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my daughter saw a dress she liked on the Internet. Yes, she could have ordered it from a mystery place in China, but I have dissuaded her from doing so. These are my reasons:
One- will it arrive in time or at all? Panic if it doesn't.
Two- will it fit? Altering it could be a pain, and could be a panic due to time restraints.
Three- at the price, we are contributing to underpaid labour and worse maybe child labour.
Four- lets support local businesses, so we bought the fabric locally.
Five- Quality? for the online price, it may not look like you want it to.
Six- I can make it.
So we have modified the original design to reflect the fabrics we found locally. We had a great time one evening at our local fabric store, the manager and the salesperson all got into the act, pulling fabrics out and discussing the pros and cons of the colour combinations and such.
Break it down:
A structured strapless bodice, boned for support.A sheer chiffon over skirt that has fabric roses along the hem. Gathered into the waist.
An underskirt, that will likely have panel seams to eliminate any extra bulk at the waist and give enough walking room at the hem.
A neckband which will need a bit of structure. It wraps around the back and attaches to the bodice almost under the arms.
The neckband supports a pleated sheer net over-layer that covers the front of the bodice, and ends under the waistband/belt.
The "belt"/waistband is applied to the bodice.
Likely a zip closure CB.
We need the shoes to determine the length of the skirt, and I need to get some fabric for the inner bodice, and a zip, oh, and thread. Sigh.
I'd like to take a moment here to say that in general I think the prom dress situation is out of hand. Now I am going to be making this, and the fabrics were less than $100.00 and it will look like a more expensive gown than it is, but there are girls buying $600+ dresses for a one night event and it makes me uncomfortable.
I have been trying to get across the fact that you don't need to peak in high school.
Thumbs up to everyone who is venturing to make their own dresses.
You have made a good point. Proms are nice, and they might be a dress up high point of life so far, but it makes me sad to hear young girls and their moms thinking that "prom" is the one and only time they'll be dressing up (other than weddings, which are also WAY out of whack). Many times the moms are living vicariously too. Seems like expectations aren't very high for the long term. Your daughter is lucky.
ReplyDeleteTerri, I agree with your reasons to make your daughter's prom dress. Good for you. I'll enjoy reading your posts as you go along.
ReplyDeleteIt looks beautiful just from the drawing, I can't wait to see the finished dress. Yes, prom dress prices are outrageous. We got lucky and found 2 dresses for $30 each. The original price on of of them was $550.
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