The troublesome question was–what dress should she wear to the barbecue? What dress would best set off her charms and make her most irresistible to Ashley?

…

The rose organdie with long pink sash was becoming, but she had worn it last summer when Melanie visited Twelve Oaks and she'd be sure to remember it. And might be catty enough to mention it. The black bombazine, with its puffed sleeves and princess lace collar, set off her white skin superbly, but it did make her look a trifle elderly… It would never do to appear sedate and elderly before Melanie's sweet youthfulness. The lavender barred muslin was beautiful with those wide inserts of lace and net about the hem, but it had never suited her type. It would suit Carreen's delicate profile and wishy-washy expression perfectly, but Scarlett felt that it made her look like a schoolgirl. It would never do to appear schoolgirlish beside Melanie's poised self. The green plaid taffeta, frothing with flounces and each flounce edged in green velvet ribbon, was most becoming, in fact her favorite dress, for it darkened her eyes to emerald. But there was unmistakably a grease spot on the front of the basque. Of course, her brooch could be pinned over the spot, but perhaps Melanie had sharp eyes. There remained varicolored cotton dresses which Scarlett felt were not festive enough for the occasion, ball dresses and the green sprigged muslin she had worn yesterday. But it was an afternoon dress. It was not suitable for a barbecue, for it had only tiny puffed sleeves and the neck was low enough for a dancing dress. But there was nothing else to do but wear it. After all she was not ashamed of her neck and arms and bosom, even if it was not correct to show them in the morning.

from Gone With The Wind, by Margaret Mitchell.

with thanks to Julian, who sent in the excerpt …

Jonquil sent me this link … the corset is stunning, of course, but for me the attraction is that the skirt and shawl are dictionary fabric. Dictionary fabric! I've nearly gone blind trying to figure out WHICH dictionary was used. I should email Laurie, the artist, and ask for a picture … it can't be American Heritage, because the text wraps around the line art … maybe MW2?

Of course, if you read through the comments you'll find that she found the fabric on a remnant table ($2/yard! Silk!) in San Jose and that it's all gone, now.

Jonquil predicted that, if *I* had turned up yards and yards of silk dictionary fabric at $2/yard, that I would have made a shirtwaist … maybe. I'd also think seriously about making this dress from it.

Not that this will ever happen NOW … sigh. At least I know the fabric is out there somewhere, and being loved (because who wouldn't love dictionary-print silk?).

Needless to say, if anyone finds any more of this out there, I'm offering a modest reward and shipping costs!

Doesn't this make you want to see more? Trust me, the rest of this Emma Domb cocktail dress (at Vintage Grace) is just as spectacular, but this being the blog it is, we choose to focus on the pockets. Beaded pockets!

It's a perfect dress for New Year's Eve, isn't it? Black, classic, and yet with those whimsical pockets, perfect for holding your lipstick or your pre-countdown breath mint. And, since it's almost a whole year away, and your resolutions are still sparkly and new, you could justify purchasing it even if you're not quite its size (B36/W28).

Many thanks to Laura, who sent in this link!

Trudy introduced me to Fred, and now I am introducing him to you. Fred goes by "successfuleb-businessman" on eBay, and, well, I'll let him explain it:

I noticed on eBay the more successful sellers use models as props. I couldn't find a model or afford one so I hired the least expensive model I could find…ME!!! I am not a freak and – NO- I don't wear woman's clothes – ever – except to sell on eBay. I am an alpha dominant heterosexual unavailable (sorry girls) male (with a capital M) I am so secure in my masculinity that I CAN model woman’s clothing and accessories!

Fred is a pretty decent model, in my opinion, and he's got my eternal respect for pointing out the best feature of this dress — the pockets!

Fred tends to model only for the larger sizes, unsurprisingly … Act fast (click on the picture) if you want this dress; there's only a few hours left in the auction, and be sure to check out his other listings, as well as the questions he answers from potential bidders!

Well, like just about everyone in the western world, I thought about making some resolutions for the new year. You know, stuff like "become professional hula-hoop artist" and "read more improving literature." But for a while now I have realized that most resolutions are nothing more than "do today what tomorrow you will wish you had done yesterday," and that makes resolutions simpler to make (if not easier to keep).

Now, for the holiday break, I had tons of resolutions. I was going to sew! I was going to take pictures of everything I had already sewn, to post here! I was going to send out some holiday cards, and I was going to bake, and I was going to catch up on my email and my reading …

[You can see what's coming here, can't you?]

Yes, the gods laughed, and the entire Dress A Day family spent most of the post-Christmas period sick as the proverbial dogs. When all the neurons in your skull have redirected their efforts to all-out mucus production and your joints feel as if they've been beaten by an assailant with a ball-peen hammer and a meticulous sense of duty, there is not so much with the "catching up". There's quite a lot of the "falling behind," though.

The one good thing about being sick, though, was that, for the first time, my little boy decided to take care of ME. He was the first to fall sick, and having the resilience of youth, he was well again, more or less, in about 36 hours. So he decided to spend his convalescent time ministering to me and to his father, by giving us pharmaceutical-grade hugs, reading quietly by himself while we zonked out on various horizontal surfaces, confining himself to watching only the cartoons that were easily navigated to with the TiVo, and, one glorious morning, by making me a lovely breakfast of toast and orange slices, presented on a tray. Considering that he's only six years old and that he doesn't even make breakfast for *himself*, this was heartbreakingly touching. Although I'm pretty sure he got the idea from this Calvin and Hobbes, which he'd read the night before:

Luckily, he knows not to touch the stove without a phalanx of hovering adults, so I didn't have to dash from my sickbed to call the fire department.

But what has any of this to do with resolutions? Well, this year, besides doing more improving reading, I'm also hoping to sew more from my stash of patterns, which includes this one, above. And to organize them, in one of those fancy binders that has the front and back of each pattern, for easy browsing. That way I can keep the actual patterns sequestered away and filed by number in a nice safe place, instead of piled in drifts around my sewing room. That shouldn't be too hard, right? A couple of weekends of scanning and photocopying? You're right — I shouldn't say that too loudly. The gods are listening, and I could still break an arm …