[Whoops, edited to remove picture, sorry folks … nothing to see here, move along … okay, if you need something to see, you can check out this rabbit in a dress.]
So, I'm pretty sure that the penalty for single-handedly declaring International Wear A Dress Week (oh, the hubris) was that I was roundly and soundly smacked down by an enormous toppling pile of work, to the point where, one morning, I had to actually stand still and think: "Did I just take a shower, or not?" (Luckily, my hair was still damp, so I was able to answer that question. When the question is "Did I brush my teeth?" I just go ahead and brush them again, but it seems wasteful to re-shower.)
Although I did not post ONE SINGLE TIME during IWAD week, I did wear dresses every day, except for Friday, when I wore a skirt. (I was finally at home on Friday.) I am willing to submit signed affidavits, or I could tell you that I don't even remember the last time I wore a bifurcated garment that wasn't intended for sleep. (Ah: I wear dresses all day, but prefer to sleep in pajamas. There's a contradiction for you.)
The dresses in the Flickr stream (135 at last count!!!) are FANTASTIC. Check out this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and oooh, don't forget this one … heck, you might as well go and check them all out!
In other sewing news, I bought three different colors of denim (orange, teal, and black) and am going to make some hard-wearing dresses out of them, I hope. (I spent some time sewing today but got frustrated and decided that I should stop before inadvertently driving the seam ripper through soft tissue.)
I am traveling again this week, and, as penance for not posting during IWADW I will commit to taking a terrible hotel-room-mirror photo of my outfit every day. (Look, this is me programming a reminder into my phone!) Be afraid, be very afraid.
A Dress A Day 
The photostream is really fun to see. Instant annual event!
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Pleased you’re OK, sweetie. Was a bit concerned! Been wearing dresses all the time as usual (and PJs to bed).
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Oh, very nice! I spotted two walk away dresses, has that topic been beaten to death yet? I wore skirts all week, does that count?
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Glad that you didn’t leave yourself on a train someplace, Erin! Hope you’re managing to scale the work mountain OK.Good luck too with the tough-wearing denim dresses. One of my first sewing projects in school Home Ec. classes was a brown denim A-line pinafore number (brown was popular in the Seventies, OK?): took forever (at an hour a week for a term) and turned out disappointingly stiff as a board. I could have been enterprising and taken on sponsorship (sandwich board?) but I don’t think I ever actually wore it. Happily, it didn’t put me off sewing.It’s been a real treat seeing everyone’s dresses – thanks so much for sharing those. What an inspiring bunch of people you are!
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Labelladonna looks great. I second the motion for an annual event even though I posted my pics and they mysteriously disappeared. So glad you are ok Erin – I was starting to get worried — very worried.
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THANK GOODNESS YOU’RE OK! I don’t think I ever clicked into Dressaday so much in one week in my life, just hoping for a post from you!And I can’t wait for the hotel mirror pics!! Mwhahaha!
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Yowza, what a hat, Bella Donna! Good to see you at Vogue Fabrics on Saturday, Erin. Over and out…
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Holy smokes, La BellaDonna, that is an awesome picture! As lovely as your comments are astute. :)And the_lazymilliner, that’s a pretty fine hat in your icon, too.
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Glad to hear you’re okay. Even gladder you’re back and posting!So, ummm… what do you consider hard wearing dress styles? (I’m being eyed by several dozen yards of denim in my stash and its starting to mutter vague threats… could use an idea or two to settle the natives.)
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Glad you’re okay! I spent all week in a pre-electricity period piece (i.e. post-hurricane power outage) so I:a) completely forgot about IWADWb) took cold showers when I wasn’t just filthyc) wore no dresses–only shorts and t-shirts (also filthy)I’m thinking of just observing this next week since I’m still not back to work.
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I’m very afraid.In the end I wore a dress only on Monday, it was a terribly cold week here in the Czech Republic, but to make things funnier I actually wore TWO dresses on Monday, and one of them was an evening dress worn over the day. š I only didn’t take a photo of that one…
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I did wear a dress and took a photo of me in the dress. Decided that it looked horrible and did not post it. It was great fun. I look forward to next year.
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The newspaper one is fantastic š
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Yay! LaBellaDonna!Yay! Erin is alive!So…I will be looking forward to your hardworking denim so that I may borrow ideas for some violet denim that has been sitting in the stash for a lonnnnnnnnnng time.If I had to pick a favourite dress from all of them I confess that I am kinda partial to Nazca’s because of the unbearable adorableness and that she was representing a whole different species and all.I am SO looking forward to next year! Can we expand to the entire month of September, please?
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Hey Erin – I can vouch for your dress-wearing on Monday, 9/15, if that was you in the vicinity of Broadway/Amsterdam/71st at around 6pm, wearing your dress with the big white letters. If not, you have a doppelganger. Or the dress does.Sorry I didn’t stop to say hello, but a) you don’t know me (I find that a stranger walking up and talking to you on the street in NYC is a bit disconcerting), and b) I wasn’t wearing a dress! Lurking no more, Lise
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Ok, we’ll let you make it up to us! ;-)At least you didn’t wear your PJs AND your dress, what with the memory problems (I have been known to forget to put shoes on, slippers in the street, not so good for convincing people you’ve not lost your marbles).WHERE did you find orange and teal denim? Black, meh, I’ve even seen purple and shiny, glittery purple, but never orange or teal. Teal denim sounds yummy. I’m assuming you needed to wash it a bajillion times to get it to dress softness?Can’t wait!Cheers,AJ
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BTW, this might not be the issue, but when uploading pics to Flickr you set permissions. If your photo isn’t set to “Public” then it won’t appear to the rest of us even althoug it might look as if it’s there on your computer.Just in case that info helps!Cheers,AJ
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I think this display of pulchritude (sorry my spelling dictionary is in the basement – but I didn’t get a red line so it must be okay) is absolutely GRAND!!! You looked comfortable, fashionable, cheery, fun to get to know, and really serious seamstresses! I don’t care if the dresses were sewn or ready to wear – dresses are being worn!!! I’m so sick of looking at fannies not fitting into slacks/jeans properly and the muffin top over the waistband because a number is so important. LONG LIVE THE DRESS!!!!
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I took you seriously, and wore dresses everyday but Friday, which is “jeans only” day at work.I enjoyed it, too, and will keep at it!
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I did but them public and they did not appear (frowning)
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I’m glad to hear that you’re alive, Erin! And thanks for giving my M3646 dress a shout-out – my hair was wet because I’d just come out of the shower. It was a real treat seeing everyone’s dresses this week.I can’t wait to see your hotel pics š
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Glad to find that you hadn’t dropped off the face of the earth.I wore a dress or skirt almost every day except Friday when I went trap shooting (I could shoot trap in a skirt but Hanna washed out the range road and I was afraid I’d have to climb through mud), and Saturday when I was working with power tools.I have some pictures but they are stuck in my camera because my computer’s BRAND NEW motherboard failed.
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BTW – in re: Denim Dresses,I once made a plain, princess style dress in black stretch denim with a front Zipper that my DH absolutely loved. I ended up wearing it into the ground over about 5 years.I also had a western style, chambray shirtdress with a full, 4-gore skirt and pearl snaps that I wore to tatters. It was a nursing dress too. I’m sure that style would be fine in a lightweight denim.
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that flickr group is the ultimate pick me up. I loved seeing the beautiful handmade dresses, as well as the unique “twists” everyone gave to readymade as well. So many, many talented sewers out there!
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Hello Erin, Glad to see that you are back and everything is ok with you. I was getting worried myself. I am embarrassed I only wore a skirt Monday. Honestly, I have a good excuse. š I just got out of the hospital at the end of Aug and when I was not in PJ bottoms I was in yoga pants for school. Anything with a waistband or too snug is still too uncomfortable to wear. Most of my skirts and dresses are vintage with a snug waist… AHHH that is so unfair! I will have to celebrate IWADW later.:(k
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Glad you’re back in Blogland! Love all the dresses–especially the rick-rack dress!
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Glad you’re okay. We missed you. And I did wear a skirt on Monday, but did not get a picture. But I think I am making up for it by hand hemming a beautiful red striped vintage dress with flowers, bows, and a side zipper.
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My camera is on the blink, but I got lots of nice comments on the scrub dress I wore to work Sunday evening. Folks didn’t think it was a scrub dress; they thought it was just a dress. And it has great pockets!
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How funny–I wear pants all day (just my preference, they are more comfortable for me) but can’t sleep at night unless I wear a night gown!
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So, why’d you take out the picture of La BellaDonna?(So glad you’re back and okay!)
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Me, too mamafrog!Glad you’re in the land of the living, Erin, I was starting to wonder.
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Lise, that WAS me! You should have said “hi”, I’m used to strangers coming up to me and saying odd things. :-)And unfortunately there’s an annoying person who likes to annoy our favorite LaB, so I took the pic down to give that person less to be annoying about …
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Erin, Thank you for the Picture-Go-Pouf. Once things improve, the picture can go back up (if Erin is so moved); I was very proud to be there, but it’s just not good for me to have it up right now. Thank you, to all those who made such nice comments!As far as your denim is concerned, Erin, I would echo 3Killerbs and go with a princess-line pattern, or the gored-skirt shirtwaist. I made my own favorite dress from a stretch denim – and it was a LOT of work! Not the pattern, the fabric; I spent more money getting the crocking dye out of it than I did for the fabric! But I Luurrrve the dress; I can scrub things in it (which is why I first made it), or I can put a pearl necklace on and go to lunch in it. I made mine sleeveless so I can wear it in the summer as is, in the spring or fall with a shirt or blouse, and in the winter with a sweater. And I lovelovelove coloured denim! I had some yummy autumn-flowered once, which made a lovely Bolivian Jacket (peplum version), and some brown brushed (half-circle skirt), and some pink brushed (half-circle skirt), and I now have red with black renaissance flocking, and blue with black renaissance flocking. I do like the idea of the front-zipper dress; so much more sensible, really, than doing the Back/Back Tango to get in and out of something. Because I’m fairly hourglassy, and have that small waist/big hips ratio, my trick is to buy LONGER zippers than recommended, for skirts AND dresses – it’s so much easier to get in and out of them that way! I would definitely go princess-line with the denim; my own personal preference is for that very fitted top-through-waist and a very full, long skirt, but the nice thing is that the princess-line looks nice whether you opt for a silhoutte that’s long, fitted and flared, or a much more streamlined 30s/40s version of a princess dress. I’m always happy when there’s enough fabric to do an abbreviated matching jacket to wear over the (sleeveless) dress – or a little matching shirt to wear under it!
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Erin,I am pretty sure that I made that dress Laura Dern is wearing back in 1973 for my best friends sister to wear to the prom. It was a Vogue John Kloss design and it was a pain in the ass – every drape in that bodice was stitched in place – though it appears to be just shirred at the drawstring. I used quiana, remember that fabric? Of course not. Still, memory lane…
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Julia, I do TOO remember Qiana! Not only that, I still have about 4 yards of burgundy still waiting to be sewn!I TOTALLY hear you about working with it! I made a very pretty green Qiana dress to wear to a wedding as the date of the guy who knew the happy couple. It was a pain in the butt to make, but it came out beautifully; it had a low V neck, and that X-shaped 70s bodice, with the skirt rising to a (!#$#$#) point in the front. Wouldn’t you know, we walked in the door, and we were greeted by the bride’s sister. She was wearing a green Quiana dress. Yes, it was the same EXACT shade of green. Even BETTER: It was the SAME PATTERN. She had used the floor-length version, though. And worse: hers absolutely looked as if was made by “loving hands at home”, whereas mine … did not.
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La Belladonna sorry to see you go, that was a beautiful ensemble. Someday soon I hope that you are able to show more of your dresses. I really like your style. Thanks Erin for sharing her picture with us. k
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