Friday 8 July 2016

Celine dress




Hello folks! I'm currently in the midst of preparing to embark on a research trip to South East Asia next week. Packing in theory should have been fine - I've discussed before how the majority of my wardrobe consists of cotton summer dresses. However, recent illness combined with weight gain (all those kanelbullar and kardemummabullar in Stockholm) has led me to shy away from clothing that's too fitted around the waistline. This is a pretty big departure for me, since for 10 years I've been making clothes that hit the natural waistline, and anything low-rise has been a massive no-no. 



As usual, it took osmosis via social media and the online sewing community at large to convince me that a non-waisted look could be a good thing. Heather Lou has waxed lyrical about her Inari dresses over the last year; however, the cocoon-shaped silhouette that appealed to many others was actually the thing I disliked the most about the pattern. I knew that I wanted a loose shift dress with kimono sleeves and a curved hem, kind of like Named's Inari combined with Tilly's Bettine and also an  (unblogged) Victorian shirt that I made for my partner. I made the pattern myself by draping on the stand;  after a toile and a quick fitting, and I had my own pattern. 

This dress at first appears to be a massively different from my usual style: above the knee, no waist, and rather contemporary. Sculpturally-cut, loose clothing is fashionable in a fairly mainstream way right now, but designers have been experimenting with extra-corporeal silhouettes since the 1960s. The dark chocolate and duck egg blue colours of the resist-dyed fabric are very me, and the dress does seem suitably avant-garde. I love that somehow this dress is just as suitable for daywear as night wear. I wore it to university, to an exhibition, then danced to garage till 3.30am at a party. 




I love how easy the dress is. It pulls on over the head, no fastenings to deal with. It's French seamed inside, clean and simple. The neckline is finished by a facing, the hem is contrast blue bias binding, and the sleeves are cuffed. Everything is from my stash. Being able to pull on one garment and be dressed is a great feeling, and when I get a chance I'll knock a few more up in different fabrics.



I wore it to my friend Céline's grad show, so I'm calling it the Celine dress.

Project details:
Celine dress
Pattern:
my own
Fabric: wax resist dyed cotton from my stash
Notions: bias binding, thread from my stash
Cost: £0