Sunday, July 08, 2007

“My version” of the Chloe Dress

I have actually been doing a little sewing! I know, I know with all the ranting that's been going on hard to believe right?!

First let me say that this is my "interpretation" of the Chloe dress. There are certain style elements in the original dress that I admired and wanted to incorporate into my version...but the original is sleeveless...and as much as I love my body, I love it best with some sleeves covering my fantabolious flabby biceps! *LOL*

So the things I admire:
~the different colored/fabric in the waistline section
~the flare skirt
~the three different colors and how they were incorporated into the dress.

However, due to my wardrobing needs, I needed to take those points and "corporatize" them. So here is my version of the Chloe dress:


Fabric:
1/2 yard of red linen from FM of course!

1/2 yard of red/black polka dot linen (this has been in the fabric collection for forever - the tag said 4 yards of linen from Cloth World ~ they have been out of business for a minute!)

1/2 yard of black linen - recent purchase from Metro Textiles. The rest will be used for the St. John's knock-off dress which is up next.

Construction Details:
I used the pieces that I drafted for my version of the Chanel dress. So this was a lay down, cut out and sew adventure. The kind that I like best! *smile*

The two fabrics that I chose for the top and middle section seem to be the same shade of red but there is a slight difference between the red for the top and the red in the middle section...not enough to make you go uggghhhh, what was she thinking, but enough so that the original concept of the dress is preserved.

I added a lining to just the bottom portion of the skirt ~ below the waistband. I don't really like an all lined dress during the steamy days of summer and the linen on the bottom of the skirt is a lot more lightweight than I originally thought it was. So a lining was needed for opacity.

I also added bias binding to the neckline of the dress. The dress originally had a front and back facing but I haven't used them in some time since almost every other version I've made of this dress has had a full lining added to it. And I could only locate the back facing in the pattern folder. It would have been easy enough to draft a front facing but bias binding is so much cleaner so I opted to go with that method instead.

There are also some issues with my invisible zipper. I was trying to follow Els invisible zipper directions in her post on The Sewing Divas and I must have missed a step somewhere. I think in my quest to make sure that the different sections lined up in the back perfectly that I concentrated more on lining them up than following the directions. I will try them again on a solid colored dress or skirt because I really want to become proficient using her directions.

Other than that this was a pretty straightforward dress to make. In my opinion what makes it interesting is the different colored waistband. It will be perfect for the 100 plus degree day we are anticipating in NYC tomorrow. It will also work well for the all day meeting at work tomorrow. But most importantly, I won't be decked out all in black, I will be wearing a little color!

So, the first dress on the list is completed. One outfit down and eight more to go!

31 comments:

  1. Cute! I love the way you use your fabrics for lots of pieces in your collection. Really ties it all together, and why not? If something is great, it's great again.

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  2. I like the dress. You did a very nice job. When I saw the color differences I had thought you did that on purpose because of the chloe dress!

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  3. Mission accomplished for this weekend, Carolyn. Very pretty on you too. Enjoy wearing it tomorrow, it's a great-looking dress.

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  4. Please don't ever change your style! You always look wonderful and very professional. Enjoy all the compliments I know you will be getting tomorrow. Also don't give up with getting McCalls to change. Perhaps they will finally listen.
    Melissa

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  5. You look fantastic! Great job!

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  6. That dress works, and I think you achieved what you were going for with the silhouette and color changes. Bravo!

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  7. Fantastic dress, makes you look like a movie star! Wow!

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  8. Look at you, looking so cute in your new dress! I can't wait to see what's up next!

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  9. loving the polkadot on the waist, it really makes it look RTW

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  10. Great dress and the color combination red and black suits you. Good luck on sewing an invisible zipper the next time. I know it will take some practise to get it done my way, so it can be helpful to practise on some scraps first .

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  11. Beautiful use of colors. Thanks for pointing out that invisible zip treatment. You've gone all designer!

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  12. Great dress Carolyn. You look fabulous and the dress certainly fits your style and panache and probably the demands of your workplace. Great inerpretation. Stay cool.

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  13. carolyn, what a gorgeous dress! you look super fantastic. ;)

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  14. Love the dress--I'm making plans to 'copy' your idea in different colours...

    On a totally different note: I like some of Connie's patterns, but they are definitely more 'my stlye' which is flowing and a little different, than your great corporate chic style, that's for sure. I teach rotary French in an Elementary School, so I can be a little different in the way I dress. We do corporate casual in our school.

    And, I love your bookcase. Armstrong is worth finding second hand--any edition in the last 7 years will be useful to you.

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  15. Oh Carolyn! This is such a wonderful dress! I love your sense of style and evreything you sew. You have such a great eye for interpreting the fashions you like into what works well for you. I wish you could write a how to lesson on that skill!

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  16. That dress is great! I love it and it looks so good on you! Fab job (again) Carolyn!

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  17. Great job!!I like the colors you put together.

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  18. Love it! At first I thought that you had put some elaborate trim around the waist, but now I see that it's polka dots. I guess the reds are a very close match.

    Stay Cool! For some reason the really hot weather is missing us - at least for today.

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  19. You did a fantastic job... and its perfect for today's weather... I opted for a shortsleeve suit.. but ohh how I wish I had that dress on...lol

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  20. Oh, the Red and Black looks gorgeous! Way to go, Carolyn!

    Masouma Rose

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  21. Yet another awesome dress! I LOVE those polka dots! And you look stunning in it.

    Stay cool.

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  22. hi- I'm back!

    I forgot to mention, thanks for sharing your library of sewing books and the quote. Just this morning I was looking at knitting books to buy and began to go through this funk about how many sewing/knitting/fabric arts books does one person need anyway?

    Vindicated! Thanks and I hope I haven't exceeded the comment limit.

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  23. Beautiful, as usual. I first thought that you had used some fab trim at the waist. Finding that you used (stashed) fabrics is so creative. Love it, and can't wait to see the dress with the trim come out of your workroom.

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  24. Love the style/lines on you, and the fabric combination. Very nice! I definitely see the inspiration but I also see YOU.

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  25. Wonderful! You look so stylish!

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  26. Ditto to all the compliments above. I really like the look of this dress on you! I recently wrote about invisible zippers, though my technique is not as polished as Els! I won't to work on her method also.

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  27. Your dress is beautiful and you look stunning in it! I admire your innate sense of style! I wish you could bottle that and sell it!

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  28. Your new dress is fabulous! Great Job!

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  29. relly relly nice, love it!

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  30. Very nice dress, you look great in red. The polka dots are just the right amount of fun for a corporate dress.

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