Monday, January 20, 2014

WTH, Shams? A Floral Maxi Dress


Why the heck am I wearing a floral maxi dress?

Good question!

Yes, it's true that our weather has been in the 70s.

This is just not right for January.

We've had almost no rainfall this winter so, unless things change soon, we are facing a real drought this year.

But that's not why I've made a floral maxi.

On my first day of work I learned that there was going to be a team building event in Maui.

I had almost no time to prepare for it (no time to shop for fabric or patterns) and I own almost no warm weather clothes. You don't really need them in my corner of San Francisco, where summer almost never visits.

This piece of rayon lycra knit came in a free bundle from FabricMart many months ago. I immediately earmarked it for donation, as I really don't wear prints like this in my everyday life. When I learned I was going to Maui, I dug it out. It's pretty perfect for Hawaii, I think.

The pattern is Annie's Cami, a woven tank top pattern from Style Arc. (I would never call this style of top a "cami" since, to my mind, a cami has spaghetti straps.) I already had this pattern in my stash.

I omitted the bust pocket, the center back seam (which is shaped - a nice detail but I didn't need another seam in this flimsy knit), and lengthened it by 25". I made the hem about 60" wide, thanks to a friend (Lynn C!) who measured my stride with a tape measure. I just barely had enough fabric to cut it out and I wish I'd made the dress another inch longer.

After sewing it up, I removed fullness from the side seams - about 5/8" from each side seam (2.5" total) from the bust and about 2.5" (10" total) from the waist, tapered to nothing at the hip. (This pattern is designed for a woven, not a knit, so it has more ease than I needed, plus it's a size 18 which is not my current size.) I eased the dart (which I had lowered) at the side seam.

You can hardly ask for a simpler sew. I love the fit. I am even happy with the neckline, which I often raise, but I didn't this time.

I plan to wear this with the black voile Butterick tie top that I made in July.

Twirling...

This is a quick team-building work trip, so I don't need a lot of clothes (thank goodness), but I have decided (largely because of the print of this dress) that the primary colors of my travel wardrobe will be black, white, and orange. Yes, ORANGE. I have some new orange shoes from Lit Foot, and plenty of orange jewelry (that I already owned, plus my daughter gave me a beautiful bracelet with orange in it for Christmas).

I also have a great collapsible orange straw hat that I bought second hand some time ago and packs flat. I love red, but orange is fun, too. :)

This hat collapses so that it's completely flat.

My swim "suit" will be in blues. It's not really a swim suit, but I'll post more after I have something to show.

I also can't resist sharing my favorite new sleep shirt.

At work, employees are called "Googlers". There are various riffs to this theme. When you are a new employee, you are a Noogler. In my first week of work, I joined a group called the Greyglers. Yes, these are folks who self identify as older and who might discuss issues relevant to older employees. They also have a workout group which I have not yet checked out.

I was thrilled to buy the Greygler tee-shirt from the Google store. In fact, I went back and bought two more of them so I'll have spares. You can buy one, too.

In the Google store, they call this shirt the "Wise Android Shirt". I don't work on an Android project, and I don't have an Android phone (at least not yet), but I love the little robot mascot, which is why I bought the giant stuffed Android for my daughter (also available in the online store). And I really do plan to give it to her.

Maybe. :)

35 comments:

  1. I love the dress! It's very becoming on you and one of my favorite garments you've made. Adding the black jacket is icing on the cake. What a fun work trip, too! Can't wait to see the rest of your travel wardrobe. I enjoy seeing your beautiful clothing and I think you should add more prints. :)

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  2. Awww .. . so sorry for ya .. a mandatory work trip to HI ... sniff. LOL .. WooHoo! How deluxe and yummy. That's a perfect dress for the trip, and you look adorable. Love the black tie top and the funky orange shoes, too. Try to have a good time .. ;) Safe travels and adventures.

    ~Joy~

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  3. Not only is this job giving you new opportunities workwise but now it's even affecting your sewing...and I'm impressed! Love how you're embracing it and moving forward. BTW, love the maxi and can't wait to see the other pieces you will make to take with you!

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  4. You are so full of surprises! Your print maxi will be perfect for Maui. I've really enjoyed hearing about your new job and work environment. It sounds like a great job and a perfect spot for someone with your unique style and abilities. Thanks for continuing to blog even though learning your new job is stressful and time consuming!

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  5. You NEED an Android phone! They're the best IMHO. I work in the online sales division of Verizon Wireless - we sell more Android OS devices than any other - and you know who the other is right? ;-) Love the dress, you rock it! Have fun in Maui.

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  6. Perfect dress for a beautiful place!

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  7. This is fabulous on you! The tropical print is just perfect for Hawai'i, you lucky thing.

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  8. Your dress will be perfect, and how great you held onto that fabric:)

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  9. Hi there! Who would have thought you'd be sewing an Hawaiian print maxi lol, looks great and I agree perfect for your trip. We both have Google Nexus phones :) they're great. No doubt you'll be using one soon too.

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  10. I join the others in appreciating your fun work stories. So sorry you have that mandatory work trip :(... but your maxi is going to rock the beach!

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  11. You've encouraged me to take a closer look at bold patterns. This looks fabulous, I hope you enjoy your trip and wearing your awesome new dress.

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  12. Ah, ah, ah! A NEW LOOK! I love it (and, of course, the ORANGE shoes)...you are stepping outside your comfort zone, and this is A GOOD THING! (IMHO)
    HooRay!

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  13. Love this maxi on you and will be perfect for Maui and orange rocks!

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  14. Looks like you're having a great time with the new job and now a trip to Maui. Wonderful!

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  15. A floral! How fun and the next thing it will be lace ya know? Do you have time to make an orange sorta mini-dress cami? You'd look fab! Perfecto for Hawaii, then home too. Aloha and Hang Ten Shams. ; )

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  16. Ooooh the dress turned out GREAT! Super flattering too! And tres elegante with the black top :)

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  17. I really like the dress with the black voile jacket. Enjoy your trip to Maui!!

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  18. Great styling: the colourful dress with the tie top. And the shoes too.

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  19. Great looking outfit! The colors are wonderful on you. Hope you get to have a bit of fun in Maui.

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  20. I love love love reading about your life at google. I also love that you have a work trip on Maui. Those shoes are great too. And your new dress will fit right in with your work trip. Aloha!

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  21. You look great - the orange accents will be fabulous. Enjoy your trip :)

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  22. Seriously, you look fab in orange! Interesting that a business trip has inspired a new color scheme for a mini wardrobe.

    Karen

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  23. You look so happy! I've loved learning about your new job and how much fun you're having. The orange is tre chic! And how super awesome are those orange shoes?! Love it. Just love it.

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  24. you look great and so does the dress

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  25. Love how you could just whip up the perfect dress for team building....I think that makes you the most resourceful person on the team. I too have become enamored with orange this year but don't have those marvelous accessories. You look wonderful!

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  26. Beautiful! And I´m coveting your orange shoes!!!

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  27. Fun outfit, Shams, and I love those colors on you!

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  28. Love love love the outfit and the shoes! I am going to have to knock this off for summer. For some peculiar reason I was attracted to and bought some orange merrells and now I want some orange croc like shoes too. Fantastic how you just crank out these neat outfits with a punch of attitude.

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  29. A work trip to Maui?!? So spoiled! But stylishly spoiled in that perfect maxi and hat (I love that hat). Enjoy the trip!

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  30. What a fabulous problem to have....sewing emergency clothes for a trip to Maui! And what a great result. You really pulled it off. Have fun!

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  31. Your dress is perfect for a trip to Maui. You look good in it and like the black jacket with it.

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  32. Gorgeous! I want to work for a company that has retreats in Hawaii too! So glad all is going well with the new job.

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  33. That maxi dress is a great throw-back. It looks wonderful on you and I bet it's quite comfortable as well.

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