Red Ikat Dress

Well, I finally photographed this dress. If you follow my Instagram account you saw this a few weeks (months?) ago. For some reason I've been having a hard time figuring out where to do photos in my new apartment which has lead to me not photographing anything. This is bad because I have a list a mile long of things to photograph. Anyway, back to the dress...

This dress is a bit different than my usual style, I'm talking about the bodice here. The fabric is right up my alley, haha! I started with this BurdaStyle bustier they sent me a while back but pretty much had to completely reshape it both in the cup fit and the neckline shape. I've lost a bit of weight since I made it so it's a little big up top now (major bummer town), but it was a perfect fit when I made it.

I extended the bottom of the bustier pattern to my natural waist and added a gathered skirt to the bottom, and instead of using the wide straps included in the pattern I just did bias spaghetti type straps. I think it's much more modern than the original pattern with the reshaped neckline and thin straps. I know a lot of people love the vintage look but I literally look like a cartoon character playing dress up when I'm wearing things like that. It's hilarious but ultimately not a good look for this girl.

I couldn't get my camera to focus for a close up photo so this is the best we're getting on this one. The top is fully lined with a cotton / silk blend and I left the skirt unhemmed. I'm obsessed with this fabric which I got from Emma One Sock but can no longer find on the site. I bought 2.5 yards and somehow made this dress and a pencil skirt out of it. Not sure how I managed that, magic perhaps?

The first time I wore this dress out I felt super self conscious, I mean, we all know I'm not really one with the form fitting garments and that's a pretty low neckline up there. Now that I'm used to it I really like it though. Please pardon my 7am record mold count face in these photos. It's only the beginning of fall and I am already dreaming of the first freeze - sneezing / raspy voice / swollen face / ichy eyed Jen is a strange strange bird.