I’ve been feeling uncomfortable in my body for … quite a while, actually. This is why I tend to sew wide garments lately instead of the pretty dresses that made me start sewing in the first place! While it’s okay to experiment with shape and form, or prioritize comfort over aesthetics, it’s more an unwillingness to invest the long hours of making a dress, not to mention the cost of buying the large quantity of preferably quality fabric, for my body as it is right now. I’ll have to explore this train of thought more, but for now all I can say is that I’m glad I decided to sew this (expensive, time-consuming) dress.

It took me a few months to finish the Lamour Dress, and I’m afraid I wasn’t very diligent in documenting it on this blog as I had planned. I enjoyed sewing it a lot, though, especially since I took my time. Making it in a gradual manner instead of a weekend marathon made for fewer mistakes and neater seams!

I’ve read some criticism about Gertie and her patterns, but I actually thought the instructions for this particular pattern at least were well written and clear, even for a ESL speaker. The dress turned out lovely, too!

I’ve worn it twice already, once to a wedding and then to the Walldorf Rock’n’Roll Weekender. With different shoes, makeup, hair and of course a petticoat, it looks even more retro! In the pictures here I’m wearing it the way I did for the wedding – I love that I can both go full subculture or choose to dress it a more “normal” way. This is the reason I went with the subdued grey and light blue colour combo, too.

Speaking of the fabric, I will buy only 100% organic cotton fabric for lining from now on. It’s feels so great on the skin, especially in the heat of the summer! The only drawback with my fabric selection is that both fabric and lining wrinkles easily. And I hate ironing so much. (Can you guess why I procrastinated taking pictures of this dress for the blog?)

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PROJECT OVERVIEW

Pattern: Lamour Dress by Gertie, size 10 with a B cup bust.

Fabric: Grey cotton for the outer fabric, light blue cotton for the lining.

Photography: Philip