Derek Lam Knock-off in red linen

This dress was my inspiration and I cut it out of Lucky Magazine. It is Derek Lam + ebay, though I don't know who that is. The partial heading next to it says "designer outfits with money left over in your purse!" But the dress, made of denim, costs.....

wait for it.....

195 bucks!!! Oh my lord! So I went to Jo-Ann to look at denim, and then I realized that was stupid. Denim is heavy and hot. The air in New Orleans is heavy and hot. That is not a smart combo. So I looked around and bought some red linen instead. It's a nice blue-red, not an orange-red. 

This really was an adventure of the dress, as Stephanie calls it. We went to take picture with some flowers, but then I looked at them and the straps were too long, so I re-tied them. Then the light on the balcony was dark, and then we went to NOMA, the art museum. It's kind of a mixed bag. I need to not slouch like a sloth all the time. 

It has self-lined tie for the front and back, the front have one dart each. It has a waist band and an 8 gore skirt. Hemmed on the machine, handpicked zipper. 

 Pretending to study ceramics.

 Out in the sculpture garden, by a giant spider!

 Andrew made me do this!

 The sides also meet in a point, but don't go down as far.

Molly's Ews:

The skirt started as a 4 gore, but was snug and sausagey instead of full. I went back and bought another 3/4 of a yard and then made eight pieces that tapered to a narrower top.

Overall:

This was a piece of cake to make. It's slightly boob-tacular, so I wouldn't wear it everywhere. However, it is  a nice summery, cool dress and it looks very much like what I tried to copy. Success!

Modern Fashion- circa 2008

This dress was my inspiration. I cut it out of a magazine in the spring or summer or 2008. I know this was from a Nordstrom ad, but I never cut out the "where you can buy it" info, since I will never be spending hundreds of dollars on a jersey dress. I particularly liked the neckline.



Since the ad was in grey, it was easy to see all the detail, like where I needed to make darts. I drafted my own pattern out of muslin, and then tried it on 100 times while sewing to get the fit right. I made it out of medium weight jersey from Jo-Ann in a mint green color.

Don't look at the filthy room, please.

Of course I had to screw some things up- obviously, since it was my first time drafting a pattern. The points could have used a stiffer interfacing, since they try to droop sometimes; also, the white zipper.

For future reference, if Jo-Ann doesn't have a zipper that matches, that does not mean buy a hideous white one. I wish I had bought a big metal one, like for a jacket. Then it would look industrial and intentional, rather than home-made.

Also, my old machine does not do zig-zag or stretch stitch, so the hem is falling out as I continue to snap threads.

Overall, I was very proud of myself, and I think it is very flattering.