Florette Dress


Long time no post, friends. I've actually been relatively productive on the sewing front during lockdown, but seem to have lost the appetite to photograph myself in my makes. The backlog was stressing me out though, so I made a start last weekend.

This was originally a straight Republique du Chiffon Violette Dress, which I made for last year's summer party hosted by Hannah and Rosie of The New Craft House. You can see me wearing it here, but suffice to say that I wasn't a fan of the relaxed bodice on me. However, I was a huge fan of the tiered skirt and the gorgeous viscose from Like Sew Amazing, so I was determined to refashion it into a dress worthy of my friend's dreamy Tuscan wedding last August. 




I had just enough fabric left over for a By Hand London Flora Dress bodice and I even managed to piece a belt together too. The transformation was absolutely worth the hours of unpicking the zip and overlocked waist seam, gathers and all. I felt totally fabulous swanning around in it at the wedding!




Annoyingly, I omitted the customary waist stay I like to add when sewing with viscose, so there is a bit of sagging at the front skirt. Also, I made a lot of adjustments to the Flora bodice at the time to get a perfect fit, which isn't really reflected here as my shape has changed a fair bit since then. I think the belt does a great job at hiding these niggles though and it sure is a comfortable wear.


Overall, I'm really happy with this combination of patterns - which I've named Florette - and would love to make a solid version in linen maybe. I know, I know...who even am I?!?

I'll finish with a confession, because it's bugging me and I need to come clean. Have you noticed the difference in lipstick colour and lighting in some of these photos? It's because we took the first batch with the pink lipstick and the lovely lighting first...before I realised that my zip was only halfway done up on the back bodice. Sadly, this made the fit look terrible in the front and back shots but we didn't have time to reshoot straight away due to a family Zoom quiz (the 'gift' that keeps on giving in lockdown). By the time the quiz had finished the day turned grey and rainy and I forgot that I'd changed my lipstick! We could have reshot everything on a different day, but I really liked some of the original takes, so I begrudgingly settled on mixing the two. 

The trials and tribulations of being a blogger, eh!?! I'd love to hear about your quirky photoshoot stories in the comments...

2 comments:

  1. Haha, funnily enough,I had not noticed the lipstick change at first, but both really work with the look :)
    it is a very pretty dress, and it is great that it still works well with your figure despite the changed shape... Can't wait to see if you end up making it in linen. I love the feel of linen but have never sewn with it as I really like things perfectly ironed... i like the linen looks on others but not sure i am ready to embrace the crease !

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