I guess I've been looking for outside motivation to help me get to the sewing machine lately, because I seem to have gone a little competition-mad. First I signed up for Pattern Review's Wardrobe Contest (10 coordinating pieces in 2 and a half months), then I jumped on the Wardrobe Refashion bandwagon.
Now Sew Retro has to go and complicate things by announcing their November Party Time Competition. I won't sign up (repeat to self: "I won't sign up, I won't sign up") because A) I don't think I'll finish the PR contest, as I've only done 2 garments and am in the midst of a big work project and B) I live in Southern California, where wearing anything more formal than lounge pants and flip flops is viewed with suspicion. I jest -- a little -- but the truth is, I won't be needing loads of flirty dresses for the upcoming party season.
Still, it's fun to imagine a life that demands a whole fleet of party dresses. Here are the dresses -- and by extension, the alter egos -- I'm wanting right now:
Mmm. Here I'm an absolutely fabulous upper crust fashionista with a dash of bohemian flair. It's New York in the late 1960s, and I'm dashing across a Central Park West drawing room to deliver a scathing bon mot to Andy Warhol. Nico and Twiggy may have shorter dresses, but they don't have my wit.
I've had this pattern in my collection for a long time, and I really want to make it -- although it falls squarely into the category of patterns I should avoid at all costs. I look best in things that emphasize my waist. Flowy mod 60s-era dresses designed for Twiggy silhouettes generally make me look like a block of cheese. Witty bon mots generally aren't enough to set off that look.My next contender would be this one, Vogue 1116:
If I'm Red there, I'm hosting one awesome mid-70s party for the block. So confident, so assured! I've whipped up 300 canapes from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and styled my hair perfectly, despite having misplaced one of my feet. Plus, I'm wearing an actual "hostess dress," a concept in dressing that should definitely make a comeback. (If I'm Blue? Then I'm in a fern bar, about to give a no-good man a piece of my mind.)
I've had Vogue 1116 for a while and will make it one of these days -- it looks like a blast to wear. The only thing that scares me? That's gotta be one monster hem.
Here's another fantasy party dress, Vogue 1227, found on the Vintage Pattern Wiki:
Clearly I'm an international superspy, perhaps even James Bond's nemesis. It's a cocktail party in Monaco, and this slinky little number doesn't have a hiding place for guns and secret documents -- that's what my poufy hair and chignon are for, silly goose.
Finally, here's a pattern from my etsy shop, McCall's 9619:
This pattern fascinates me: it's from 1953, and so different from the big skirted dresses we associate with that time. Toreador pants, a cummerbund, a ruffled blouse -- what party demands this outfit? If I'm wearing this, I must be in Pamplona at the running of the bulls -- although with that wasp waist, I'm certainly not eating anything.
What are your fantasy party dresses?