Inspiration not Duplication - Wise on the Prize Dress from Modcloth

So this week's inspiration piece is brought your way courtesy of, you guessed it, Modcloth.  Oh, I just can't stay away, darling.  No matter how I try, you continue to entice me.  I woke up today hit with an awful cold, and if I'm totally honest, I just picked the first oddly printed dress that I scrolled past.  Behold!




Wise on the Prize Dress

And the back view.  Just cause. 

I feel quite on trend, having already made an owl-themed project in my Whoo Dat? dress. 

That being said,  I really do not like this particular dress.  The fabric is incredibly busy in an almost anxiety-attack inducing way, and I'm not a fan of either the color combination or the artwork.  It's a weird mishmash of folksy and hippy, and the colors on the dress are just too faded for a black background.  Not for me. 

And while I'm on a rant about what I DON'T like, what the hell is up the inset waistband trend?  I despise inset waistbands (I'm currently trying to draft it out my Cambie pattern).  Just like decorative seaming, I feel that the gratuitous addition of pattern pieces detracts from novelty fabric, discourages beginning home sewers, and frustrates even experienced sewers (crooked waistlines at the zipper, anyone?).  I don't like them in RTW either, because you're either stuck with perma-sash like this dress, or they cut my torso in an unflattering manner.

Ah, nothing like a good, therapeutic rant!  Now, onto the positives.

I love the idea of the owl novelty print.  I also find the basic shape of the dress appealing (go figure), since fit-n-flare is my go to silhouette.  And that's the other nice thing about home sewing over RTW - not only does it save you money, but you're not locked into the vision of the designer.  So here we go...

For the bodice, I have to go with BHL's Anna dress.  It's got the kimono sleeves, the double pleats at the waist would substitute that attached sash for shaping, and if you use the V-neck version I don't see why you couldn't round it out to match Modcloth's dress.  If you're totally not into reshaping a neckline, and aren't hopelessly in love with kimono sleeves, then reach for Simplicity 2444.  You can't really go wrong with either choice, and they're both pretty simple to put together.

Now the skirt.  Sigh.  I wish I had a handle on math, because I think a self drafted pleated skirt would be the bees knees.  I am not, however, so I would either use the gathered skirt from Simplicity 1803, or the skirt from 2444. 

One day, I will master pleats!  Sonsabitches!

Ok, now the fun part.  I've already stated, in my subtle manner, that I don't like the stock fabric of the Modcloth dress.  In fact, as I have recently made an owl dress, I would be inclined to go with this choice, from fabric.com

I know, right?!

It has the same idea in the print, but the colors are nice and vibrant, as opposed to the washed out look above.  Blech.  And how can you not be smitten with the most smug foxes you've ever seen?

Ok, ok.  This is an OWL dress.  Well, fabric.com has several choices for owl prints, from folksy to cutesy to sophisticated:

Badass metallic owls with serious "what are YOU looking at" expressions

Folk art owls that are FAR better than our inspiration piece.  I mean, seriously.

Who are cutest little owls in all of Owlville?  YOU are!

This is so classy it doesn't even look "novelty" to me.  You're welcome.

Bam.  Choices galore.  All will give you the same read as the inspiration dress, but are much more suited to individual style instead of being trapped with a generic novelty print.  Of course, in researching this I have now become obsessed with that fox fabric.  Go figure.

That's all for now, kids!  I'm off to do wait out the remainder of the work day feeling icky and pathetic.  At least I have a webinar that will last until it's almost time to leave.  It's the little things.

Happy Wen-Thursday!