The Just-About-the-Best-Day-Ever Dress

This dress is really special. I always have felt like there is a certain kind of magic when you wear a newly-made outfit for the first time, and this dress was no different. (Really, handmade clothes are a super power regardless of how new or old they are!) 

First, the fabric. The fabric! This is a beautiful ikat weave that I picked up at a stumbled-upon fabric sample sale from a really incredible Chicago company called Piece & Co. All of their fabrics are handcrafted by artisan women all over the world - in clean work environments with fair compensation. It was totally by happenstance that I ended up in this cool Chicago loft office filled with piles of some of the best textiles I've ever seen, and I have so much respect for the people who woven the gorgeous fabrics I got to purchase!

So this was one of the pieces of fabric I picked up -- it was already fated to be pretty great. I decided to make a dress in a silhouette I'm totally not used to wearing, but deemed it necessary because of the heat of summer. It's got a slight shirttail hem, a notched neckline with ties, and self bias binding along the hem, armholes, and neckline. And that's it! No darts, no zippers, no lining, no fuss. It took a day to finish. I made it entirely on my beloved Singer Featherweight (my main machine now - a gift from my dear aunt) - with french seams so it's all properly finished.

Oh but wait! Let me tell you about the magic of this dress! I wore it for the first time on the day I was offered my new position as a designer for kid's clothing. I had interviewed a couple weeks prior, and this was the day I found out. These photos were taken over lunch by a friend, before the meeting where I got the job -  but can you tell I was oozing happiness even so? Sometimes, a good, new, self-made outfit will do that (and more) for ya.

I legitimately feel this way pretty much every day ^. It's been the best job ever, and it started with this dress. It was for sure good luck.