When I saw the teasers for the new BHL pattern on Elisalex\’s instagram, my first reaction was \”pretty!\” and my second was \”wait a minute–I already have that pattern!\” Digging a bit through my stash I pulled out this sweet woven wrap dress from the 60s that I purchased a few years ago and never gotten around to making. Now that there will be similar dresses popping up all over I thought I\’d join in the trend and make my version! I\’ve never worn a lot of wrap dresses due to gaping, but if the dress fits well, it theoretically shouldn\’t gape, right?
I usually feel fairly confident making 60s Simplicity patterns–I know that a size 12 (bust 32) should fit pretty well right out of the envelope and just use a small bust adjustment. This one, however, was a weird size–a size 10 and bust 32.5. It does say \”misses\” so it doesn\’t seem to be a half size… anyone know what\’s going on here? Therefore, I wasn\’t quite sure what to expect. I figured an SBA was probably a good idea though so even before I made a muslin, I did a quick 3/8\” SBA! I then ended up undoing almost all of it. Sometimes that\’s just how it works! In the end, I think the fit is not perfect, but it\’s fine. Going by the \”better than ready to wear\” I\’m golden.
The main difference between this dress pattern and the BHL one is that this one has a shaped skirt, while (I believe) the BHL skirt is a dirndl (a rectangle). The shaped skirt was wider than my fabric, though, so I ended up with a rectangle skirt after all. Also, the neckline on the BHL dress is much wider–this is my \”wearable muslin\” of sorts since I wasn\’t sure how I would like this style but if I wanted to more closely mimic the BHL I could go in and widen the neckline of this pattern, however, I prefer the coverage on this narrower V neck, I think. I spend a lot of time seated at a desk across from standing members of the male public (at the library) so the more coverage the better. I\’m not as busty as Elisalex–I only wish I could fill out a wrap dress like her!–but still. The last minor thing is that this dress closes with skirt hook and eyes on the inside and the belt is only decorative. In the teasers, the BHL dress looks like it ties with waist ties. This is also an easy swap.
I used a light cotton lawn in black, which is nice because it is very thin for summer but still pretty opaque. I\’m really into black dresses for summer, since it adds a little bit of mystery or glamour to what could otherwise be a pretty standard summer sundress. In North Carolina, I know I\’m going to be melting regardless of clothing color so I may as well go for it, I guess. I like to think I look very cool–even if I don\’t feel cool– in my black dresses, sunglasses, and straw hat.
xoxo,
I think this dress looks fabulous on you and the fit seems very good to me. Sometimes I think we look for fitting perfection perfection in garments we make ourselves yet we don't apply that same precision to ready to wear–as you have pointed out. The dress is elegant and feminine, without ruffles–which I know you are partial to. Personally I detest ruffles as they look too contrived. Also I'm a lot older and so I don't think they are age appropriate at a certain point. The dress looks very good and it doesn't hurt that you have a nice body shape. Well done.