As I mentioned in my 2017 wrap up post, I defended my master’s and now I’m a free woman! Otherwise known as a member of the semi-normal work force.
But because I can’t help myself, even in the stress of preparing for my defense, I made a special dress to wear for the defense. It ended up being a small amount of stress relief and a chance to slow my brain down between turning in my manuscript and giving the oral defense.
To make my degree a bit full circle, I used the same pattern as when I had my very first grad school presentation… This is the Dandelion Dress pattern from Seamster Patterns, which is unfortunately no longer available. It’s essentially a very uniquely seamed shift dress/shirt, and I’ve made it a couple times now. I still wear my first version a lot, and I was hoping to recreate that magic.
Because I can’t stop myself, I had to make it more complicated… The fabric I bought from Fabric.com was not what I was expecting. I bought this printed boucle which I thought would be printed so that the boucle direction matched what looked like the print direction… That wasn’t true. The print was also much bigger than I expected and it was blaringly large in the original colors of navy and white. So I dyed it with some emerald procion green dye, and it turned out to be in my perfect color scheme! My accent fabric is a brushed navy twill that is sooooooo soft. A bit lighter weight than expected, but I’m not used to figuring out what 6oz feels like. I know for now though!
I used the twill on the front and back center and the sleeves, and the boucle for the large side pieces. The fit is okay. I don’t know whether it shrunk after the first wearing, or whether my first feels larger due to the slight stretch in the fabric. Neither of the fabrics for this version have any more than mechanical stretch, and I can feel it. About a year later now, and I’ve lost some of the “bad choices preceding defense” weight, it feels less tight, but now that I see how the back looks at least in pictures it’ll be relegated to job interviews and sweater days, since it doesn’t (easily) fit into my daily life until it gets cooler outside (it’s fall, but the weather isn’t complying).
For the pattern choices, I went with the rounded neckline, and I omitted the zipper again. This one is harder to wiggle into, but I still can… I do have to wear it over a slip or tights and slip shorts, because the boucle is just wiggly enough that you can tell whether there’s anything under it, and I really didn’t want to line it.
I love this dress, and it made me feel great wearing it on the day. I passed (with some flying colors if I do say so myself)! And I’ve worn it a few times since. The sleeves are a little tight when I bring my arms forward, but not cut off circulation, just uncomfortable and unflattering… So with sweater, yes! Without sweater, maybe. Also there aren’t pockets, so a sweater with pockets is ideal.
When editing the pictures I saw how crummy the back looks, but I can say that at least 25% of the wrinkles are from wearing it all day, and I’d guess that 50% is that the swayback doesn’t match my body curve (but without a zipper I can’t do better) and that the final 25% is that I tend to underestimate the amount of backfat/bulk that my back carries. I’m no football lineman, but I definitely have to make back adjustments on tight patterns, and I never did on this one.
I’m no longer working in an office environment, so this will end up relegated to the job interview/special event part of my wardrobe, but the memories that I have with this dress are something I’ll never stop believing in…
Too cheesy?
Also, I found this picture and now I’m super curious what caused this expression…