What Would Robin Wear

This July will be the sixth wedding I will be involved in; always a bridesmaid, never a bride. I am seriously fine with that (almost all of my friends are now divorced) but it is exhausting being involved in all these weddings. In the past six months I have been in two weddings.

This July my friend Alice is getting married and this time we were allowed to pick our own dresses; as long as they were black. I was so excited, and then I suddenly realized, OMG I have to pick out a dress.

Most women will tell you how hard it is to find a dress and a black dress at that. It is nearly impossible. Designers just do not make dresses anymore as no one really wears dresses. Most designers make separates, shirts, jackets, skirts, etc. Which would have been fine to wear for the wedding, but I really wanted a dress. Well I found one, but it was two sizes too big, the only one left, and it was an A-line cut. (see post about dress styles, shapes, and cut) I have a very curvy body (still trying to accept my curvy body, and figure out what will work and not work) and I am very tall at 5’9. To put an A-line cut on my frame is difficult. Most of the dresses this year have a very full skirt, and if you have larger hips and a smaller waist this type of full skirt can make you look huge. Or feel like you look huge.

So I found my black dress, and now I am going to alter it and cut it down to fit my body. I am seriously a “girly-girl” and I love all the rosettes and flounces that are in fashion now. So I had to have this dress. As you can see below the dress is just too full on the bottom, it’s a little short for me, but when you are tall and the average American women is 5’4, the designers will cater to the average or standard height. I could have added length to the dress but it is so ornate on top, I didn’t want to have too much going on with this dress. Keep it simple… I love the top of this dress and it is the reason I bought it.







The first thing I did was of course, try the dress on, I knew it was too big on the bottom. I laid it flat out on my huge dinning room table, inside out.




See how the corner of the dress comes out to a point? I am not sure what the designer was thinking but this dress is too full for anyone unless you are a size two, and even then you have to be careful, too much fabric or clothes that are too big, make you look big, frumpy, and can make you look sloppy. I had to learn that you cannot hide under a tent, accentuate the curves and wear clothes that fit you.




I am going to cut that corner off, just like I do with jeans. It is a simple fix. How much do you cut off, or how do you know how much to cut off? I take the tape measure and lay it from the waist to the bottom of the corner. That is how much I know I can cut off. I always pin the dress and then try it on first before I ever cut it.



I am going to cut off 5 1/2 inches from the bottom of each side of this skirt, and taper the cut to the waist. Slowly getting smaller as I reach the waist. My goal is only to take in the bottom of this dress.



I pin my dress and try it on, to make sure it's not too tight or too loose.




When I know it's the right fit. I sew the new seam, I try the dress on again, then I cut the excess fabric. Make sure you leave about a half an inch of extra fabric so you can zig zag the new seam closed.














I like to have a double seam, and then close with the zig zag stitch so the fabric doesn't fray.






I have taken about 12 inches off the bottom of this dress.




And wha-la a BETTER fitting dress. You will see some photos of me at the wedding reception at the incredible Fleischmann Estates (yes the butter people) in Indian Hill, Ohio. It has been restored to a center for the Arts and is now called Greenacre's and displays artwork for sale, and has many classes for students. If you would like to see more of the property and are in the Cincinnati area, check it out (link at the bottom).

www.green-acres.org/GAF_sitepages/GAF_MAIN/GAF_MAIN-Home.html












This is my friend Alice, one of the most amazing teachers, friend, and mentor I could ever have. I was glad to be a part of your day my friend!!! Don't we look like Barbie and Skipper???