Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The Wiggle Dress



I've gone full out Joan for the Mad Men Challenge. I was already planning on making the Wiggle Dress from Gertie's Book for Better Sewing, which is inspired by JoanThen I found the perfect purple wool crepe at Fabricland to make this dress with, so it was the perfect time to make this dress.

If you read the blog posts Mad Style by Tom and Lorenzo, you know that Joan has many versions of the same outfit, she always wears a wiggle dress and is known for wearing purple when she is in emotional turmoil. So I thought I would combine the two for the ultimate Joan outfit. Although, I am not trying to express my emotions in this dress, I just like purple. Joan always has her hair perfectly quaffed in a sixties updo. My Aunt happens to be a hairdresser so I had her put my hair up just like Joan, and boy did it take a lot of teasing. I accessorized with Joan's signature pin and long gold necklace.
Source


For the dress, I traced out the size ten and crossed my fingers it would fit. It's such a fitted dress and the fabric has a lot of give so it would be impossible to tell how it would really fit if I made a muslin out of any other fabric than this wool. But luckily it fit, it even had to be taken in at the hips! I love when I get lucky at sewing! This is another well drafted pattern from Gertie's book, I've now made three in all, The portrait blouse, the pencil skirt and now the wiggle dress, and plan on even more. The best thing about this pattern are the gussets! I've never made them before so it was fun to try out this new technique. And now I have a reason to show off my armpits!

Can't wait to see what everyone else makes for the Mad Men Challenge! Anyone else working on something?

















30 comments:

  1. This is so cute and the fit is amazing. With the hair and the styling, you are the perfect Joan! I'm very impressed!

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  2. Looks gorgeous! Love the colour and your hair, fit is great too:)
    Very Joan ;)

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  3. ohhhh... i love your "Joan." so flattering and shapely and the color is lush! Did you line yours? I ended up doing a full lining (gussets and all) for mine, which was also 100% inspired by Miss Joan. http://4-sisters.blogspot.com/2013/01/joans-blue-roses.html

    Good work!

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  4. That is an incredible fit and some incredible Joan accessorising!

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  5. I love the dress and the updo! You look very Joan. You've also inspired me to try a pattern out of Gertie's book.

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  6. Love your dress!!! And you look fabulous in it....

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  7. ohh thats lovely Erica! I've made gussets before, suprisingly easy. Love the colour.:)

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  8. Oh my gosh! You look amazing! Every little detail is perfect! Fabulous dress!

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  9. Aaah, it's fantastic!! A perfect Joan look.

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  10. oh my, this is amazing! You did a fabulous job, and your styling is spot-on.

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  11. You are adorable! I love the purple and the fit you got is amazing! How nice to have a hairdresser who can pull off a Joan hair-do too!

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  12. Your dress is spot on! I confess I have never seen an episode of Mad Men, but I am familiar with the show, and think you did an amazing job!

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  13. Love the colour and the gusset!!

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  14. This is amazing!! I am planning to make this dress too, do you mind if I ask a question? Would you mind sharing your approximate measurements, I'm having a hard time figuring out which size to cut - in the process of losing weight too. Thank you!!
    Heather

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  15. Love your dress :) and your filing session is reminding me that I also have filing to do :(

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  16. That dress looks amazing - nice work!

    Look forward to seeing what else you come up with :)

    www.mancunianvintage.com

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  17. Wowsers, it's stunning. Call me crazy, but I think I like your version better than Joanies! Love the purple too :)

    Don't forget to send me the photos!

    Love your work :)

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  18. Well don't you just look uber-librarian-like?! Very, very nice. The purple looks good on you and I love detailed pics - specially you at the filing cabinets AND of the gusset. Yes, I like the pictures of the technical details :) Looking great!

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  19. That's a really lovely make. A great entry for the Mad Men challenge. That pattern does look fabulous.

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  20. You looks amazing! The colour and the style really suits you, one of the best Joan dresses I have seen!

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  21. Great looking dress and you replicated Joan's dress very well. Great job with hair also.

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  22. Your dress is amazing and it fits you perfectly! I just love it, and this has made me so very excited for the Mad Men challenge to hurry up and get here. I'm "working" on a Betty dress, by which I mean I've pulled fabric from my stash and that's about it. Hoping to find time next week to work on it.

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  23. Unbelievably cute dress! I love it.

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  24. This is a great dress! Fits beautifully and what fun photos!!

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  25. This is a lovely design, and very becoming. I simply love the "Mad Men" styles of the early 60s. For me, they are the best!

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  26. This is really a Joanie dress, you copied the style and the fit of her dresses perfectly!

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