senior prom 2019

June 07, 2019

senior prom 2019

Prom is today, and it would be out of character for me if I didn't make my dress, so I made my dress. I went through a few different designs and ideas, but I am very pleased with the final look. I wanted to take you guys through the process from idea to creation.

My initial idea was to make a dress similar to the one that Miley Cyrus wore to the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty 2 years ago. I love the look of the half and half dress and the 40s/50s Hollywood vibe.

Although, when thinking about it more, I kinda wanted to experiment with more color and didn't want to copy the dress. I wanted to design something more original and unique. So, I went on Mood Fabrics' website and Etsy to browse the fabrics and trims they have.

Knowing I wanted a 1920s Great Gatsby vibe to the look, I found a great selection of fringe at Mood, and I came up with a rough design for the dress. I wanted a top that had an art deco-esque design, so I went on a hunt for a fabric like that to center the design around.

It was perfect! So, after finding that, I went back to Mood Fabrics and looked for more fabric that would work well with this chiffon. The color that would work best is gold, and I thought a yellow gold would look good with my hair and skin tone. For the type of fabric, I knew I wanted a satin for the bodice and skirt, and a more sheer fabric (either organza or chiffon) for the sleeves.

My main inspiration were these pictures I saw on Pinterest, and I immediately wanted to be as cool as one of this girls.

Although, I looked into it, and a full fringe skirt would be way out of the budget for me haha. It's super expensive, who would've known? After finding what fabric I knew I wanted for the dress, I went to the Mood Fabrics store in NYC to pick them up. While looking through the trims, I found this beautiful teal fringe I couldn't let go of. I picked up a few more trims and went home to draw (what I thought was) my final design.

I love square necklines, I find them to be very flattering. At first, I thought I wanted to have a tiered skirt, like the one shown below, but thinking about it more as I finished the top, I thought it would be a bit overwhelming.

I had the top finished, which was a bit difficult, but much easier than I expected. A helpful trick is to take a top that is similar to the shape/ style that you are looking to achieve and take a look at how that top is constructed. I luckily had a top that has a square neckline and zips down the back, so I used it to help me make the pattern. The top can be seen below, with and without the sleeves and trim.

With less than a week to make a skirt, I decided to go for my second idea for it. I love skirts with slits, and with the 20s style in mind, I didn't want to make the skirt too full. So, I made it a 1/4 circle skirt and added a leg slit. To tie it all together, I sewed trim to line the slit.

To be extra obnoxious, I made a purse to match the dress. My mom made me try on the whole look, makeup and everything yesterday to get additional pics for her coworkers haha, so here is the whole look.