My daughter, Maurya, asked me to post pictures of some of her past pretty dresses.
She called one day to announce that she is going to a winter formal (imagine a winter formal in Hawaii), and she wanted me to ship “The Cream Satin” from a past formal out to her. “I looked on your blog but I couldn’t find it anywhere,” she lamented.
I think I understand the lament. Girls want further proof of their own prettiness. Whether this is good or bad….whether we are reinforcing a stereotype, capitulating to objectification, or reaching for currency to barter with, in the end most of us choose not to escape the wanting. As for myself, I do sometimes resent pressure to look good (particularly where “looking good” means meeting an artificial ideal), but…I haven’t yet relinquished the craving to have pretty on my resume. Nor will I ever, I don’t think. Because: A) I define real beauty as being healthy, vibrant, happy– and more or less groomed, and B) my desire to be attractive is woven tightly with my identity as a woman. I love being feminine. I believe I can be both feminine and strong.
Anyway. Pretty dresses past. I will post them one by one; they missed my blog the last year and a half by a sigh. Actually I just didn’t blog much. Sewing on demand was about as far as I could stretch creatively. And even that was sporadic.
I’ll start with “The Cream Satin”.
This one was a little challenging to sew.
I used Cynthia Rowley’s design (Simplicity 2250), but I lengthened the skirt, added sleeves, and gathered the skirt symmetrically rather than pleat on one side and gather on the other according to Ms. Rowley’s design (which still impresses me). Lengthening was super easy. Coming up with sleeves out of thin air, not so much. The hardest part: The bazillion darts and pleats in the bodice, which required grueling precision (not my strongest point), and which also gives the bodice a wonderfully textured look. I especially love the gathered casing (it looks like ruching) and tie at the top of the bodice’s back.
Maurya was stunning in this pretty dress. I might have sewn it, but it became something beautiful only when she wore it.
(PS: I also made Richie’s vest & bowtie, with –sadly– false assumptions about size; the vest was way small, and Richie is way tall. He was a good sport though and simply buttoned his jacket over it. )
