Vogue 8815. Click for source.
Spending an hour consulting with a master seamstress was awesome. In brief, here’s her thoughts:
1. My bodice sloper needs to be lowered in front 1 1/2 inches to hit my natural waistline and 2 inches in back. The armhole needs widening/lowering and further rotation forward. Otherwise, she said it’s nice work. She especially liked the careful draft drawings.
2. That said, she recommends not using a sloper unless I’m really going to draft my own patterns from scratch. What she recommends instead is learning how to understand/adjust Vogue patterns, the basic bodice of which can be used as a basis to make whatever I want to make, mixing and matching multiple patterns. For example, looking at V8543, she showed me how to size according to the bust (she used the high, not full bust) and use the body measurements section of the instructions to add/subtract correction measurements to make up the difference between those measurements and my true measurements. For example, since my high bust is 39″ (hers and Martin’s measurements matched and were larger than what I’ve been getting because I’ve been pulling the tape too tight), she said to cut size 18. My under bust is 36 3/4″ and my full bust is 40 1/2. The Vogue body measurements for size 18 list 40 for the bust. She didn’t recommend an FBA but did recommend my usual broad back adjustment, then an additional slash and spread in front to add any remaining difference to the waist. That should be all that is needed, although I may want to futz with the sleeves. For the armhole, she suggested making the muslin and sharpie marking in new armhole lines. For the sleeve caps she said “scoop a little in front and add a little to the back.”
3. Her take on my dimensions is that they’re “pretty normal” but that I have a broad back and weight gain at the waist.
4. She drafts patterns from scratch as a last resort. It is almost never necessary.
Reviewing the calendar and discussing MOTB (mother of the bride) outfit possibilities with the seamstress and my dear friend E. in North Carolina, I realized I need to shift gears and focus on putting together a mother of the bride outfit for my daughter’s wedding in July, in Sonoma.
Since planning my own wedding outfit a year ago, I have learned so much, about myself and about style. I am psyched about putting together a really beautiful MOTB outfit that I will feel happy and relaxed wearing on my daughter’s special day.
I expect it to be hot in Sonoma in mid-July, so short sleeves and sandals are a must. Here’s the outfit I’m planning:
1. The above pictured Vogue 8815 top. It has excellent reviews on patternreview.com and elsewhere in blog land and seems to look good on a variety of shapes, including mine. I may lower the waist shown a little to my natural waist, and slightly lower the peplum length. I will definitely lower the crew neckline.
2. I’ve ordered a swatch of this fabric to test the color. Violet is my favorite color.
New York Fashion Center Fabrics. Click for source.
3. This Wendy Brandes pendant, which will look beautiful worn over the violet top.
4. These lovely Wendy Brandes earrings Wendy suggested a couple of days ago as a possibility for me.
Wendy Brandes Venus Earrings – Chalcedony. Click for source.
5. These Eileen Fisher Petite Slim Ankle Pants. Not sure whether I need Petite or Regular so I ordered both and will return one.
Eileen Fisher Petite Slim Ankle Pant. Click for source.
6. For sandals I have these two possibilities. Both were available in my 8.5 W size!
Touch Ups Monaco Black. Click for source.
Dyeables Fiesta Black Satin. Click for source.
I feel beautiful just thinking about wearing these lovely things.
Some weight is coming off, slowly. I don’t like to make a big deal about these things but here’s what I’m doing that seems to be working: 1) smaller portions, 2) exercising on the arc trainer 3x per week and moving around a lot the rest of the time (the two days I was drafting the sloper I was on my feet all day both days), 3) less alcohol, 4) more hot chocolate :).
Next time I’ll tell you about this fascinating book my friend Tracey Cleantis recommended. It shows you how to reconstruct the archetypal mother for yourself. Actually, as it turns out, although there is more work to do, I’ve already accomplished a fair amount of what is suggested.
I wish everyone a beautiful weekend! Please tell me what you think of the MOTB outfit and whether you have any other suggestions or tweaks. Do you agree with the seamstress?
Update: this post has been edited for content.
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Susan, I think that fabric will look lovely on you. And those earrings…oh my!! Your MOB ensemble will be *perfect* for a Sonoma wedding.
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Thank you Susan, that’s quite an endorsement! Sonoma in summer can be tricky if sleeveless, form-fitting drapey dress are not what flatters you best. Now that I understand what does flatter me, I wouldn’t want to wear anything else!
Yes! those earrings will look great with the purple fabric.
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Thank you Lisa. I thought so too. Btw, you will be invited to the shower. I hope you can make it. My girly girl looks forward to meeting you :).
Love the violet color…I think the earrings will be fabulous with that!
WendyB recently posted..What Wendy Wore: Out and About in Los Angeles
Yes, I think so too!
I like the colors and the jewelry, I assume it goes with what the bridal party is wearing? The shoes look perfect for stepping out on the dance floor.
I have a wall full of family photos from weddings. You owe it to yourself to appear in an outfit that photographs well. It’s not the perfect outfit if it doesn’t flatter you in a photo. I’d try some sample photos just to make sure the image your children and grandchildren see is what’s in your minds-eye.
Thank you Ginny. Yes, the colors should go well with the bridal party, and I have some experience with violet/black looking good in photos so I think the future generations will like the outfit too :).
RE: seamstress advice. See: How we make patterns in real life.
http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/how-we-make-patterns-in-real-life/
Hi Kathleen, thank you for the link. I’d actually already read that post but when I read it I think I didn’t have enough sewing schema to fully incorporate all of the information. One justification for going off on tangents that will ultimately prove useless is that in doing so you are able to back fill in missing schema you need to understand why the tangent is useless. In other words, learning is by its nature a somewhat iterative process.
Thank you for visiting.
Susan, I’m very out of it when it comes to outfits but if your first two commenters like your choice of black trousers, then I’m certain you’ve got it nailed. Here in Britain it’s much more formal and fussy and I rarely get it right. I do love the Vogue pattern and your choice of beautiful coloured fabric. I can well imagine that colour would look great on you. Look forward to seeing how it all turns out!
Hi Shelley, I have a theory that formality increases as you move East, closer to Britain :). An East Coast friend wasn’t keen on the black pants because they read “casual” but I think in Northern California, it’s okay. A dress would be more formal, but dresses aren’t the most flattering garments for me to wear and I want to look my best.
I love you outfit selections: simple with innovative twist and little personalized details. I’m very much in favour of the mismatched jewellery, though the cleopatra earring or the one’s you got for Christmas would work great as well.
I vote for the fiesta shoes: the pink kitten heel had me swooning!
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Thank you Ana. The Cleopatras will probably come out for the rehearsal dinner and the Christmas are coming out for the bridal shower. All of my Wendy Brandes beauties will get plenty of play time.
The kitten heel makes me swoon too but I wore them church Sunday and they were painful! So sad :(.
Awww Susan, that’s just wrong :-( pretty shoes should hurt or give us blisters!
coffeeaddict recently posted..Bead Soup from Sarah
I am hopping mad about it! Or maybe I’m hopping because of the blisters :(.
I absolutely love the peplum top and pants idea. I do like the color, but it would be nice in a lace as well. You could line the body and leave the lace sleeves unlined. The chalcedony earrings are gorgeous – I love that stone so much. Have you considered silver sandals? Might lighten up the outfit a bit for the summer and also dress it up some too. I like the black as well, but just some ideas as I was going through this whole MOB thing last year, and MOG the year before that.
Lace is beautiful and might work, but I’m not sure. This lady made it in lace. In my experience, lace isn’t as slimming as fabric in a dark solid color.
I’m glad you like the earrings :).
I did think of silver sandals, and have a pair, so that’s something to consider. I wore the Fiestas to church Sunday and they hurt like the dickens :(. The Monaco sandals are very comfortable. I’ve ordered some other sandals to try as well. There is plenty of time to sort out the details.
The afternoon spent with the seamstress sounds extremely productive. It pleased me to read she indicated the sloper was not absolutely a necessity. What’d occurred to me (but had kept to myself) is throughout your iterations, it seemed as if you might be trying too hard to, as they say, reinvent the wheel.
Yet working through the pattern-design process, because that will be important to the business model, was useful as a series of studies. Much like scales or études practiced in music.
From what you’ve written, now the sizing element is pinned down (ha! a tailoring pun), and you’re well on your way to achieving the fit you’ve been seeking with greater efficiency. It’s helpful to get one-on-one time with tutors, allowing us to move through challenges with more assurance, isn’t it? Time and money well spent.
Ah, the shoes. Highly critical and often underestimated. I read your post last week but was unable to get back until today and am interested to read the comments that have ensued in the interim concerning the two choices. I concur with the other commenters and prefer the pair with the kitten heels, but wondered whether they might not be as comfortable as those with the solid heels. Still, the latter pair aren’t as adorable, are they?
I went to the source and saw the kitten heels are available in silver and agree with Kathy that might be a better color choice. While that shoe may now be a moot point, due to the discomfort factor, the color I thought of even before black or silver would be a soft gold.
I’ve owned a pair of dressy sandals for many years, in the softest buttery gold, and I love them. Plus, they are nearly flats (just a short heel, around an inch), making them so very comfortable. A simple, classic Roman style, with only one buckled strap. Ladylike, almost invisible, yet with just a hint of elegant gleam. You’ll want to be comfortable for the big day. Comfort rules, especially on important days like weddings!
Thus my vote is cast for a soft gold in a simple style if a pair can be found. Not metallic, no, no. Just a soft gold, like brushed satin. The blouse pattern looks very pretty. I envision it in a lightweight silky fabric, so the violet crepe should be perfect, which looks to be a lovely hue. Can’t tell the weight of it, but from the folds, it looks like it will drape gracefully.
How remarkable that one can read reviews of patterns in these modern times. Such is the wonder of the interwebs.
Hi Elsa, I’m also relieved that I don’t need to continue working on the sloper, but it was an interesting exercise and gave me some insight into the drafting process, which as you noted, may prove useful to Martin later on. Love the music analogy.
The time and money spent on the seamstress was a bargain!
I keep retrying the kitten heels but end up in pain within ten minutes!
The silver sandals I already own are in the Roman style. Buttery gold sounds wonderful. Right now I don’t see anything in gold in my size but I will keep looking.
The crepe swatch I ordered wasn’t the hue I expected. I ordered two more swatches. Martin thinks the crepe may not be very breathable. He suggests a raw silk or a couple of other silk choices I of course can’t remember now. He showed me this morning and now I’m not finding them. He ordered these from Dharma Trading because the silk is modestly priced. However, you have to dye it. We purchased 3 violet dyes from Dharma already because we wanted to experiment with dyeing linen. These cold water dyes can be used for silk as well, but results are uncertain. We’ll experiment this weekend. If we don’t get good color results we’ll buy dyes meant for silk — the silk method involves boiling water.
Anyway, dyeing $10 a yard silk is much less expensive than paying $66 per yard for the violet silk at NY Fashion Fabrics.
Love the violet color of the silk, but silk crepe might not be as cool as a lighter wight silk. Dying silk sounds tricky, but maybe not. The only silk I ever had a problem washing was a pattern with colors that ran.
Those earrings are super chic and get my vote over the necklace. When it comes to shoes, COMFY is EVERYTHING. It’s going to be a long day and you want your tootsies to be as happy as you are.
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Dying silk is tricky indeed. Martin got some beautiful colors but with uneven coverage. I completely agree with you about the shoes needing to be comfortable.