A long black dress for the end of summer

(For some reason Blogger is making my pictures all blurry upon upload, so I’m using Photobucket today)

Bonjour, bonjour !
I’m glad you guys thought I could wear long dresses, because – here is another one. 🙂 This one isn’t quite long enough to be classified as a maxi, but it’s still ankle-length.

This dress was pretty work- and thought-intensive. It all started when I spotted the fabric during my first visit to a fabric shop in Montpellier. That crinkled black cotton screamed it wanted to be a long, flowing dress.

Now, I usually don’t “do” black dresses in the summer because I usually remain very pale, and black obviously emphasizes it. I avoid the sun as much as possible because my skin just doesn’t like it – it usually burns before it gets to tan ever so little. This year, though, no matter how careful I was, I just couldn’t help getting some sun exposure. Montpellier is the sunniest city in France, and I arrived right in the middle of summer. However, I was super careful in that I didn’t go out during the most scorching hours of the day, and I slathered myself with sunscreen. For the first time ever, I got a gradual tan (mostly from evening sunlight), but I didn’t burn.
I am still way lighter-skinned than most people here, but I felt I could sport a black dress for the end of the summer, when the days weren’t quite as sweltering and black wouldn’t feel too hot against the skin.

 

I had a very precise idea of the dress I wanted. Empire waist but with a deep midriff section to avoid any ballooning effect; a V-neckline and large straps; two layers of fabric in the skirt (which would have otherwise been see-through), one being shorter than the other.

After a good deal of thinking and hesitating (and obsessing), I ended up using bits of different patterns to have the dress match my idea. To create the bodice, I combined Simplicity 3803 (with which I made my first maxi) with Newlook 6774. I also used NL 6774, with alterations, for the bodice back, midriff and skirt. (I made a first dress out of this pattern last year – another dress that got a lot of wear this summer; every time I put it on, I thought I really should re-use that pattern.)

I added a slit to the back of the skirt for added fullness and movement at the front.

I did a rolled hem on my serger. It seemed to me the easiest and probably prettiest option for a fabric that was both sheer and crinkled.

 

Because the fabric is crinkled, see-through and so flimsy, I decided to underline the bodice with cotton voile. The bodice being lined, I ended up therefore with 4 layers of fabric. I like the hang this gives the bodice – especially the back. It’s amazing how adding some extra support will enhance the look of a garment and give it a classier style.

The added puff of the crinkles probably makes me appear a bit fatter, but oh well. I should have made the midriff entirely out of cotton voile, but when I realized this all the seams were serged and there was a high risk at this stage of ruining the dress instead of improving it. I guess I can live with it. 🙂