what animal is pink and cool?

the correct answer: flamingo.

 

so it seems that i’m a slow starter this year. i haven’t really blogged and that’s because i haven’t done anything worth mentioning… other than work & house chores, all i’ve done was playing video games, watching TV series on Netflix, reading. it’s been kind of hard to get my lazy a** to do something productive in this cold weather. and i certainly haven’t sewn anything…

… but this.

self-made dress, hand-knitted loopy leg warmers made by order from a friend’s friend, Bianco shoes.

i have always wanted a shirt dress with long sleeves & buttons all the way from the top to the bottom. this flamingo print viscose fabric was yelling out to me pretty loudly, suggesting that it would be the perfect fabric for that. and i’m glad i listened to it!

i chose to use this vintage pattern again, all the way down to the waist. for the skirt part, i used the whole fabric’s width and gathered the waist part before sewing it onto the upper piece.

i modified the sleeves so that it would be easier to sew. also i made the collar a little bit smaller than the original version.

but the most significant modification i made was the back part, so that the shirt dress is both cute and, uhm, sexy?

at first i wasn’t sure if i could make the part under the collar just empty like that (the tulle is only sewn on tiny parts of the sides of the collar), but then i remember that i’ve made a detachable collar once. so come on, what’s so hard about this one?

a hundred of swearings later, i finally did it. phew. you may not be able to see it from the pics, but the tulle has glitters on it (which i’m sure will come off after the first wash :p) and i used double layer of it to make the ribbon looks fuller.

hmm… yes, i like how it looks “normal” and almost too “polite” from the front, and then you get a nice surprise when you see the back side. 😀

and why have i always wanted a shirt dress like this? so that i can wear it as an outerwear, too. like a very lightweight coat.

self-made dress, H&M top, print trousers from my Mum, Crocs ballerinas, H&M necklace, Mica Peet necklace, husband’s sunglasses.

and just like that, this flamingo turned from cutesy to rocky. from J-Pop to J-Rock, haha!

i mean… just look at how it swings and twirls! i am so in love with this dress!

cheers to the flamingos, the coolest pink animal (in my book)! and here’s hoping that i will get more things done in the near future. but for now, i’m gonna chill out and drink my glass of Coke (yes, from my wine glass).

my dress… lip them!

i guess i have a thing for facial part prints. after eye print, now this lip one. i couldn’t help it, the print reminds me of Moschino for some reason, even though it’s not. when i saw the fabric, i just knew i wanted to make it as a shirt dress. but not just any usual shirt dress. you know me, i like surprises.

but first: the original pattern. a while ago, the writer behind Indonesia In My Pocket sent me a thank you note. and along with the mail, she sent me a stack of vintage patterns. one of them was this:

i’ve always wanted to try a vintage pattern, and this one looked promising. thankfully it was my size (or it was loose-fitting enough that i can still fit in it! i guess back then the clothing sizes were slightly bigger. phew!). i used it as a base for the top part.at first i thought the darts would be a pain in the a**se to do, but it went by like a breeze! next,  i decided to add small gathered sleeves.

for the back side, i added a peekaboo factor with a black polka dot tulle.

 

then i added cut-out details on the sides of the waist part. the skirt part is basically made of 3 rectangles, and to make it so that the cut-out parts don’t hang loose i added elastic bands exactly under the cut-out parts.and that’s not all yet for the details! i also added hidden side pockets! 😀

self-made dress, stockings from Plaza Semanggi-Jakarta, shoes from Dappermarkt – Amsterdam, Miffy watch.

i don’t know what got into me, i just felt like adding this and that tiny details to this dress. it took me far longer than usual to complete this dress, what with the pattern altering & sewing the buttons… and i also believe my sewing machine is slowly dying, as it was jammed hundreds of times while i sew this. 😦 but i finally managed to finish it, and the result is everything i had wished for in a shirt dress. ❤

okay, so this is again a new fabric (God help me!), but my way of making it up is by sewing it immediately, and also dressing it up in multiple ways. dear self, i promise this was not a waste of time & money! 🙂

Monki sweatshirt, self-made dress, unbranded socks, ASOS cage shoes, Miffy watch.

self-made dress, Nevada t-shirt, H&M stockings, shoes from Dappermarkt – Amsterdam, Miffy watch.

while writing this post, i searched for other images of dresses with lip & polka dot prints… and found this in ASOS. 😀 yep, that’s exactly the same fabric! but again, i think for me, my version suits me better. 🙂

thank you so much, A, for the Vogue pattern! hope you’ll agree that i’ve put it to a good use!