Ok, my apologies. It has literally been months since I have updated, and I actually just had to reset my password, just to access my blogger account. I guess my age is already making me forgetful. To make up for my absence I am excited to be able to write about, and share some pictures of a dress I made for my friend Dana, that was entirely my own design. Sure, I have been making dresses since I was a teenager, but usually following and altering some pattern I picked up at JoAnne Fabrics. Not this time. Apparently I retained some of the lessons and techniques I picked up from a draping class I took last summer.
My inspiration for this dress came from two places. First, my amazing friend Dana, who always talked about wanting to dress up as a 1920's flapper for Halloween. Second, was F. Scott Fitzgerald. When you hear the name, right away most people jump to The Great Gatsby, the book he is perhaps most famous for, and still resides on most high school summer reading lists. I was brought back to Fitzgerald in a more round about route. Over the summer I was flipping through twitter updates when I saw someone reference Zelda Fitzgerald. Not knowing who she was, I googled. I came to read about the both exciting and tragic life of Zelda Sayre who took Fitzgerald as her married name when she and Scott married. Fitzgerald was the voice of his generation, and Zelda was, arguably, the original "Flapper." In the brief synopsis of their life together, provided by wikipedia, I took note of the title of Fitzgerald's first published novel; This Side of Paradise. On my next trip to Barnes and Noble I picked it up, and it has now become one of my favorite books. He infused his own experiences into the book, and was able to paint such a clear picture of the age. The characters were so relatable and I found myself sad when I turned to the last page. I guess that is the sign of a good book, and one I will certainly read again and again.
Ok, Fitzgerald diatribe over. Onto the fashion. I surfed the web for inspiration and found images ranging from authentic 1920's gowns, modern high fashion pieces, and cheap costume replications. Below is the path I followed, and the finished result.
Inspiration: Chanel Spring 2011 Dress
Sketch:
Materials:
A work in progress:
My gorgeous friend:
Two girls celebrating the(ir) 20's :-)
