Hello and welcome to my very first blog! My name is Tessa (if you know me off instagram, @russellandbear) and I am here to share my sewing projects and other things that I find interesting, like food and textile-related items and artwork. I hope you enjoy my posts, 2015 should be a whirlwind year for me, and I'll try to keep you along for the ride!
Now, on to my formal dress:
In July 2014 I had my senior formal (or prom). I picked out the pattern the year before during a huge spotlight sale, Vintage Vogue V1094. It is an original 1955 design, and that called out to the huge vintage nerd within me. I decided to go with the knee-length version for wearability (and dance-ability!).
For fabric, I went with a french navy dupion silk from Rathdowne Fabric and Remnants in Brunswick, VIC. Of course, I ordered way more than I needed, but it felt good to leave a bit of room for error during the cutting process. The silk quality was excellent and I cannot recommend them enough.
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| Striking a dramatic pose |
The construction process was simple enough, it's a lined bodice with darts and a few bands around the neckline. There's a side zip and a very, very full skirt (also lined) constructed out of 6 large panels. Do not attempt this dress if you are not prepared to spend hour upon hour at the machine hemming and hemming and hemming. The instructions call for horse hair braid around the hem to create stiffness and flare, but the silk I used had a nice amount of hold so I left it out. I needed to tweak the fit a little to accommodate for my small bust but aside from that, it was good straight out of the packet.
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| Details |
With some leftover fabric, my grandmother made a bow tie for my partner Billy. I wore my great-grandmother's brooch and matching earrings and some $30 Miu Miu rip-off shoes from Urban Outfitters. I made the feather headband while I ate breakfast that morning so the whole affair was very relaxed compared to other girls who messed about with tans and lash extensions. Billy brought me the biggest corsage I have EVER seen and it was just wonderful. I had the most flowers out of anyone else there!
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| Milton the fox terrier and my shoes |
The only issue I had was unexpected weight loss in the weeks leading up to formal, so it was a bit too loose for my liking in the bodice, despite my packet-of-biscuits-a-day effort to fill in a bit. The dress was good on the D-floor and the silk photographed beautifully under the light, and if you're looking for a simple vintage pattern, this one is great!
Thanks for reading, feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. I post on instagram often and will keep followers updated on blog posts, so if you're interested please follow! I have a lot of projects to post about so I will get straight onto them. Thanks and happy new year!
Tessa x
All photo credits to Billy Price
