How have you been fabulous people? I do hope life is being kind to you!
This weekend past was spent attempting to sew in 35 degree heat, followed by a huge storm that blew plenty of fresh air back into the house. I did actually get to finish a dress which I'll show you later.
A few months back I spent the afternoon with the fabulous Leesa from the Makers Society who kindly took some picture of me and my dresses to share on both our blogs.
I don't often have my photo taken in a non-party/ passport photo situation and in times where I control the countdown timer I'm more relaxed and slightly more natural in my photos. It was a little awkward having the photos taken by another person who I pretty much had just met in real life that day. Hanging out in a public park, with the sun blinding my eyes and receiving direction, but Lessa did an excellent job to suggest which way to look and hold my hand and what not, and we ended up with some lovely photos!
Seeing myself through someone else's eyes is really different and interesting at the same time. I feel like half the photos my mouth is wide open waiting to catch flies, but really, I was just smiling! haha funny how that happens.
It was a fabulous day anyway and a dog tried to eat one of the prop cupcakes which was pretty funny
The dress itself is sewn using some rather stiff vintage fabric that I bought from Fabric-a-brac and Simplicity 7635 that I received in a pattern swap with Izzy from La Vie C'est Yeye. I think the fabric may have been originally intended for a cushion or pelmet or something. But the pattern is too much to resist. I decided to whip this up quickly for the photo shoot as I wanted a 3rd dress to show, and because its is so cute
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The pattern consists of 2 front and 2 back pieces with a funnel neck so it was really easy to cut and sew up. The dress is shaped with front french darts and simple darts at the back. I don't normally like back darts but in this instance they are placed really nicely and so don't give me an accidental sway back
The scalloped hem however is the real feature. The fabric was a bit testy and didn't like being turned out, especially when I had to cut so close to the seam that it simply frayed into nothingness!
The neckline scoops up from the shoulder to the neck. It doesn't have a specific line to shape it like a normal turtle neck. It simply curves up gently to sit just around the neck
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| Tights from American Apparel, Shoes from ASOS |
Pretty nice for an afternoon job!
I really liked the idea of posing with the lampshade. I think its my favourite of the bunch.
And my hair looks so white! That's another thing I hardly get to see. You know how you see the same thing everyday, in the mirror or on the way to work, but it takes a photograph or video to make you see that same thing differently?
Sort of weird how we distort our own perception of ourselves, when yet we know we look ok, but insist that our hair is not sitting right or our dress makes us feel pudgy but in reality, most of those perceptions aren't real. We just make them up in our heads!
Kind of like when you record your own voice and listen back to it to hear a totally different sound and say "do I really sound like that?!?" There is a scientific reason for that, but we get so used to being or looking or sounding a different way, its sometimes really refreshing to see ourselves as other people see us
Do you often build up a look of yourself and then get really surprised when you see yourself in a different way?
Enjoy your week lovelies!
Cat xo
Hello, dear Catherine! I am overjoyed to see you modeling this dress at long last, and agree it is a refreshing change to have a friend take pictures of you posing outdoors. I knew the first time I saw this dress that it would look great on you and it surely does. The second picture of you reminds me of a pop song I'm sure you remember:
ReplyDeleteBus stop, wet day, she's there, I say
Please share my umbrella
Bus stop, bus goes, she stays, love grows
Under my umbrella
All that summer we enjoyed it
Wind and rain and shine
That umbrella, we employed it
By August, she was mine
The last picture reminds me of this one (lyrics changed slightly):
I'm leaning on the lamp post at the corner of the street
In case a certain 'andsome bloke comes by
Oh me, oh my
In case a certain 'andsome bloke comes by
Good evening, dear Cat, and enjoy the rest of your week!
Great dress, love those scallops and the fabric is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteLovely.
ReplyDeleteThese photos are so gorgeous, its lovely to see you at different angles and in a new setting rather than classic Cat pose. You are absolutely beautiful and I'm kicking myself for giving that pattern away to a friend last year. xxxx
ReplyDeleteYou look so awesome! That dress is marvelous: the scallops and fabric choice makes it extra special.
ReplyDeleteI think that's my favourite thing you've ever made, that fabric! It's a dream! I really love the photos too, you don't look a bit awkward, a total natural in fact! You're totally right in your last point as well, I never really feel like I'm seeing an outfit until I take a picture of it. It's weird how looking at yourself in a mirror and looking at a photograph of yourself is so different. And I hate the sound of my voice, haha! It's why I could never do YouTube videos!
ReplyDeleteOmg, you are adorable and so is your dress! I love reading your updates and checking out your recent creations. :)
ReplyDeleteReally lovely to see that dress again on the blog, it's just so pretty with such a 'print' and I love the playful scalloped hem. The photos turned out so great and you look just fabulous and very natural. And I understand what you mean in regards to seeing yourself differently through photographs. I always especially think that when I see an image of my profile, I always think "Is that how other people see me?" or "am I really that short?"! x)
ReplyDeleteI love these photos, you look beautiful, and the dress is crazily fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI think looking at yourself in photos is really interesting, and a different experience from looking in a mirror. I have often felt an outfit looked fine in the mirror, but then took photos and thought yikes, that looks crap! And vice versa - not sure, felt fat or frumpy or whatever, but the photos looked good. I think we hold ourselves in a particular way when we look in a mirror, and when we are moving more freely, or posing differently for a photo, we see a different image. Fascinating process though. We can't ever really see ourselves as others do, but I think photos help us to be more objective. xxx
You are so gorgeous and radiant! I absolutely love the fabric pattern and colors of your dress, as well! Would you happen to know of any helpful tutorials for making scalloped hems? I was thinking of attempting a scalloped hem for a future project, but they just look so daunting!
ReplyDeleteThat scalloped hem & those leggings kill me!
ReplyDeleteI think you showed this dress in an earlier post or possibly on instagram? Either way it looks EVEN better when it's on. I adore that fabric! You fair up a lot better than me when I have my photo taken (which is thankfully not very often-i feel so uncomfortable when that happens!)
ReplyDeleteLovely dress Cat and great photos too!
ReplyDelete