Like many of our patterns, this dress has been wandering around in the back of my mind and on the pages of my sketchbooks for quite a while. This season it finally makes its debut.
I love the look of a drop-waisted dress. It’s sweet and feminine while also being a relaxed style that’s easy to wear. It’s also a very versatile style, and this dress will take on very different personalities depending on your fabric choices. I’d love to see it in a dressy fabric like silk dupioni for special occasions, but it will also be a terrific play dress this fall made up in a fine-wale corduroy or in our new brushed cotton, which feels soft and cozy like flannel. And of course it looks really cute in quilting cottons and in shirtings as well. I’m a sucker for a good yarn-dyed stripe.
The styling is a little bit vintage but still very contemporary. The wide front placket looks double-breasted (it’s not, however, because that would put too many layers of fabric all the way down the front of the dress, which would make it stiff and uncomfortable to wear), and the tie at the collar is cut on the bias so it drapes nicely and makes a soft bow.
You can choose from 3/4-length sleeves or long sleeves, and you’ll get two completely different looks with the double ruffle at the hem or the single ruffle. And if you really get carried away,you could also make a cute tunic using just the shorter of the two ruffles, which would look really cute with leggings or jeans.
I personally like this style best when made up in a solid color or a simple, subtle print or texture. The pattern works very nicely with the toile from our upcoming Cape Ann collection, as shown in these photos, and would also look great in the ticking stripe or in the smaller prints from that collection. It could be a lot of fun in the right big, colorful print, too. And what about using two different prints for the two ruffles? See, I know you’re going to make some interesting and unique dresses from this pattern.
This pattern, as well as all our other fall styles, will be available during the first week in September.