This is Kit LaCroix, in a Kit LaCroix dress. A Kit LaCroix dress that I really, really like. But wait — it gets better. The dress is a wool/cashmere blend flannel and the green banding is Irish linen. It has seventeen green snaps down the front and a skinny belt with an ivy leaf motif buckle; and it was part of Kit's Chicago Gen Art Fresh Faces in Fashion collection.
I just like how poised, powerful, and womanly this dress is. It's not a tiny wispy slipdress that might as well be a nightgown and that has the moral authority of a wet Kleenex; no, this is a dress you could run a board meeting in, or order a mob hit in, or design a superconducting supercollider in (okay, for that last, maybe if you found a lab coat that would fit over it). This is a Dress, dammit, and you better respect, yo! If you were wearing this, people wouldn't just open the door for you, they'd remove it from its hinges, if necessary. You could quell insubordination with a cocked hip and a millimeter's worth of raised eyebrow — if it even got that far.
Good work, Kit! I think we'll be seeing even more great stuff from you in future!
A Dress A Day 
My life will not be complete until I find a pattern for this dress. Or at least something very, very close.*ded*–Lydia
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Right on!With that dress and cocked hip, you need only raise an eyebrow to get people hoppin’.Lovely.~Becky
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The fabric choices are divine! That neckline is flattering on just about anyone, and the godets? Yum. This is how sexy should always be done. I have to say that I think the belt buckle interrupts the line. I’d prefer a long, rectangular self-fabric buckle.So, pattern forthcoming? Pretty please?
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I want to eat those sleeves.That is a woman’s dress. Rosalind Russell would rock it. Goldie Hawn need not apply.
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A womanly and relatively WARM dress! I just love the overall shape, and the fabric choices. I love how she’s working it, too; she looks like she’s considering allowing (or ordering?) someone to unsnap all those snaps! Go Kit!
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Wow. I’m a tad speechless. I *heart* that.
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I just spent time with the fashion week slide shows from the NYTimes and came here for comfort and solace….a dress made for a woman by a woman to be worn doing something, and she has hips to cock…thank you GOD. Thank you so much for providing the much needed antidote to my unreasoned perusal of corture.
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Gorgeous!
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I think it’s just fantastic. Perfect within itself, like a really good theory that goes almost all the way. (I don’t apply “almost” to Kit’s dress, but only to theory, which, in my opinion (and much as I love it), cannot go all the way only reality can do that. And that dress looks like it’s beaming right into reality.)My preference is for the leaf buckle, as is. I see it saying with both finality and sparkling flourish that the the dress is about “grace”, not “grim”. Fantastic.
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I know I’m missing the point, but those sleeves’d drive me crazy. They’d take on a life of their own and dip themselves into all sorts of grime.I love the rest of the dress, though. It has a nice 40s sternness to it, but manages to not be inaccessible.
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What. A. Dress. I would wear this in a heartbeat. And happily wear it every day. I’m sure it’s even lovelier in person.
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Erin, I think you just Slashdotted Kit.
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Love it. That’s gorgeous. I didn’t realize those were sleeves, though. I guess I thought it was a removable cape-y thing, but now I see that they probably are attached sleeves.
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That dress is great! Someday may I have the skill…. I just finished my first dress! http://woolforbrains.blogspot.com
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That dress is great! Someday may I have the skill…. I just finished my first dress! http://woolforbrains.blogspot.com
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I am utterly in awe of that dress. Every part just works. Thanks for bringing this new designer to our attention, Erin!
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Wonderful! Thanks for pointing this one out.
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It’s a lovely dress. But, I would feel fussy, not powerful in it. It’s the sleeves. And the belt. Maybe I’m just not fully converted yet.
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I love it, too. It’s not just the sleeves that are great, it’s that they’re part of the whole. That neckline is really superb. It seems like something that would suit many body types. The belt is not for me, though. I like the idea of a self-fabric belt with a plain buckle. Agree with the other poster who says it interupts the line. The designer looks amazing in this dress, doesn’t she? I ask you, could her name be any more perfect for a budding fashion designer? I think not. Holly
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i think it ought to skim her knee
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Love the dress, though I’m not sure about the sleeves(?shawl?)
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My experience with wide sleeves is that if they are short and wide like this, they won’t be causing many problems (except not fitting into narrow coat sleevesfold them back over your shoulders). They aren’t down to the wrist, so they won’t be near enough to get into trouble.As for long sleeves, the medium width ones are the trouble, whether it’s wide cuffs or wide sleeves. If they are about 10 inches wide, they will be trailing in the soup & knocking over wine glasses. I think wide cuffs on tight sleeves might remain a problem no matter how wide too.But the sleeves which are really wide and open at the wrist, once they get past about 2 feet wide, are caught by the edge of the table and stay out of the way nicely. Three feet or 4 feet wide, trailing down to the ground, no problem. And lots of fun to wear and choose contrasting linings for.”But”, you say, “what about over a campfire, eh? Ah ha, gotcha.” Well no, actually, around a campfire, you wide them around your hands and use them as built-in potholders! And if you need to get these longer ones out of the way, fold them open back over your shoulders and tie the ends behind your back. True documented medieval practice.More on this soon, I think, over at my brand-new blog. It’s all due to Erin’s inspiration. And because I’m thinking about dresses, some of it is being about dresses. Thanks, Erin
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I love this dress! A similar pattern for this would be superb. Anyone know of any?
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This dress is superb!!! I love it I would wear it. I adore the fabric and everything even the belt. Yes Kit does have a great designer name. Erin, I love the quote “you could wear it for a mob hit” LoL It is not a quiet shy dress that’s for sure. I would like 5 powerful dresses like this hanging in my closet.
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The buttons tip this just the little bit over the top from stylish to fussy. Sorry, but it looks a bit like a home ec project trying too hard. Winged sleeves, contrasting buttons, belt AND tiny collar?Would be perfect if it were a little shorter (just below the knee instead of mid-calf) and if there were no buttons. the belt AND the buttons just.. No…Color combination and the neckline is lovely though.Just my opinion!
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Yeah, this dress doesn’t exactly suit her body type. Everything needs to be a bit shorter- the sleeves, the skirt, the bodice..but besides the fit, it is a cute dress. I want to like it….
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Beautiful, just beautiful, I sort of agree, about the sleeves,I know I would get them caught in something. Perhaps a 3/4 length sleeve, while it may have less artistic impact would be more practical in daily life. I would wear this dress often and in many different colors. I love the snaps, the neckline, the fabric, the power that this dress invokes. Where can I get one?
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One must consider body type when making a dress. This dress would only look good on a waif-y girl. It pulls across the hips. The belt placement makes the model look unproportional; the sleeves look like a shawl, and the flounce…either more leg, or less leg. I don’t see power in this dress…too fussy. OK, for St Paddy’s Day it would be alright.
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Anon 8:07, I must protest. I don’t think this kind of dress would work on a waify girl at all – a tall girl, yes, but still one with curves. The proportions are part of the style. And why should hips be a problem? I’m not one of those people who hates on naturally skinny gals, but the fittedness and the “womanly” hips are a lot of what makes this a power dress. Is there something offensive about women owning that power (and not disguising the fact that they have hips)?This design reminds me a little of some of the Stop Staring dresses, most of which I adore (but can’t afford), only in nicer fabric. I tried to check out the video of her other designs and it didn’t work, but check out the still shots on the abc7chicago website. Great shapes! Great hats! Go Kit!
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I love this dress; sleeves and all and I think that it looks fabulous on Kit. The colour combination rocks and I love the longer length. As someone who lives in a colder climate I have to say the anything calf length rocks my world. By the time I put on my tights and boots, my legs are toasty warm.Hopefully we can see more of her dresses.Patricia on the cold prairies
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I’m with Nora; I don’t see what there is about this dress as worn that Anon 8:07 finds objectionable, nor do I see in what way the dress would be improved by its being worn by a “waifish” girl (by which I presume someone without noticable breasts and hips). Nor do its proportions seem to me to be “off” in any way. I agree that “one must consider body type when making a dress,” and I happen to think the designer did just that. The sleeves look like a shawl to Anon? Well … OK, I guess, that’s one way to describe them. I don’t see in what way having sleeves which look like a shawl could be considered a problem, though. The sleeves are not actually much longer or fuller than the sleeves on a Duro dress, and I like the neckline – it’s flattering, and more individual than the more usual square neckline. I love the buttons and belt; I’d wear this dress with boots and tights, like Patricia, and if I was lucky, they’d be dark green boots, at that.
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I must also agree that while I find the dress fussy (I agree with the “too much trim” comment), the major thing the dress has going for it is that it is absolutely made for a woman with curves. One that likes her curves at that.
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I would just like to point out that i made this dress to fit the wolf form at model height so I can put it in fashion shows. On a 5’10” person, the skirt grazes just below the knee, and the sleeves stop right at the elbow. But since i am 5’2″, its a little long. And the collar’s not so very tiny….its 2 and a half inches wide, just hard to see in the photo. Thanks so much for everyone’s comments! My life has really gotten exciting lately. I’m working like crazy trying to get enough garments to put ito some stores, and if anyone has any legitimate pricing suggestions, I may just offer the pattern for sale. Pardon the website building….I tried to upgrade it today because I got so many hits the old one shut down…..well, now they’re both gone! Thanks again for everyone’s interest, and have a great day!
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Now that’s a strong, sassy dress! And it’d look good on a variety of shapes. Love it.
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Lydia (first comment) wanted a pattern similar to this one. The sleeves on this dress from Vogue are quite different but it has a similar shape to the bodice and skirt. (I’ve been eyeing this but I know that pencil skirts do not work for me!)
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This is a great dress.I love the way Kit has integrated the shrug that we see everywhere into the dress through the shape of the neckline and the belled sleeves.
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I posted the rest of my comments about wearing wide-sleeved dresses athttp://wrwcolors.blogspot.com/2006/10/wearing-wide-sleeved-dresses-1.htmlThis is Oct 7, if you need to find it in the archive.
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I know I’m a few days late, but this dress is KILLER.
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