As I mentioned the other week in my Wednesday Wishlist post, I went to a wedding! My boyfriend’s friend/ex-bandmate married the love of his life in the gorgeous Wilton’s Music Hall in East London. And the couple were kind enough to invite me alongside my other half. It was a gorgeous wedding, and I got to sit on the party table (Read; The loud annoying table) and drink my weight in prosecco. I also happened to make my dress, so here’s my Japanese print dress!
I can’t begin to tell you how happy I was to be back at my sewing machine. It had been so long since I’d last sewn I honestly forgot to use the damn machine! But we got over my clunkiness, and this dress came together easily within a day and a half.
Anyone that read my blog back when I was sewing a lot might recognised this dress. Back in 2012 I drafted my own pattern to make a dress I dubbed the No Cock Nor Tails dress. Fairly simple, it was a sweetheart-necked bodice and a full circle skirt black dress for a black tie event. In the years to come, I also made the Check Please dress, P-P-P-Polkadots dress, the Big Ol’ Black Dress and Sunshine Through The Clouds dress from the same pattern.
The fabric is really the big thing about this dress. The same as my Blossoms skirt from last year, and the Tanuki skirt from the year before, I bought this fabric whilst I was in Japan. I always end up at this place called Okadaya in Shinjuku when I’m in Tokyo, as they have 2 metre bundles outside for the measly sum of ¥990, which is about £8. It’s the most gorgeous fabric, not only in it’s kimono-inspired print, but since it’s a soft, textured cotton with a good weight to it. Japanese fabric, guys, it does not fuck around.
This fabric is based off kimono prints and embroideries, featuring peonies, chrysanthemums and cranes. We all know I have an affinity for Japanese dress and culture, so it seemed the perfect fabric for me! And the black backing with all the colours was just bloody gorgeous. Not so sure if it’s easy to see, but there is gold running through the print, too.
Japanese Print Dress
This dress went together pretty easily, so there’s not much I can say about the construction! It’s an unlined dress, since the cotton is weighty enough that I felt like I didn’t need it. It’s also unlined because I made it on the hottest day in a decade whilst in my knickers. Lining just felt a little unnecessary at that point.
It does have the best thing possible through; GODDAMN POCKETS. Once upon a time — when I only really blogged about sewing projects — I was planning on calling my blog “Thanks, It’s Got Pockets” because that’s how committed I am to pockets in my life. This dress in particular needed in-seam pockets, which I was surprised I remember how to do.
There’s no pattern-matching, as you can see, but that straight up doesn’t bother me. Pattern matching is for people who have their life together, not me!
As I was making this dress, I worried that the print was too busy for me. That was the main reason for choosing a simplistic-styled pattern, since there’s a lot going on. But I was so happy to catch myself in the mirror that day and realise that it’s a gorgeous dress, if I do say so myself.
What do you guys think?
Hair Flower; Lady Luck’s Boutique
Dress; Handmade
Shoes; Old Yours Clothing
Bag; Vendula London (Disclaimer)