Prom 180

So ... guess who totally changed her mind on the prom dress design ...

Well, not entirely. I still like the pattern and the shape that I have picked. Those are staying. But the color scheme and design are out the window.

I thought I had a plan - I'd even picked out my two fabric shades (strawberry and rhubarb, funny enough ... anyone else craving pie now?). I was dragging my feet about ordering, though, and I realized that something just didn't seem right.

Prom has turned into a bit of a mess this year (shocking, right?) and what with all the drama and discomfort I found that I was nowhere close to glowy, happy, pink - this mess calls for confidence, sophistication, timeless elegance, and I know that for me, that means blue.

(Yeah, I know I put way too much thought into color associations - but a dress is all about the feeling, right? and this is what feels right).

The actual design came to me in a dream.*

*Actually, it popped into my mind as I was drifting off to sleep, but we'll call it a dream because that sounds so much more dramatic.

I'm not 100% sure, but basically I want a sort of bluish grey - something of a slate or pewter, maybe, but with more of a bluish tint - for the base, which will be the same sweetheart neckline, circle skirt pattern as before. Then, the whole bodice will be decorated in swirling vines of dark blue ribbon embroidery that twist down in tendrils along the skirt.

Kind of like this, I guess:

I'm still figuring out exact colors (I've ordered 10 more silk swatches, bringing the grand total to 25. I'm not crazy, I promise - just particular). I'm not sure if I want to go for more of an indigo or navy for the ribbon or maybe a dark aquamarine? Hmm, things to be decided ...

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I've never actually done ribbon embroidery before (and I have a pretty hideous track record with regular embroidery), but it doesn't look too too hard. (And I figure that imprecise, monochromatic twisting vines leave a lot of room for error). I'm sure this is going to be miserably time-consuming, but hey, what's life without a few poorly planned, last-minute, overly-complicated sewing endeavors?

I'm having trouble finding any reference images that match up with what I have in mind - most ribbon embroidery tends to look low-key old-lady-ish.

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It's pretty, sure, but it would also go perfectly with a cat.

I feel like I know what I'm doing though, so a lack of reference and/or previous successes isn't that problematic (... she tells herself while trying not to panic).

Long story short, I don't exactly know what I'm doing here - but I'm going to take a leap of faith, because this excites me, and my other design just wasn't exciting anymore. I can't quite say what the dress will be like in the end, but I'm hoping that it captures what I love about some of my all time favorite dresses:

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This is probably my all time favorite dress ever. It makes me sad that I don't know that much about it (and I don't even know how to begin to go about making it - I don't have the draping skills or the budget for the fabric!). For years I've looked at this dress as the absolute standard of elegance, so I'm hoping to capture at least a bit of its beauty.

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No list of my favorite dresses would be complete without the infamous House of Worth dress - this isn't really what I'm going for, but the swirling patterns are definitely an influence.

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Found this dress on Pinterest the other day ... it's a little closer to what I'm imagining for the embroidery, but monochromatic and a little more emphasis on the vines rather than the flowers, if that makes sense. It's a really great example of how classy embroidery can be, though - this is not old-lady-ish at all.

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Next dress on the list is Rory Gilmore's Life and Death Brigade Dress. While I find myself cringing more often than not at Rory's early 2000s fashion sense, I have to say that this dress is stunning.

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This is a Pinterest find, and I haven't been able to find much about it, but I love this color and the shape - plus, is that a subtle brocade I see on the fabric? To die for.

Well, that's all I know for now. Time to look at swatches and choose some colors ... oh, and mocking up the bodice. And sewing the dress. Three weeks, here we go ... 

~ Emma