DIY Evening Dress Pt. 1

A big (or not so big) event is coming up this month! I will be turning thirty. My last some-what cool milestone birthday. Truthfully, I spent a lot of time thinking about turning thirty when I was in my mid-twenties. I was kind of nervous to be creeping closer to the big 3-0 but luckily, it isn't at all like I imagined. I read an article once that said being in your thirties feels good and I have a feeling that I am going to enjoy my thirties.

In order to celebrate, I decided to sew myself a fancy dress! Last month when I popped in at the thrift store, I found 3.5 yds of black and white striped satin material for $4.99. Score!! I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do with the fabric until I came across this dress by Oscar De La Renta and I fell in lurve.

Image found on Pinterest

And then I found a ton of other amazing inspiration similar to Oscar De La Renta's design.

Found on Etsy here

Also found on Pinterest

Found here

I don't have enough striped material to do the bodice and the skirt so I am currently working on the bodice in a coordinating color. In order to achieve the bodice, I am using Butterwick B6353 by Gertie and so far it's coming along perfectly! I just love how they were inspired by both Audrey Hepburn (think Sabrina) and Marilyn Monroe (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) plus that vintage pleat! So beautiful.

Pattern found here 

I just finished a muslin for the bodice because I am slightly nervous about size (darn those venti mocha peppermint fraps) but all appeared to fit well and I am moving through the actual bodice now. Tomorrow, I will hopefully finish up the bodice and start working on the panels to the skirt.

Stay tuned for part 2 on Thursday! I'll also post a tutorial soon about how to achieve the full panel skirt.