CAMO DRESS!!! Can you see me?!

I've been talking about the "camo dress" for so long, it's about time I unveiled the thing.

Drumroll please......



Now that you're blind from the glare off my pasty legs, let's talk about the dress! This is the Socialite Dress pattern from Anna Maria Horner. I chose camo fabric from J&O fabrics as my first run through as a sort of funky muslin to check the fit. I'm a big fan of muslins being wearable if they work out - and am pleased to say I wore this camo dress to brunch last weekend!
I have a pair of stilletto knee high lace up suede boots that I think are PERFECT with this dress - but not for a family brunch outing.

Here's a headless shot -- it's all about the dress (and my straggly hair - oy!)



I could totally win a game of hide and seek in my camo dress now.
I really like that this dress has pockets. And they were totally easy to sew in. Swear!




I'm sorry I forgot to get a picture of the back of the dress. Taking a picture of my butt just wasn't in my mind -- you understand!

This pattern has no zips or buttons to sew, the dress just pulls on overhead. It can be worn with or without a belt but honestly without a belt I think it looks a bit tentlike. I sewed myself a medium, and it fits. But for the next run through, I think I will make the top bigger and the lower part smaller. It's a bit more snug in the bust than would be ideal. This dress was pretty easy to put together. I would recommend it for beginners. And I'll be making it again.

So there you have it. What do you think? Chic or scary?!

Later skaters,
Janimal

P.S.
Oh, I have a tutorial to post for my quadruple stitched taggy blankets, and another Oliver & S pattern complete to show off. Come back soon!

Camo Dress Progress And What The Cool Kids Are Wearing

Well, I got started on the camo dress.

All laid out and ready to cut. This is my muslin of the Socialite Dress pattern, sewn up in camo. (I am using camo as my muslin instead of my planned Amy Butler Temple Doors fabric)




I've actually made a little progress, but nothing cool I can really show you yet. I am a bit concerned that I may have cut the top too small. But I suppose this is why we sew a muslin, right?! It's just the more and more I look at my camo dress project, the less muslin-ish it is to me and the more oooooh-I-hope-it-works it gets!

Camo appears to be what the cool kids are wearing. Check it out.

Here, some famous British chick I don't know, wore that Balmain sequined camo dress on a red carpet. I like it better with the jacket but I still don't think sequins go with camo.






Another Balmain fan, Beyonce. I read that the military jacket cost $4700! And the camo pants about $1600! Holy cow!



Apparently Beyonce has had an eye for a camo for a while, this pic below was from 2007!






Um, this next pic is really not the kind of camo garment I think I could or would try to pull off. Although I do think it would garner some attention. Hey, do you think that's what Paris was going for? Attention? You know she hates attention!




Rihanna is a bit more subdued in her camo.



Oh Jessica Simpson rocks the camo too. And she's recently engaged. I should email her and suggest a camo wedding dress. Seriously, in my googling for camo garments I came across a ton of redneck wedding attire.




And here's Kim Kardashian in another Balmain creation. Would someone remind me why she's famous again, please?



I just think this pic of Katy Perry is totally cute. And she has great legs.





More tight camo pants on Mary J Blige. Perfectly accessorized of course, diva.






When I first saw this pic at first glance I thought it was Lindsay Lohan. Perhaps trying to blend in camo as she strolls into rehab....again. But it's Miley. Hmmmmm. Scary that I got those two confused. SAVE MILEY!





There are a bunch of pics of famous dudes wearing camo also, but they are a bit boring in my opinion.

What I discovered here, is that it seems a little camo can go a LONG way. Too much is just.....too much. A camo piece with the right accessories can look super classy. But the wrong garment and styling and it's redneck city. This concerns me because although I LOVE ACCESSORIES, I am pretty awful at putting them together. I have a bunch of pretty necklaces that I can never figure out how to wear. Le sigh. And a camo dress *might* be overkill. Ah well, if it's not wearable, perhaps I can make a little camo bag from it!

SO I guess this post today was a fashion show. I'll have to make sure my next post shows a bit more......creativity! I'm up for it! Please come back!

Thanks for stopping by!
Later skater,

Janimal

In Case I Need To Hide In The Woods

Greetings lovely readers.

Most of the stuff I make is for my adorable kid. But ya know, I think this year
I may just have to make some clothing for moi.

So, may I present a project in the works -- the Socialite Dress by Anna Maria Horner!

When I typed this the first time I wrote "Socialist" instead of Socialite. Haha.

That must be my inner Brit fighting for blog space.

And....with this pattern I GUESS I need a muslin.

Before I show you my muslin fabric - here's the fabric I'm thinking for this dress:

Amy Butler Temple Doors in Fresh Mint from the Soul Blossoms line (available at Whipstitch Fabrics). What do you think - too bright?

I think this dress might be pretty in a lovely textured silk dupioni - but let's not get carried away yet!

I think the loose fit of this dress might work for my weird bodyshape combo. Like most women, my upper body measurements don't match the bottom ones. I don't like to brag but I'm happy to say I have quite a nice derriere. Not too big, slim hips, and quite cute. (blush) Unfortunately my belly makes up for all that backside perkiness by sticking out unattractively and pouchy. (I would blame Delilah but if you saw the chocolate stash in my desk drawer you would know the truth.) Up top I have broad shoulders and a bodacious chest.

Sometimes when I try RTW garments if I get a dress that fits up top, my lower half is lost in a sea of fabric. And if I find something flattering to my slim booty - it just won't go over my lady lumps up top. And if I do find something that fits the top and bottom, that sad pouchy belly sticks out and messes up the whole deal. Sigh. So I find myself thinking I may have to use the large pattern for the top, and somehow draft down to the medium or small at the hips while still allowing some extra ease over the abdomen. So - muslin time.

Now, I am NOT a fan of cheap muslins! I don't want to waste my precious sewing time working on something that has no shot at being worn! But I also don't want to waste my pretty pretty designer fabrics on a garment that will frustratingly not fit. So what to do? The challenge for me is to find some fabric to use as a muslin that I won't mind so much wasting, but if it works out I won't mind so much wearing.

Here's my muslin fabric pick for this dress:

Purchased online from J and O Fabrics.

Yeah CAMO! A friend of mine got me thinking about camo when she wore a camo jacket with some cool bright orange dragon embroidery on it. It was hipster fabulous. Then I saw some pieces by Junya Watanabe made from camo that were just COOL. Dresses and skirts with crazy ruffles and folds. I'm not prepared to layout a cool thousand on one of his awesome camo creations, so this simple Socialite dress will be my version. Perhaps if I can get the thing to fit, then I will add a ruffle at the hem as an homage to Watanabe.

And it's not like camo fabric is going to run out. The designer fabrics come and go, but I can always get more camo, right?!

If it doesn't work? Well, I like to make taggy blankets for little babies as gifts. I never have fabric for boys in my stash but camo would be great for this and I could cut up the wadded muslin and use it. See, no waste.

But hopefully my camo dress will be FABULOUS! Check it out, camo dresses can be so dreamy!

Fabulous camo gown by Gary Harvey made from recycled army jackets. Swoon. (oh click on that link - fabulous dresses to see!)

And Ohhhh, I like this one! Michael Kors , yes yes yes!

Unfortunately, not everyone does camo with so much style. This one is a Balmain. Available for purchase for just over a thousand bucks. Yuck.

I was thrilled that "Don't ask, don't tell" was repealled. But let's not get carried away and put sequins on our camouflage, please.

What do you think of camo? Would you wear a camo dress?

Wish me luck. I'll share my results, good or bad!

Later skaters,

Janimal