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Vogue 1302 |
Well, my plan to make Vogue 1302 has been put on hold for a while, as I simply can't find any suitable fabric that I like. I've tried three local fabric shops and various mail order companies, to no avail. Actually, I did find something suitable mail order, but at £47.50 per metre it would have been a very expensive dress. Not even the recent trip to London came up with anything that fitted the bill.
I did find my dream dress in London however, which would be perfect for the occasion (a "Vegas Night" with the Ya Raqs girls).
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Embroidered wild silk cocktail dress |
There are just two, slight, problems. Firstly, I am not remotely the shape to fit into this dress, and all the boning and powernet in the world would not change that.
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Serious curves, and a back view |
Secondly, and slightly more problematic, it is a 1962 Christobal Balenciaga dress in the V&A's permanent costume collection.
As I don't embroider nearly quickly enough to recreate the dress for our Christmas night out, I'll have to come up with an alternative. Sticking with the taffeta-like satin which I wanted to use, and the 1950s/1960s theme, I've turned for inspiration to two other dresses which I've seen this year and really liked. The first was in the Glamour exhibition, the opening dress in fact.
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Inspiration number one |
A 1950s red silk satin cocktail dress by Branell at Julius Garfinckel, USA. I loved the fact that it's not too fussy and is mostly about the shape, but the wrap detail at the waist gives it a certain something.
The second dress dates is from Shambellie House. It dates from 1961, and is made from pale green artificial silk. Although a similar shape to the cocktail dress above, it was worn as a bridesmaid's dress. The fitted waist section is actually a continuation of the full skirt, with the fabric taken into pleats. The seam lines are just visible.
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Inspiration number two, a theme is emerging! |
So, I have a definite idea. One obvious difference is that I'm using patterned fabric, not plain. I can't get any more of the fabric, and I'm not using a commercial pattern, so I'll need to draft the pattern pieces before I'll know if my idea is actually possible. Oh, and all this with less than a month to go.
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