Cocktail, anyone?
Today's I'm sharing the cocktail dress that I made as part of the Day and Night Challenge. This is the second year I've participated in this fun challenge!
Today's I'm sharing the cocktail dress that I made as part of the Day and Night Challenge. This is the second year I've participated in this fun challenge!
This year, the theme for this fabulous challenge, which is the brainchild of Elizabeth of Elizabeth Made This, is Coffee and Cocktails.
You can see my Coffee and Cocktail dresses side-by-side here, or the details on my coffee dress here!
Here's what Elizabeth has to say about what constitutes a cocktail dress for purposes of the challenge:
"Night look dresses should be a cocktail dress of any kind and style. This does not have to be an ultra formal affair. Your cocktail dress should take you to a nice dinner or to a less formal wedding."
Cocktail dresses are not de riguer here in Vermont, but that didn't stop me. For my cocktail dress, I decided to go for the Named Clothing Agate Pencil Dress, a sleek mid-calf length, batwing sleeved dress, with an opportunity for some cool colorblocking.
I've had this pattern in my queue since it was released and even purchased fabric to make it last fall. It kept falling by the wayside, though, as I sewed up more sweaters and warm things to suit my new climate. The Day and Night Dress Challenge was the perfect excuse to finally sew this dress!
After making quite possibly my favorite pair of pants with tencel twill, I did not pass go and immediately bought more for my Agate. I love that this fabric has drape, a bit of heft, and that cool sueded texture. I went for two beautiful shades from Style Maker Fabrics: jade for the main bodice and black for the side panels.
I didn’t make any fit changes to my size 48 Agate, and lucked out with a pretty fabulous (albeit slim) fit. However, I did make a few construction changes, just based on personal preference. I skipped the leg slit invisible zipper and, instead, finished it to my desired length and bartacked at the top. I also ended up needing to topstitch the neckline facing because I could not get it to stop rolling out despite all my understitching and stitch-in-the-ditch efforts, particularly at the back of the neck. Finally, I skipped the belt.
I'm pretty smitten with this dress. It's definitely not going to be an everyday dress for me because of Vermont's lifestyle, but also because the close fit makes it a standing-only dress. But methinks it looks pretty hot, non? I may need some different shoes, though, because these boots are looking a little clunky with the dress.
Cheers!
Thanks again for having me, Elizabeth!