Gala Glamour

Well it's certainly been a while!

The last few weeks have had me bogged down with client alterations, prom, family commitments, work at my new job, and the Gala.

The Gala is the big, annual fundraiser for my high school alma mater. This year was special since it's the 70th anniversary of the school so I really couldn't resist using this green stretch crepe I had bought on a trip to Chicago. Originally, I wanted to make a long gown with a cowl back for a simple yet classy and elegant dress, but clearly I had to alter those plans.

After deciding that I would use the fabric for the Gala, I decided to make a watered-down version of the gown I had imagined - turning the floor-length skirt into a simple pencil and keeping the cowl back but adding in a contrasting embroidered fabric I came across browsing through JoAnn's site.

Since I was drafting the outfit myself and I didn't (still don't) have a mannequin, I relied on my patternmaking skills and drafted the skirt to start since it was going to take the most fabric. When it came time to draft the bodice, I drafted the cowl the best I could without having a mannequin to drape on but when I threw it on it didn't look anything like how I wanted it to. Unfortunately, I was down to a day and a half left before I had to have my dress finished so I knew I wouldn't have time for any redos and I surely didn't have enough fabric to try an entirely new back so after talking to a friend, we got creative and decided on this embroidered-only back.

The second I tried on the bodice I knew it was the perfect choice. I wasn't too big a fan of having a higher front and back so I asked my sister to stick a pin in the fabric right about halfway down my back. Once I cut into it and created that scoop back, I knew it was perfect.

The Gala went well - spending time with friends, raising money, showing off my new dress, and winning a special surprise for my uncle in the auction but, as usual, I forgot to take photos during the event. The next couple of days I was brainstorming where I could drag my sister so we could take photos of the dress and I almost immediately thought of The Arcade.

The Arcade was the "first indoor shopping center in America" when it opened in 1890. It was modeled after the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy, and is still a shopping center today. Find out more about it here! Growing up, I always loved walking through The Arcade, especially when it was decorated around Christmastime or for a wedding. Looking at how these photos turned out made me fall in love with it all over again!