The Life of a Dreamer

Hello! You're probably all wondering where I've disappeared to. I'm afraid I went away into the time consuming world of college applications. It took over so much of my life, but I finished my last application about two weeks ago and it feels good to finally be done now! So far I've been accepted into The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Savannah College of Art and Design, and Parsons the New School for Design. I'm still waiting to hear back from The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York University, and Pratt Institute of Art and Design.

Ok enough college talk, this is a photo shoot of my lovely childhood friend Katie. Katie is absolutely beautiful and I had so much fun taking pictures and hanging out with her that day! It also felt really nice not having to set up my tripod for once. Lately I've really been inspired by anything that has to do with sailing. This may have something to do with watching Master and Commander and constantly looking at Arthur Rackham beach illustrations. I've been thinking of what a woman sailor would look like and how one could transfer that same nautical/sailor theme mixed with a soft feminine look. I've been playing with this idea a lot and you'll probably see many more dresses from me expanding with this same theme.

^the epaulets are made from using a hot glue gun, felt, tassels and other designed trims.

I made the dress that she's modeling from Vogue's Rebecca Taylor 1152 pattern with my own minor design adjustments. I've used this pattern multiple times and I really love how easy of a dress it is and yet it still looks really intricate. I normally draft my own sleeves for this pattern, so I don't know how the directions are when it comes to describing the sleeves, but everything else is well instructed.

I looked at other sewing reviews for this dress and most of them said that it was an intermediate in skill level. Personally, I think that you could still make this dress even if you're a beginner. Just go slow and take the steps one at a time. The thing my mom taught me when I first started sewing was that an apron (easy) pattern is no different than a jacket (more advanced) pattern. There are just more steps to a jacket than there is an apron so you might have to take it slower. Overall I'd definitely recommend this pattern if anyone has been thinking about using it.

If you've used this pattern before let me know what you thought of it and if you have photos up somewhere post a link! I'd love to check out your wonderful sewing skills!