I've always loved this shade of violet - not too cool, a slight undertone of ultra-violet, not super concentrated but neither washed out at all. It tastes delicious (i'm a synaesthete***) and flatters my coloring and eyeballs. Yet i struggle so to wear it happily! Even with this turgid history, when i saw this beautiful linen on sale at Stone Mountain and Daughters i decided to chance it. I made it up into Marcy Tilton's 'Vintage French Housedress' pattern (Vogue 8813) last summer.
Since then i've worn it fairly often. It's very comfy, especially in the heat, and i do love the color. The neckline (which i didn't take a picture of) is very flattering and i think i've come up with a way to modify the top half of this dress in a kind of slouchy tee/top. But the color still felt a bit flat to me when the dress was worn more or less on it's own.
The other day i paired this dress with my digital print leggings and a jean jacket. I can't believe how much more i love the color worn this way! The clear denim blue and the greyed peach tones in the leggings just set this off perfectly, in my view. This success has given me a couple of ideas about how to style this dress in the hotter months with an aim to achieving a similar effect. I'm on the lookout for some brass snaps to replace the silver ones on the pockets, and i may restitch the pocket edges with a merlot color instead of the current navy so that i bring these salubrious tones into the dress itself.
I also have a small silk square scarf with lots of apricot and coral tones which i'm thinking of tying to my purse or in my hair to spark the violet a bit.
While i can't say that this individual dress came out exactly the way i'd like for a piece in my ideal wardrobe, i'm very glad i made it. I've learned how to wear a color i really like, i've discovered and grown to love a new, very flattering and practical neckline, and i'm on the trail of a wardrobe workhorse hot weather top. I also now have enough confidence in this pattern to keep an eye out for a ultra-drapey matte black knit so i can make it into an LBD with the coolest hemline in town.
In the meantime, i wear it and it makes me happy!
*** i wanted to link to the wikipedia entry on synaesthesia just in case some readers weren't familiar with the term. Upon reading the entry i discovered there's a term for my dominant form:
"Auditory-tactile: A type of synesthesia in which certain sounds can induce sensations in parts of the body. Auditory-tactile synesthesia may originate from birth or be acquired sometime in life. It is one of the rarest forms of synesthesia."
Wonderful interpretation of that pattern, tinyjunco!
ReplyDeletePS, I "enjoy" Chromesthesia!
This is just lovely - what a rich colour! You're so talented, Steff!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool dress. And I know what you mean about some colors needing other colors. I'm very attracted to what I call the "not" colors. A not brown/not grey. A not blue/not grey. If you pair with brown, it looks grey. If with grey, it looks brown, etc. I find I need a third color to get it to do what I want. If I pair my not light blue/not warm grey suede blouse/jacket with mint, it becomes distinctly blue.
I love it, Stephanie! So much fun!
ReplyDeleteHi Margy! thank you - it's such a fun one to put together, it's really only 3 pieces (except the pocket) - Marcy has this way of just swirling pieces around, front to back and her garments look much more involved than they are. Really fun.
ReplyDeleteand yay! another synaesthete!! wo0T!
Thank you Sheila!! you are too kind :) give little V a snorgle for me, if he can take a break from bird-watching :)
Hi Vildy! you do a very good job of describing your 'not' colors there, and they sound so interesting! I'm always on the lookout for these ones, now i'll think of you when i find them ;)
Hi shams! like i said to Margy, it's really a fun pattern to sew and kind of hard to believe you get a dress that looks very 'finished' when the amount of sewing you do feels more like you're making a flour sack ( ! ) That Marcy!!
Happy Day!!! steph
I have made this pattern a couple of times. Now I will have to make a linen version! Thanks for this inspiration. Like the styling of the jacket and leggings.
ReplyDelete