Little? (No); Black? (Sort of); Dress? (Definitely!)

I know I sound like an old fart, but sometimes I look at photographs of today's celebrities and I think, Who are these people?

I know the days of Lana Turner are long gone, but how about Mitzi Gaynor?

Still-mobile Mitzi!

These girls all look the same to me and seem to be projecting the same (Kardashian?) vibe. 







As you know, I'm under the gun to get Cathy in a custom-made little black dress by Friday night, but I've had to make some changes to my original plans.  When I pulled out my black fabric, I realized that most of it was either in pieces that were too small or just really gross stuff I no longer wanted to sew with.

My best black option wasn't actually black at all -- four yards of crimson taffeta with a black cast, or black taffeta with a crimson cast, I'm not sure which.  Anyway, it would have to do.  Sadly, I believe it's acetate, which makes it hard to work with and a bit cheap to the touch (but still fetching to the eye).  My yardage had been folded up for years and was badly wrinkled.  With the aid of a cotton press cloth and a steam iron on a low setting, I managed to bring it back to life.





Once I realized I was working with taffeta, I needed to change patterns.  Taffeta really looks best in full, drape-y skirts, so I opted to make Simplicity 3140, which dates from 1949. 



I'm lining the bodice with an old black sheet, which gives it a bit more weight and comfort.



This is not a complicated dress to construct, but the taffeta makes it time-consuming; it's not a forgiving fabric.





I know this dress isn't actually black (except in a certain light or no light at all) and it won't be little, but at least it isn't bland.



And that's it, readers!  There's still so much to do but I'm determined to see this through.  After this, however, no more acetate taffeta for me.  I'm over it.

Have a great day, everybody!