Ballin' (The Midnight Dress Part 1)

That dress name is subject to change I just don't like it as much.

The nice thing about being back up here in NorCal is that there's a plethora of places for a girl like me to entertain herself on the weekends. Even if she's not into goddamn clubbing and drinking... (Well maybe the second one a bit... but seriously. Fuck clubbing.)

This month, I've found myself doing a lot more ballroom dancing than usual and conveniently, the bay presented some opportunities for some dancing and sewing.

Soooo the dress?

The dress is pretty simple on it's own, it's the same bodice as the Gold Belle dress but with straight front rather than a pointed once. I'm planning on sewing the gathered skirt to the bodice and basically making the whole thing more "commercial" rather than a super elaborate period piece.

simple, yet elegant. Ish...

Ideally I'd like silver and clear rhinestone trim, practically dripping off the shoulders but that shit's expensive and I'm sort of on a college student budget and timeframe. So it's a little costume-ey still. But what ballgown isn't?

Since this is the first time I'm working from my own design, there's gonna be more winging it than I'd like for a dress that I need in 6 days. Thankfully I had a pattern pretty much already made so really the question was, could I get away with my swing dancing saddle shoes under the dress?

Thankfully Ross pulled through in that department and I found some wide, low-heeled shoes that will hopefully suit my purposes.

To line or not to line?

So with the Belle dress, I double lined the bodice and was able to slip the boning in there and avoid the unpleasantness of either making a corset or figuring out how to hide a bra under the gown. This time, due to limited time and materials... I'm trying for only one layer of lining. Fingers crossed

One of the Fairy God-Sisters said it'd work

 And if that doesn't work, I have a bra that's at least the same color. I'm a big believer in undergarments that match your dress.

For now, I have the bodice cut... the satin's just tempting me now. I'm terrified to cut it yet.

here it is... being used as a cover for my dirty laundry. Hey, I had guests over and I was trying to clean.

next time, hopefully, the end of the bodice and the beginning of the skirt.