dressy ice cream dress

Here is a little additional inspiration for you now that the spring patterns have been released.

Two days a week, we have the pleasure of working with Giulia, who lends her expertise to our sewing patterns and to some other projects that we’ve been working on. Giulia trained as a costume maker in Rome, London, and Paris, and on the days when she’s not working with us she constructs beautiful things in the costume shop at the Metropolitan Opera. We feel very fortunate to work with her, and she makes many valuable contributions to what we do.

Last week Giulia returned to Italy for her cousin’s wedding. She took along this silk dupioni Ice Cream Dress that she sewed for her niece to wear to the wedding. I love the colors she selected.

When she brought this little dress to the studio the other day, she hadn’t been able to find an appropriate button. We located this vintage orange button in our stash, which is just pinned into place for the photo. I think it finishes the dress beautifully.

And Giulia added a little surprise to her version of the dress. It’s fully lined, with the lining also made of silk using the View A pattern pieces. The dress could almost be fully reversible, although the button might need to be moved.

The lining changes the drape of the fabric and makes it look fuller, which is perfectly appropriate for a formal event like a wedding.

I can’t wait to see the things that all of you do with this pattern. Please share your creations with us in the Oliver + S Flickr group.