Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Stylish Dress Book style A

I briefly mentioned one of these dresses a couple of posts back. The pattern is Style A from the popular Japanese Stylish Dress Book. My first one, in an Alexander Henry cotton lawn - see further below - was getting so much wear that I made another. This absolutely gorgeous Anna Maria Horner voile has been in my stash for about a year waiting for just the 'right' project. 
Check out our seven day forecast and you'll understand why this is the best thing to wear right now (degrees Celcius): 35, 41, 42, 31, 36, 41, 41.  (42 being 107.6 Fahrenheit.)




Apparently I was never going to be able to get any photos of me that did not also contain a fairy-bread-munching five year old.

I should note here that I have the translated version of this book which is also graded up into 'Western-style' sizing. I haven't tried any of the other patterns yet but I can say that this one is certainly generous. By my measurements I made a muslin of size 14 which was so immensely vast, I went straight down to a size 10, which as you can see still has plenty of room.



I added simple gathered-top pockets to this first version to match the gathering at the front neckline. I also gave both dresses pintucks around the bottom above the hem because they ended up too long and I thought they could use a little more visual interest.


Then on the voile version I decided to use four small pleats instead of gathering at the neckline, and repeated the pleating on the pockets. Uh, sorry this is the creased-up version after wearing it all day yesterday!



Yes, it's probably a bit see-through in certain lights. And the style is loose and not the most slimming and flattering thing I've ever worn. But the supreme comfort factor and fabrics I adore are certainly winning in this heat!

- Jane x

14 comments:

  1. Holy hotness! What a cute way to beat the heat!

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  2. Oh, it's very pretty Jane - I love that voile - good to know re the 'western' sizing - that's what has always put me off buying this book (as in too small for me!)

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  3. That looks perfect for the weather that you guys are having! So cool and comfy! And I need to remember the idea of pintucks along the bottom when something is too long...such a perfect solution!

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  4. One hundred and SEVEN degrees? Hot (insert expletive here) that is hot! Yes, in that weather, you need something loose and breezy. It looks really lovely on you. And you and Clem are so freaking cute.

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  5. I love both dresses - you've done a great job!

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  6. Thank you everyone - and I've just discovered the revised forecast for tomorrow is 44, which makes me almost want to bring the chickens inside out of the heat lest they are cooked. AGH! Voile will be worn again....

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  7. Very nice! I have a Wiksten tunic made out of that very same print! Both of my girls one after the other (looking over my shoulder) said "don't you have that material?" Oh, and I feel for our chickens as well! The poor things sit there panting all day long and their water turns hot within minutes. Last year on a 44deg day we had one fatality. Hope yours make it through.

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  8. Seriously love the cut of that dress!
    We lost a poor chook yesterday in the heat,so we left them out today and put a sprinkler under the trees for them.

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    1. Oh poor chooky... after I got Harriet's comment above I took our girls out a big bowl of iced water! And a little bit later I wet down some of the ground for them so they could wallow. Poor things just looked like they couldn't make sense of how they were feeling.

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  9. Love it and it looks gorgeous on you! Perfect for that hot weather!

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  10. Oh I like it, the pleats work really well. I have this book, but in Japanese.....and small sizes.....perhaps that's why I've not actually sewn anything from it yet? It would seem such a waste to buy it again, translated, but I'm very tempted. Bethx

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  11. These dresses look great on you, I love that voile, is it the lichen colourway?, and the pleats are a really good idea.
    Nick

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    1. Hello and thanks! Yes I think from memory that was the 'lichen' colourway. The voile takes pleats just beautifully.

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Hey, I would really love to know what you think. Go on!

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