Remember my End of Summer Blues Dress post? My ramble about how clever it would be to sew a New Look 6799 dress for each of the four seasons? Well, after hitting publish, I immediately started imagining all the possibilities thought what a totally dumb idea! I mean, it’s a sleeveless dress number one, and I live in the northern hemisphere number two, and…well, there is no number three. But…here’s the thing. The idea kind of stuck. I like a challenge…a little dare me if you will…even if I am the one doing the daring and no one’s paying me any attention whatsoever. So. During the past few months, I’ve pondered over the idea, riffled through my fabric stash, wandered a few fabric aisles…all the while not feeling even the tiniest bit enthusiastic. It’s too cold, whined me. It’s too rainy, {all together now peeps} whined me. It wasn’t until bossy inside-head voice taunted me…Are you just gonna wear those jeans for the next six months girl?…that I had my light bulb moment. I could sew New Look 6799 in denim. Et voila. I introduce to you my Billie Blue Jeans Autumn Dress.

So yes, I said yes to denim for the dress…and I’ll tell ya, I had me some big ideas for a couture denim dress…big ideas that failed to materialize. I wanted, or thought I wanted, boho chic. But, by the end of my sewing project, I was just trying hard not to look too Little House on the Prairie. My initial plans were to add waaaaaaay more embellishment…those funky embroidered trims, lace, maybe even some hardware. But the more I added, the more I freaked out. Apparently, I don’t do boho. I don’t know, maybe it’s the silhouette of the pattern? Maybe I had the wrong trims? Or maybe I just don’t do boho? What I do know is that. it. was. all. wrong. At the end of the day, I settled for one length of embroidered trim at the waistband. One. And I’m okay with it. This dress is not the runway vision I had in mind, but I have already worn it a few times and I like it. To be honest, I love it, but in seeing these photos, I’m having an issue with the fit. You see, I added 1/2″ width to the bodice front and 1/4″ width to each bodice back because I anticipated wearing the dress with a shirt or top of some sort underneath, and thought I needed extra room. Nope. Not a good idea; the dress looks too big in exactly the places I added fabric. {Of course, that extra 1″ of fabric makes this dress almost ridiculously comfortable and for that reason alone, I’ll probably wear it often, especially if there’s a big meal involved.} I also foresee the need to be very careful about my styling choices with this dress. Today, I’m a little too close to country…and I’m not referring to standing in a field in front of a picturesque barn. This dress will feel more me when I wear it with faux pony heels and a bright toned t-shirt.

Okay, a couple of the details I added to give my dress it’s unique look…I added stitched, rounded pockets, sewed double rows of top stitching, and inserted an exposed metal zipper. I also made the back closure a little more blue jeans-y by adding a flap and a metal button. I actually think the back looks kind of awesome. It seems a shame to cover it up with a sweater, but said sweater effectively hides the poor fit, so, the sweater stays.

And finally, a quick recap on the sweater mini-upcycle. It’s a thrifted find, 100% cotton, and was always a little too big. After a year of wear and washes, it desperately needed either alterations or to go to goodwill. So. I took in the side seams a little, and shortened the sleeves about 4″. I also shortened the garment itself by about 4″, although it’s hard to tell in looking at the before/after photos. Instead of turning the hems to the inside, as one would routinely do…I turned them up on the right side of the garment and then covered them with trim, encasing the raw sweater edges.

I’m currently on the phone, on hold with Aldo Shoes…I’ve had a bit of a problem that hasn’t been satisfactorily sorted out…yet…anyways, Pharrell William’s song Happy is playing as I wait, and I’m feeling so happy, and I’m clapping along, and feeling that happiness is the truth! Mwaaaahahahaha! I wonder if Aldo has only that one song on replay for customer service?…Nope…new song…I feel my snark returning ….hahaha …..oops, she’s back….and wahoo ….things are looking good…let’s see…yep…there’s my email now! All’s good!

I’m going to close out with a recent and most puzzling NYT crossword clue…What stripes and polka dots do….um, well, they rock my world….they look absolutely fabulous together…they put a smile on one’s face…errrgmmm…unfortunately I need a five letter answer, not a five word answer. And that answer would be…clash…{insert sad face here} My advice…do not believe everything you read in the New York Times. Just sayin’.

End of Summer Blues Dress : : New Look 6799
Springtime in Paris Dress : : New Look 6799

PS The mittens in the photo belong to photographer who was taking Christmas photos. She kindly allowed us to snap a couple of pics with them in the background.