Smithson Gown 2008
Time for the latest installment of the Smithson Gown Saga!
Sorry the process is a little truncated again this year... it's been a busy spring for my business, so I haven't had much play time. The gala is just ten days from now, on April 26, so I have to move into high gear on this project.
The inspiration for the gown came from one of the list members over on the Creative Machine on Yahoo.
I really did like the dress, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it just was going to look too much like a wedding dress, and I really wanted to avoid that. Still, I liked the idea of having an inverted pleat with a contrasting fabric peeking out.
One of the reasons I couldn't start the dress until now was that the fabric for the dress was "otherwise engaged" -- it was being used in a drapery vignette in Atlanta. Once I got the panels home, I took them apart and now can scavenge the fabric to make the gown.
Here's a picture of the vignette in place.
This muslin is a real "quickie" -- about three hours start to finish, including cutting it out. I love my industrial machine!! I didn't hem anything, and only staystitched and trimmed the neckline.
Front View
The basic form of the dress is an armscye princess with a sweetheart neckline and godet inserts in the hem and sleeves.
There is zero ease in the chest, one inch in the waist and 2.5 inches in the hips. There's an invisible zipper in the right side seam.
The "real" fabric is the blue with the silver dots on it; the godets will be the gold silk dupioni as seen in the underpanels above.
Overall, it feels pretty good. I'm going to try prewashing a square of the blue fabric and see how it changes the hand; right now it's very stiff and doesn't drape well.
The only thing I really don't like is the neckline. But I'm getting tired of the same old scoop neck; yes, it looks good on me, but I was hoping to try something different. I'm open to suggestions.
Back View
There's that wrinkle down the spine; I'm hoping it will go away when the fabric is washed. I like not having a center back seam.
Remember, it's going to be the swirly fabric, not a solid blue. So that will also help with camouflage.
I kind of like the higher neckline.
The side view is pretty good; I'm wearing the wrong bra so that doesn't help much.
I also think I will elongate the godets in the sleeves. They need to start about 2" higher.
Oh, and I'm planning on piping the neckline in the gold silk, and lining the sleeves with the gold as well.
I just noticed that this color combination really makes my hair look red.
The skirt has a lot of nice swirl to it. I was thinking about doing something shorter this year, but I guess it just wants to be long.
The sleeves are going to be nice; when I hold my arm out, though, it really shows that longer godets are needed.
Thoughts? Comments? Please let me know! Send email to welmoed@sissonfamily.com.
Update!
Comments are already coming in and the verdict is clear: the neckline needs to be changed.
Okay, through the magic of Photo Shop, here are three possibilities:
Opinions? I'm sort of partial to the last one myself. The middle one is my old tried-and-true scoop.
Update #2
Based on feedback, the first and third necklines are more popular. I'm going to try the third one.
Here's another thought: How about piping the princess seams in the same silk as the godets? Again, I'm just trying to add a little drama into the dress and bring the gold all the way up. Here's the Photoshop version:
The piping would be very skinny, and would follow the princess seam through the armhole and into the sleeve. It would also frame the neckline and the cuff, and the inside of the sleeve would also be in gold (have to remember to add a little bit of ease to the sleeves to account for the bulk of the lining).
What do you think?
Update
The consensus so far is that the gold piping isn't going to work. Also, I wanted to try the modified neck #3 on me and see if it looked decent. I was also asked to have new photos done wearing the correct bra. So, here goes.
Front view. I think it looks better; the new neck shape is certainly an improvement. Also, the correct bra does change the fit.
I'm going to re-check all my measurements this evening; I have the feeling some of them might have changed. If they have, that will go a long way towards explaining the loose fit.
Haven't tried washing the fabric yet, but that's on my list for the next day or so.
Side view. Good posture helps, too.
Update
Home from the Gala!
It was a great evening; you can see pictures of the whole thing here!