Frocktails 2018 Dress

Frocktails! It's bigger than the Grammys, Emmys, Oscars and the yearly dinner for the Queensland Philatelic Council! Usually much much thought goes into planning my outfit, with many accompanying mind changes, but this year I knew exactly what I wanted to do - pretty much a grown-up version of my girl's iceskating outfit, but with added feathers.

I think I TOTALLY nailed the assignment!

In all seriousness, though, I love a bit of messy glamour. And I love the full-skirted vintage style. So I decided to bring the two together, very much helped along with a gorgeous feathered and beaded lace tulle piece I found on Etsy. A quick trip to The Cloth Shop, and I soon had my matching fabric. The lovely owner Kim helped me match in a gorgeous red silk faille, which draped like a dream. It was like sewing with butter, but in fabric form - an absolute gem of a material.

Then the real work began. I made a muslin first to ensure my fit was good, loosely basing the bodice on an old vintage pattern I had. Then I made up the dress in the silk, boning the bodice for the perfect fit, and let it sit on my mannequin for the skirt to hang correctly.

Meanwhile I cut up my tulle piece, and then began to pin it haphazardly over the bodice and skirt of the dress until I was pleased with the result. Initially I was going to keep the bodice strapless, but I felt it looked too bare, so I fashioned a single shoulder piece out of the left over lace, which I felt worked a treat. Then I hand sewed all the applique on. It took probably 12 hours or so to do the hand sewing, but this is Frocktails, peeps - it was worth it! The dress was finished with a rolled hem.

Then, just to add to the fun, my talented pal Samara agreed to take pre-party pictures of myself and my darling friend Julia Bobbin, so our outfits could be captured by her amazing photographic talent. It was like being a movie star for a while - people stopped and gawked at us in our Frocktails finery whilst Samara expertly snapped away. I am not joking when I say that we stopped traffic - we LITERALLY did, as she made us pose in the middle of the road! The photos are incredible, and I'm so happy with them. It was worth risking being run over for!

Enough talking - let's get to these marvellous pictures!



























All in all it was a blooming marvellous night! Big thanks to Shelley and Lisa for organising it - so much fun was had, and it was brilliant to catch up with all the talented sewing people in their amazing outfits. Can't wait for next year!

Project Details:
Pattern - Self drafted vintage style strapless dress
Fabric - Silk faille from The Cloth Shop, lace tulle piece from MaryNotMartha on Etsy
Notions - Boning, invisible zipper

Photography - Samara Clifford Photography