I knew the fabric was red, obviously, when I bought it. What I didn't remember, however, was it being quite that shade of red. Or being that shiny.
So there we have it. February's sewing Thing. The OMG Atom Red thing. Which I guess is appropriate for a girl who is fascinated/obsessed with Cold War propaganda, and sort of thinks that nuclear war and epidemics would be cool on a bizarre crisis communications level.
February's Thing is Simplicity 2550. Not only is it sewing from stash materials for the fabric, but the pattern has also been in the stash for a while.
I bought it on a craft weekend two years ago, and to be honest, now I'm not sure what I was thinking at the time. I don't even particularly like Simplicity patterns anymore, mostly because the patterns aren't easy to follow, the layout for fabric isn't the greatest, and because it isn't lined. And on this one in particular, I'm not quite pleased that it didn't say on the outside of the envelope that Bodice B was cut on the bias. I wouldn't have picked this fabric to go with the pattern if I had known that, although I'm fortunate that it still works with the fabric.
It's an easy enough project to sew. I was able to cut it out and sew most of it within an evening/night, and it seems to fit well. I've got the zipper pinned in, so now just need to baste and sew that, and then hem the dress and the sleeves. I don't know that I'll get it done tonight, or this upcoming weekend, but next weekend for sure. (This upcoming weekend is craft weekend, but I'd rather take knitting and cross stitching as projects!)
But it's just so... well, atom red. It sort of reminds me of a show choir dress, and that's not quite what I was thinking of when I started sewing it. I know I liked the fabric when I bought it, or else I wouldn't have bought it, but it's so bright.
Which brings us to the problem here. I had bought the dress pattern and the fabric to wear for a work dress. But now, because it's so RED and it's so shiny, I'm just not sure. And I don't quite work in an environment where we do bright colors. Most of my wardrobe is black, grey, blue, and deeper colors -- and the brighter colors in pinks and purples only come out during the summer. Wearing a bright red dress for everyday wear just strikes me as bizarre.
Can I still get away with wearing it in a corporate environment? What accessories could be paired with it to tone it down a bit?
Very pretty! You could maybe wear a cream colored wrap over it if you wanted to tone it down.
ReplyDeleteI think it is really pretty! Accessories could definitely help to create a subtlety to your look... though I'm not much help in choosing those. I say, be bold and give it a spin at the office. :-D
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