Introducing: The Blue Silk 1960's Dress

Hello world!

After six months of designing, teaching, millinery and art modeling,  I am back in the swing and ready to tackle my next historical sewing project: let's kick this time machine into high gear and power through from the 14th century all the way to 1962!

I'm skipping a few centuries on this journey through historical costume (DON'T PANIC, I'll be back) because this piece was too cute to pass up.  It started off as an unused design idea for Noel Coward's "A Song At Twilight" at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, directed by Paul Mullins and designed by the extremely talented Nikki Delhomme who is always a joy and a pleasure to work with.   Although this particular version of the dress did not appear onstage, I fell in love with the mockup and knew that I had to make it for myself.

The sweetheart neckline, the wide shoulders, the angular darts!  I love the simple design (thanks, Nikki!) and the ladylike, sophisticated feeling of this crisp dress.  Here I'm wearing the original mockup before any alterations, which was draped by Tiffany Lent and put together my Sue Hawley, both of STNJ.  Although the dress was (miraculously) very close to my size, I did alter the pattern to suit my specific proportions, including lowering the waistline, shortening the sleeves and re-shaping the back neckline. 

My shopping list and sketch of the dress

HELL YES, now we get to the fun part! 

 Three yards of crisp, dreamy, ocean-blue silk shantung.  I can't get enough of this color- every time I look at it feels like plunging into a deep, cool Mediterranean lagoon on a hot day.  Or at least what I think that would probably feel like.  I wanted to step out of my usual zone and do something uncharacteristically bold-  although I was severely temped by some gorgeous mossy green silk faille, I thought that this ultra-saturated primary blue would be a bolder look and better fit for the dress, which is simple and understated and deserves a strong color choice. 

Now that my fabric and lining are marked, it's time to cut... Stay tuned for more updates!