Dressy

September 23, 2016

NYFW SS17 LOOK 5: THE GOLDEN BELL DRESS TUTORIAL

DRESS: MADE BY ME (TUTORIAL BELOW) INSPIRATION DRESS FOUND HERE | SIMILAR COGNAC ANKLE STRAP HEELS (MINE ARE OLD) | COGNAC TOTE BAG | SUNGLASSES

For this trip to New York Fashion Week, I knew I wanted to make a dress. I fell in love with this gorgeous Trina Turk yellow lace dress a few months ago, and had it in the back of my mind when I went fabric shopping for my dress. Of course I waited until a few days before my trip to get started on the dress, but I knew I would be so sad if I didn’t have one of my own designs to wear to some of the shows.

I loaded up Eli and Cash in the car and drove down to Mood Fabrics in LA. I usually go to the LA Fabric District, but this time I was more concerned with finding the perfect fabric rather than getting a good deal on the yardage. I almost went with a dark red embroidered fabric, but I decided to go bold and get this amazing yellow lace. At $80 per yard, this was by far the most expensive fabric I have ever bought. But I had planned this trip to New York for months and I really wanted to make something amazing. I have boxes and boxes of fabric that I like, but over the past few years I have started buying less “just in case” fabric. Now I only allow myself to buy 1-2 fabrics at a time, and I have to use it up before I buy more. It’s better this way because I don’t get sick of fabric and just let it sit in my studio for months and months!

I am thrilled with the end result of this dress. I was happy that the dress photographed well, but I promise it is even more intricate in person! I bought 2 yards of it, and I used every last scrap. Cutting into this pricey of fabric was nerve wrecking for sure! I had originally planned on the side panels being wider, but after I cut the first panel I realized I wouldn’t have enough fabric left for the sleeves. So I cut that panel in half, and toned down the bell cut on the sleeves to make it all work with the amount of fabric I had. It all came together in the end, but there was a point where I texted Garrett saying, “I’m pretty sure I just completely messed up this dress!”

Yellow is such a bold color, and we are still going to see it peek through for fall. Here are some similar dresses for a little more eye candy. Some of them are really pricey, but there are a few dresses (like this one that is only $50) that are really pretty and much more affordable! This shade of yellow is a bit darker and would be great for fall.

Shop my look:

I included the Snapchat of my day at Fashion Week wearing this dress, so you can see it in action. My favorite part was wearing it to get burgers at Shake Shack!

photography by Jordan Zobrist Photography

CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR THE FULL TUTORIAL…

Continue reading “NYFW SS17 LOOK 5: THE GOLDEN BELL DRESS TUTORIAL”

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Dressy

August 24, 2016

HOW TO PAIR THE RIGHT JACKET WITH A DRESS

in partnership with Zappos

LAZER CUT PEACH DRESS | CREAM LEATHER JACKET | SIMILAR FRINGE SANDALS

I love getting dressed up in something fancy for a nice dinner date or event. Now that the nights are starting to cool off, that means that I’ll also have to throw on a jacket at some point in the evening. I’m usually sweating in my bedroom trying to get ready for a date and always hesitate about bringing a jacket. I’ve tried so many times to go out without a jacket on a fall night (especially when we lived up in Utah), and I always ended up cold and miserable. But sometimes it’s hard to have to cover up a pretty dress! Now there is nothing that kills a great dress faster than the wrong jacket. If they aren’t paired correctly, that pretty dress could end up getting hidden or take a back seat to the jacket.

I’m obviously not suggesting to get a jacket to wear specifically for one dress, but I do have a few tips on things to look for when pairing a jacket with a nice dress.

Let one piece do the talking: If your dress is patterned (or has intricate detail like my dress), pair a solid colored jacket with it. If you have a gorgeous bright jacket or one that demands attention, opt for a simple black dress to wear under it. Either way, make it clear who the hero piece of the look is. If they aren’t properly balanced, both the dress and the jacket could end up looking over the top and loud instead of understated and sophisticated.
Mimic the scale of the jacket to the scale of the dress: If you are wearing a loose shift dress, pair it with a knee length pea coat or looser trench coat. If it’s a body-con dress, go for a shorter leather jacket, or something that fits a little more snug so that your curves are still accentuated.
Think about fabric quality: I always try and pair a jacket that has similar quality fabric to my dress. If the dress is made out of higher quality fabric like silk, I opt for a wool pea coat so that the fabrics match in quality. A black leather jacket would pair perfectly with a thick Ponte knit dress, and a lighter casual cotton voile dress would pair best with a casual denim jacket. If you wouldn’t wear sneakers with your cocktail dress, remember to bump up your jacket quality too!

I searched for a while on Zappos for the right jacket to pair with this dress. I ended up ordering 2 jackets to try on with the dress. The free fast shipping and returns always make it well worth it for me to place a quick order online and send back any items that don’t end up working.

Here’s to warm jackets and cool autumn nights!

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Dressy

October 21, 2015

A DRESS FOR EVERY SEASON

BLACK LACE DRESS (ALMOST SOLD OUT, SIMILAR HERE AND HERE) | BLACK HEELS | BOW BRACELET | LIPGLOSS IN ‘MOODY BERRY’ |CLUTCH | KAREN WALKER SUNGLASSES VIA DITTO (WHERE I RENT ALL MY DESIGNER SUNGLASSES- ONLY $20 A MONTH AND UNLIMITED OPTIONS! GET YOUR FIRST MONTH FREE WITH CODE: ELLEAPPAREL)

photography by Kendra Maarse

You can never go wrong with a Little Black Dress. With the Holidays coming up there will be fun parties and events to go to, and a beautiful black dress that fits you well can last you through the whole season. I’ve rounded up all of my favorite black dresses this season below..

Shop my full look..

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Fashion

January 23, 2013

Changes

dress: me, shoes: Target, earrings: gift, bracelets: F21, Necklace: Nashelle

The last time I wore this caftan I was nine months pregnant and looked like this. HELLO! Now it is 1 year later, and the baby that was hiding underneath all that yardage is now walking like a champ, screaming like a banshee, and turning one this Saturday!

I’ve never been big on change. I like being nice and familiar with places I live, things I do, stages of life. I like having a little baby and I have a hard time watching my babies turn into toddlers. I also like having a plan and knowing what lies ahead of me. But for the last few years I have lived in Provo…….ok more than a few years. Let’s just say 5…..8…….ugh, fine. 10 years. TEN. These new little Provo-ites don’t even know what dorm life is like without DT to teach them the ways of living like sardines.

After years of not knowing what new place we would call home after Garrett graduates from law school, I can finally say that we will be planting our roots back in the great, sunny, bankrupt state of California. His job is in LA, but we have our sites set on somewhere in Pasadena. So any helpful info or tips from those of you who are currently comfortably settled there would be greatly appreciated! The most important thing is that it is 13 miles from the Fashion District, so I’m already sold on the area.

So my baby is turning one, I am moving out of Provo soon, and I had my hairdresser use something other than bleach on my hair. What is happening to me?! It is actually a fun little change. It fits with the whole wintery “below freezing temperatures for weeks on end” thing. It’s not a forever thing, but I decided to embrace myself some change. For once in my life.

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Fashion

June 28, 2012

tangerine lace

I posted a while back that I was working on a lace dress for my brother-in-law’s wedding. Here was my inspiration for the dress:

via anthropologie (no longer in stock)

and here is the finished product:

dress: me, shoes: nine west, bracelet: JCrew, necklace: Nashelle, earings: Forever 21, nails: China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint

all photos courtesy of the uber talented lalaslens. Love you Lauren!

It turned out just as I was envisioning, with a little trial and error along the way. Rit dye became my bff. More on that little love affair later…

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Fashion

May 29, 2012

LND

dress: me, bag: Banana Republic, necklace: Ann Taylor, bracelet: J.Crew, sunnies: Forever 21, shoes: 9 West, lipstick: Mac So Chaud, nails: Sally Hansen Heat Flash

Not only should every woman have a little black dress in their closet, but I think a little navy dress is a must as well. I made this dress by creating a pattern from a dress I already had that was sleeveless, I just added on some sleeves. I had a ton of amazing quality navy knit that I used. This dress has darts in the back and in the bust, so it fits like a glove.

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Sewing

May 16, 2011

Shirt Dress reader questions

I’ve had a lot of questions about my shirtdresses, so I just decided to answer them here, that way everyone can see my response.

Shandi asked:

“Do you have a tutorial on how to make these adorable dresses! I have some shirts that aren’t so flattering on the bottom and I would love to make into one of these!”

Yes, I have created a tutorial for all of my shirt dresses. The most comprehensive tutorial (and the one that I use when teaching a class) is found here. This is the tutorial you should follow when creating a shirt dress with a knit skirt.

There are a few changes you need to make when making a shirt dress out of a linen, cotton or any fabric that doesn’t have any stretch.

When cutting out your waistband, measure around the circumference of your shoulders instead of using the width of where the waistband will hit on your shirt. Since this fabric doesn’t stretch, you need to make sure that you cut it wide enough to get over your head and chest. If you have a larger bust, use this as your circumference. Pin the sides of the waistband and test it first before sewing to make sure you can get it over your head and around your waist comfortable.

You will also need to cut out long ties to attach to your waistband. Since the waistband of the skirt will most likely be larger than your waist, the ties will allow you to pull it in at the waist. The bow at the back makes a cute little detail as well. To do this, cut 4 long strips of fabric the same width as your waistband (3″) and pretty long in length, depending on how long you want your ties to be. I would start with somewhere around 30″ long and trim if necessary. Create your ties by sewing up the long sides right sides together at 1/2″ sa and flip right-side out.

Now sandwich each tie on either side of your waistband so that the ends of the ties and pointing toward the middle. This way when you stitch up the sides of the waistband, and flip it right-side out, your ties will be attached correctly.

When you sew your waistband to your shirt, you will probably have to stretch out your shirt a bit in order for the sides to match up. Don’t stress too much about this since the ties will pull it in and you won’t be able to tell that the shirt is stretched at the bottom.

I hope this helps! Happy sewing!

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Uncategorized

May 9, 2011

Kate envy

I hope you all had a lovely Mother’s Day weekend! My boys and I checked out the DC Zoo and had a full day of shopping along M street. Seriously, the cutest street with the most adorable store fronts ever. I’ll share more of that street later this week with you.

I stopped in Kate Spade and fell head over heals for this little looker:

wadda know… I’m obsessed with a dress that has blue and white horizontal stripes. I did a little research and found out Quinn Fabray wore the pink and white version on Glee. My favorite part is that there are pockets on either side of the bow.

Speaking of Kate, I know I’m a day late and a dollar short, but how gorgeous was Kate’s wedding dress?? I died.

I probably shouldn’t admit that I got a little chocked up watching the wedding. It was a real life fairy tale. Her dress was outstanding. So classic and timeless.

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Sewing

April 27, 2011

lavender love

I stepped even further out of my comfort zone with this one. This is the first time I have made an actual dress, without taking the top from an existing shirt.

(unless you count my Laurel project when I was 16. But lets be honest, my mom did all the work.)

I used every single last scrap I had left of this awesome purpley-pink striped knit that I made my cardigan out of. I would call this more of a test run than anything. I didn’t know if it would turn out how I pictured it in my head.

I just laid down an existing sleeveless dress I had, pinned it to my fabric, and created my pattern from that. I outlined each piece of the dress with a 1/2″ s.a. The original dress was a little more fitted around the bootay, and had a boat neck. I changed mine to a scoop, and made it fitted at the top, but then had it flare out a little more at the bottom. Knits aren’t greatest at hiding things, so I didn’t want to feel like the dress was suctioned to my body.

If you don’t know how to sew, or know the basics but are interested in learning more, Merrick and I have created The Modern Girl’s Guide to Sewing, online sewing courses that teach you everything you need to know about clothing construction. You can take our Beginner Course or our Intermediate Course, and learn how to follow tutorials like this one! Make sure to check out moderngirlsewing.com!

I knew I wanted rouched sleeves, so I took a shirt I had with ruched sleeves, stretched out the sleeve, and traced it as best I could onto pattern paper. To get the ruching effect, I just stretched out some thin elastic along the middle of the sleeve, and sewed it to the seam allowance.

bag: anthropologie, shoes: Enzio Angolini, jewlery: forever 21

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