!
Thanks so much Heather. :)
Adorable! The fabric is perfect, and I love seeing your Paris photos! We missed the Rodin museum while we were there, now I’m wishing we would have had time to see it!
Thanks Melissa. I just went down the rabbit-hole that is your blog; fun stuff lady! :D