Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Happy Toes

Oh, i was happy with this outfit! I wore it on the weekend, the fourth day of above 90 degree temps, for a fertin' round the house (sewing tomorrow's skirt) type of day. I love this skirt, but was a bit befuddled about how to wear it in a casual manner or in hot weather. It's made of a poly chiffon, and is too sheer and scritchy to wear on it's own. For some strange reason i had a mental block about wearing it with just a little silk half-slip and bare legs...........UNTIL NOW!

I love the way it looks like a little black dress with the black lace tank. Very unfussy. Most of the day i just wore it with the Betsey Johnson belt and felt dressed and comfy. I just threw the hat on for the photo, it's one of Mr. E's vast collection.

I'm really drawn to the flexibility of separates that can be worn as a dress - either two pieces made from the same fabric expressly for that purpose, or separates that can be made to 'read' as a dress. I accidentally bought extra fabric for the skirt i was making the day i wore this posts' outfit (coming up tomorrow - can you tell i love how that skirt turned out?). It looks to be enough to make a simple shell. This will be the second time i've made this type of combo. The first was a copy of a combo featured in Vogue Patterns Magazine in the early 1980's. It comprised a circle skirt and camp shirt in a warm yellow tropical print. I ended up wearing the pieces separately much more than as a dress, mostly because i didn't have many occasions for wearing a dress but also since the dress option wasn't as flattering as i'd hoped. But the idea simmered in my mind ever since....

Any advice/experience/stories out there about the two piece dress?


Hat: Scala via Berkeley Hat Company
Tank: Jockey
Belt: Betsey Johnson
Skirt: own design (material spotted by Mr. E)
Big Toes: paternal side of family

3 comments:

  1. What a pretty skirt! I like the addition of the hat.

    I don't think I have any top/bottom pieces that read as a dress. Huh. Weird.

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  2. Actually, i had to be kind of talked into buying that fabric by my husband and some ladies in the fabric store. but it turned out really nice, and it's opening my eyes to how important pattern is in my wardrobe.......

    hhmmmm....i thought there'd be more two-piece dress stories out there. i thought for sure my mom! but it looks like no dice.

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  3. Hmmm, you mean my work uniform, skirt and knit top? I liked that comfort factor, and I thought it looked OK for work, esp. with a nice jacket. Later, when I started working at Cal, knit pants, knit top, nice jacket did the ticket nicely. Also, the dresses I used to wear at Cal - those were good for hot days. Nice loose dress, nice jacket. So yes, two-piece dresses get a yes from me!

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