Project #1: Party Dress

I recently caved and bought The Party Dress Book by Mary Adams, because Amazon.com's recommendations list apparently knows me almost as well as my husband and my parents. I devoured it immediately, because every single dress pictured is vitamin awesome.

They're ruffled little cupcake dresses with organza this and silk taffeta that. It's like five-year-old me traveled through time and made these dresses with her mind. I want to own all of them and wear nothing else, perhaps even to bed at night. If I had the money I'd go to her shop right now and have her make me a dress that I'd wear to work every single day. I'm only sort of kidding.

Seriously, look at some of these pictures:

Bias strip dress. Oh heck yes.

Organza dress. Also, yes please thank you.

Not great for work, but I don't care. I want it.

This is exactly how I dress in my mind, only
with more color.

Ok, words fail me. AzxkfbgxlWANT!

The book comes with a pattern, and the pattern made some degree of sense to me in a way that screamed "I can do this" at 3AM when I couldn't sleep. This is when I get most of my ideas, because at that time of night I feel a bit delirious from lack of sleep and am thus convinced that I am capable of anything. 

We'll see if I can pull this off. I hope so. The muslin practice "dress" (or rather, half-finished bodice and unattached skirt) seems like it will fit me, and that's a good start. I even sewed a boob-friendly area that actually fits me there. I may wind up with another unfinished "I will never learn to sew" dress like the last few attempts, but my goal is to stick religiously to the pattern and not try my usual routine of trying to make adjustments on the fly.

Fingers crossed. I want a fancy frilly cupcake dress and I don't have several grand to drop on one of hers. Either I take up prostitution as a summer job (no) or I learn to freaking sew for myself already.