Yesterday’s ambitious…

Yesterday's ambitious writing plan was indeed hubris -- I had slept little and badly, and in the end, found myself too exhausted to concentrate on writing. I'm honestly not sure what I actually did yesterday; caught up on some baby blanket crocheting (long-neglected), watched tv, read a little. Did party planning.

I'm not sure I've mentioned this party; Kev and I are having a book launch / graduation / tenure party this summer, a biggish shindig. Should be lots of fun; some of our friends are coming in from out of town, as well as our families. And of course, my biggest dilemma is deciding what to wear! :-)

I spent a couple of hours yesterday looking at dresses online; I have my heart set on something dark red, knee-length, with an open neckline so that I can wear a very pretty necklace I own and that I never have occasion to wear. It is not so easy, finding such a thing. If anyone knows good dress-shopping places online they'd recommend, let me know. I'm looking for something that drapes well, that I can dance in, and that has wide shoulder straps (or more), because some of us do not do so well in those strapless or spaghetti strap designs that are unfriendly to bras.

Although there are so many pretty strapless dresses that I honestly have started wondering how hard it would be to buy such a dress and then add straps in some sort of matching color (out of thick velvet ribbon or some such?), possibly with handsewn beadwork. That may be beyond my sewing abilities, though -- any thoughts on the feasibility of such a project from more experienced seamstresses would be appreciated.

It's funny -- I've added plenty of buttons, mended tears, even taken in dresses -- all of those, I can do without worry. But I've also made a few dresses from a pattern, and I know just how far from professional those are; they'll pass in dim light, if people are drinking enough, but close examination would reveal that those dresses are riddled with errors. So I have some serious doubts about my sewing abilities. Real professional sewing still seems a bit like magic to me.

6 thoughts on “Yesterday’s ambitious…”

  1. Mary Anne Mohanraj

    Well, I’m not sure exactly what I need. I mean, is it just a matter of sewing straps on? Is there anything I should think about before trying to do so? Do I double the fabric over? I think I need very basic instructions on how one would do such a thing…

    It’s really deeply frustrating — 3/4 or more of all cocktail and evening dresses are either strapless or spaghetti strap. Really limits your choices!

  2. Mary Anne,

    When you find an answer – I’d like to know for Julia, she has the same challenge in finding dresses which fit her. We’re also looking for a dressmaker here in Chicago, as we bought some amazing silk while in India but didn’t have a chance to get it turned into anything…

    Shannon

  3. Mary Anne Mohanraj

    Oh, and how charming is this? English Cut, the new blog of a Saville Row tailor. Only a half-dozen or so entries so far, but I’ve already learned a lot in reading them. Now I know the difference between a bespoke suit and the three other kinds, and I can even tell the difference between a floating and fused canvas. Cool.

  4. Well, what you need will depend on the dress you end up buying. Get what you like, and get me a piccie and we can figure something out. And since you’re looking early — you said it was this summer? — if worse comes to worse, you could send it out to me and I’ll get measurements and the like. We’ll be able to figure it out, I’m sure. 🙂

Leave a Reply to Shannon Clark Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *