Birthday Gala Dress - Overcoming My Fears

Making this dress has been a long and arduous journey for me.  Probably because the construction of this dress is so outside my comfort zone.  I primarily sew careerwear.  I'm always in awe of people who sew garments for all aspects of their lives...me, not so much.  I purchase the few things that don't fall within my parameters to sew.

So while visions of jackets, dresses and sweaters dance through my head, I have attempted to come up with a dress that would fulfill my needs...which are:

1.  An eveningwear dress that is not party dress-ish.

2.  Comfortable, yet still funkysexykewl.

3.  Not too flashy, but with a touch of glamour.  Because how many opportunities do I get to wear real dress-up evening clothes.

4.  A one-piece long dress.  I definitely didn't want a two-piece dress.

Mostly though, I really wanted the dress to reflect me...my style and my personality.  I thought Vogue 8666 would work but after making the shorter version of the dress and thinking about it for a minute, I realized that it really wasn't me.  Too fidgety, too funny looking, too awkward...just too!

I finally decided to just start all over again...using the navy silk crepe and lace I just purchased and seeing where the fabric would take me.  Of course once my hands laid the fabric on the table, all of my doubts were erased and I could see the dress that I wanted to make clearly.  I found myself excited and invigorated by the journey...gone were my fears.

So I've begun the process...I've made the first cuts...sewn the first seams...and am on my way to what will be a great Birthday Gala Dress.  I know, I know...you want to see something right?  *LOL*  Okay here's a peek of where I've been...

I'm much further along in the process than this and the next post will be about construction details...

...as always, more later!