Today I’m happy to introduce the second of our three new styles for Fall 2013: the Library Dress.
I think this dress fits into our collection just perfectly. It’s slightly tailored but still so sweet and feminine, and it offers lots of options for customizing and getting different looks. Since there are two views, you can combine elements from each view to achieve quite a few styles from a single pattern.
This dress originated with a photo that my friend Brooke sent me, along with a pleading email. Her youngest daughter had just outgrown their favorite vintage dress! It was such a cute dress, I could see why they liked it so much. This is our version of that beloved dress; similar in feel, but different from the original in many of the details.
I love the collar on View A, which looks like it just folds back from the bodice. It doesn’t, actually but it’s very easy to sew.
In addition to View A, with short sleeves and the cute collar, we added a View B, without the collar and with 3/4-length sleeves instead, for a completely different look. I love the notched cuffs on the longer sleeves. They’re such a great detail, aren’t they?
Either way, with both views the wide waistband can be a real focal point on this pattern if you want to play with it. Embroider it, make it from a contrast fabric, add piping in the seams (flat piping pattern piece and instructions included), or add ribbons to the band the way I did with S’s dress, using fabric from Heather Ross’s newest collection and ribbon from Renaissance Ribbons to fancy it up and add even more color and pattern. (S loves it, of course. How could she not love it, with all that color and print happening in one dress?)
The pleats in the skirt keep the dress on the tailored side of things, but you could always gather the skirt if you want to make it more sweet and feminine. And the combination of the mock-wrap bodice with the pleats makes the dress almost look like a wrap dress. I can see why the vintage version of this dress was such a favorite in Brooke’s house. I hope it will become a favorite in your, too!
You’ll be able to purchase the dress here on our website in just a few days.