It's black, it's white striped dress

Going back to my basic instincts, whenever I go fabric-shopping I'm always on the look out for striped textiles, which seem to be somewhat uncommon to find. Luck has hit me a few times because I've found a number of striped fabrics that are exactly how I ideally picture them in my mind.

Some say it's inspired by Beetlejuice's outfit. Others think it looks Robin Thicke-ish. I even thought it looked a lot like Hot Topic's dress from their American Horror Story collection. But the truth is that I'm simply a sucker for striped fabrics, and I'd wanted to have a dress like this since a very long time ago. I actually own several black and white striped clothing pieces, counting a hoodie, two dresses, a pair of pants, a knit sweater, two shirts, a pair of stockings, etc, etc, etc.

With a simple strapless bodice and a gathered skirt, the dress has a simple but elegant construction. I don't usually pair dresses with belts, but the day I got these pictures taken I discovered the dress fit a little big on me. I think this brown belt goes particularly well with my dress and it balances it out. Needless to say, I have already adjusted the dress to fit me properly.

The black and white striped fabric gives the dress a dramatic and even burlesque look. I also have this same fabric in red and white, so expect to see a similar dress in those colors soon enough! For these pictures I paired my dress with a black knit choker, a borrowed brown belt, and my faithful black sandal heels by Qupid.

Come back later for more about fashion and crafts! 

Pastel green in the '50s

Since I started sewing seriously and more frequently, I have felt really inclined towards fashion styles from the '50s, and especially attracted by the dresses. They are a perfect combination between girly, elegant, comfortable and sexy, and they can be styled for casual occasions or for more formal events.

After creating two  patterns out of my beloved Ixia fold over pinup dresses, I decided to start experimenting by altering the silhouettes. At first I still stuck to the original shape, but then I went ahead and created the pastel green dress seen in the picture below, which features a narrower skirt and a separate waistband from a different material.

I made this dress using a soft cotton fabric that had been lying around for several years. The only problem that I found was that the fabric is a little see-through. I don't usually line my dresses on the inside because the fabrics I use tend to be sturdy enough, so this was the first dress ever that I lined up, and whenever I wear it I necessarily have to put on a slip underneath the skirt. The waistband is made from a recycled satin waistband from a party dress that I hate, so I felt no regrets when I took it down and cut it into a new one.

My favorite part of this dress, apart from the exquisite color palette, is the bow. It is made out of the same material as the waistband and when I made it I couldn't decide whether I should sew it to the waistband or in the middle of the bodice. I liked both options so much that I finally sewed a safety pin to the back of the bow, making it easy to move it around and stick it wherever I liked the most. I normally wear it as shown in the pictures.

In this case my shoes are black wedge sandals by Vic Matie, my necklace is a key-and-heart matching "Best Friends" necklace from Claire's, and I also paired the dress with a black bolero by Exotik.

Come back later for more posts about fashion and crafts!