MeMadeMay 2019 Day 12

“MeMadeMay (2019) day 12. I went for “substantially overdressed” to visit Kenneth’s mother for Mother’s Day, because I knew I wouldn’t have another excuse to wear this dress in May. This is my URTA gala gown in all its glory, designed and drafted from the blocks up, in beautiful Ponte knit from Mood Fabrics and a hand-dyed back mesh inset panel. I still need a good detail shot of the back so you can see the exquisite seaming, which is my favorite part, but at least I got a partial look at the back.”

Ahh, my gala gown. Everything about it is sort of a beautiful mistake. Drafted to approximate something from the 30’s, but in a wildly inappropriate fabric. Finished in a panic at the last minute, the same day as the URTA gala. (Technically, never finished at all, since the cuffs weren’t ever hemmed, and I’ve always just folded them to the inside when I’ve worn it.)

But it’s beautiful, and remains to this day the only actual garment that I’ve fully designed and realized myself.

I’ll tell you one secret though: I desperately wanted the elbow darts, a feature I first encountered on my flight suit jacket for Sally Ride, but I didn’t really know how to make the sleeves happen in that way… so I whipped out the pattern for Sally’s flight suit jacket (which is Simplicity 3972 from 1951, for the record) and slapped those suckers directly onto my draft. They originally came out too wide/deep, so I ended up sort of hacking and slashing until they turned into what I wanted.