The dress I have in mind (and the material in the closet) will use the bodice from that pattern, but with short sleeves and a square-cut neck. Black on black, with a bright yellow under the chiffony layer for the skirt.

That sounds lovely! If I'm envisioning it correctly, will it end up looking a little something like this, or perhaps this? (Ah, Recollections. ) Or maybe a cross between the two? Given my limited knowledge of sewing and dresses, there's a good chance that my mental image is way off base here.

I'm not quite sure what it'll look like, either seeing that I'm going to try to piece several patterns together. Hopefully it will look pretty much like the first example you have there, though with sleeves more like the second, only filmier. I'll see how it turns out; sometimes these ideas work and sometimes--they don't!

(I love seam-ripping, provided it's not the fifth time I'm taking out the seam I just sewed )

Well, you can come rip seams for me and I'll sew your seams back up again for you.

That second dress, Rose, is lovely. I think I want one almost as much as I want a dress like this.

You'll have to keep us posted on your progress with the dress, aileth!

I love that dress, too, Mel. I think that, if I could only wear fashions from one decade, it would be the 50s.

And that dress! The collar, the double buttons...! I love sailor-inspired dresses. I've been admiring this dress over at ModCloth for a long time. (That bright red bow against the navy! *swoons*) This one is also pretty, though subtler.

* blows the dust off of the fashion thread *

A moment of silence for the nearly year that has gone by with no fashion comments.....

Ok, moment's over.

I thought I would pop in because I am going to an intensive conference for which I will need 1) a new suit and 2) a cocktail dress. I know that I at least want both to hit my knee, and that the cocktail dress should be black or red (because...I'm built to wear black and red. ) I like this piece from modcloth, but I can't seem to figure out what that weird fabric fold is about in the middle of the dress. Does anyone else see it? Another part of me really wants to go with this dress because it is amazingly beautiful, and I know that my friend who went to this conference a couple years ago, said a good number of women were wearing long dresses. I also feel like I could make it a little less dressy and more professional dress by throwing a black blazer over it.

As for suitings...well, so far, I'm striking out. -_- I may end up having to go to a Nordstrom Rack or something. I desperately need a new black one (my old one is falling apart), but I can't find one in my price range. And here I thought that I might be able to fill some basic summer holes in my closet this month....

It looks like a sideways sort of dart, Wren, with the dart on the outside instead of inwards. There's stitching along the top, and then the ends are tucked into the middle seam. The vertical darts are as usual -- never seen anything like that before.

Either one would be nice, I'm sure, though I'm not a bare shoulders person myself. But paired with a blazer...hmm, could look really nifty.

The first one looks more suited to a conference in my opinion. I do like the green(mainly because i am pale with orange hair(died)) and colour coulers go better than warmer ones.

I have recently bought this dress from modcloth: http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/so ... bout-dress

It actually a good fit for me, though many in the comments say the neckline is too high from them.

I also purchased these shoes http://www.modcloth.com/shop/shoes-boot ... -in-cognac

I do love them, I can't wear thin heeled shoes because i end up tripping.

Glad you could figure out what it is, aileth. I don't think I like it poking out like that...it makes me feel like the dress is unfinished.

I'm not really a bare shoulders girl, either, mainly because I have to wear supportwear, but it is quite pretty...I'll have to think about it, but think fast, too.

Suit hunting isn't going too well, mainly because it's right when everyone is switching styles, so there are hardly any suits that aren't in clearance or that are in clearance and look nice. I found this number, but it is unfortunately unavailable in my size...sigh....

Anyway, I'm pretty much frustrated with shopping, and wish I had enough time to cut and sew one myself, because then it would be properly proportioned and it would actually fit me. -_-

I ran across an article today that was really helpful for determining body shape. I thought you guys might find it useful! I've used online calculators in the past and would sometimes get "body type unavailable" after putting my numbers in, and that was always a bit dismaying.

While not exactly high fashion, I got a new fleece jacket for winter and I really like it. (You can find it for better prices/more colors on Amazon.) I'm 5'8" but it's still long enough to wear with leggings and I love that. I bought it in the "Quill" color and it's sort of an aubergine shade of purple. (I do feel a little bit like a Teletubby when I have the hood up. )

Just popping in to say I have been dying to have something with a galaxy print on it. Finally got it! A Christmas present I opened tonight was a galaxy scarf!

Anybody else like galaxy print?

I have seen galaxy prints around the internet, they look really cool. I bet your scarf is lovely, mm1991.

Most of my apparel purchases this year were hats, camo shirts, and favorite sports team t-shirts, not really stylish. I maybe need to work on that next year.

SnowAngel