In honor of an upcoming Chinese New Year themed midwinter ball, I whipped out this brocade dress. I figured many people would get the cheongsam idea, and I couldn't stand the thought of wearing what everyone else was wearing. I used Butterick 6533 as a base, but added a pleated fish tail thing in the back. My thought was to capture the sensibilities of someone who came of age in the bustle era. I did not want to out and out wear period clothing to this event, but rather wanted to give a nod in it's general direction.The shrug is a separate piece, and man was it a pain to fit. Modern tailoring and pattern shapes confuse me. I cut my teeth on the 18th century. These modern curved lines just upset me.
The boys of course had a great time with the fabric that was all over the place. The next step is to attach the lining and decide on a closure.
I had briefly considered a zipper, but then I remembered that I hate them. I'm thinking instead eyelets and ribbon for a lace-up back, but maybe loops and buttons or some kind of frog closure would be more exciting. Thoughts?
I like the idea of the frog closure. The ones you have pictured would look great!
ReplyDeleteLaurie
I actually went ahead and ordered them. I kind of fell in love with the idea.
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