the hypatia dress - take one

This week I have 5 outfit posts planned with my Hypatia Dress, each one styled a completely different way. I know the old adage goes "save the best for last" but I couldn't wait to share this particular ensemble, I just love it so much!! I paired the dress with a plain black skirt, a pink fabric bow belt and pink pumps. I've had some pink-white-and-black vintage dresses hanging out in my etsy favorites forever (see the bottom of this page) and I think this definitely echoes that style, albeit slightly more casual than the dresses I was coveting.

Really though, you could do hundreds of variations on this with any number of skirts and belts. Layering skirts over dresses is a super easy way to change them up (and the dresses, at least for me, seem to stay tucked in much better than shirts do!) And most of the detail on this dress is up at the top anyway, so you don't really lose any of that when you add the skirt! :)

dress - designed by me and available at ever + mi crush | skirt - forever 21

belt - vintage, from another dress | shoes - from my grandmom

stupendously exciting announcement!!

The dress that I designed earlier this year for Dahlia is now available for sale exclusively at Ever + Mi Crush!! It's available in sizes small, medium and large in limited quantities, so if you're interested in snagging one, hurry hurry hurry! ;)

I'm so excited about this!! As I said in my original post about the dress, I had thought the dress was going to be available to purchase and was slightly heartbroken when I found out it wasn't. Then Christen from Ever + Mi Crush swooped in to the rescue and arranged this wonderful exclusive limited run! It's been so much fun working together and I'm so excited about this collaboration!! :D

The dress is a beautiful cream color with a warm grey lining, double layered scalloped collar and sheer bell sleeves. It comes with a matching cream belt with a warm grey buckle and pretty grey buttons on the collar.






As an added bonus, the first 10 orders will all receive a signed print of my original design sketch! The dress was inspired by Hypatia; her warm grey and light cream coloring, her fragile beauty, and her innate sweetness. Ever + Mi Crush named the dress after her, too -- it's called The Hypatia Dress!



This is my inspiration board for the dress. My main concept was creating something that looked like vintage but would actually fit (oh how many times I've shed a tear over a pretty vintage dress on etsy that had a 23" waist) Also since it's a neutral (well, a combination of neutrals - grey and cream) it can be remixed in a bunch of different combinations.

Which leads me to my next fun surprise -- I'm going to have 5 outfit posts next week with 5 different ways to wear the dress. Of course I think it's lovely on its own with a pair of pink flats, but this little number can also be styled in so many different ways! One of my favorite things about it is that it has unique details (like the collar and matching belt) that make it work without any added accessories, but they're subtle enough that you can add on layers and punches of color without it being too much :)





You can check out the dress (and the other pretty goodies Ever + Mi Crush has to offer!) over here! They also have Dear Creatures dresses on sale for only $30. Just saying ;) 

designing woman

This is the design that I submitted (see the finished product in my post here!)

I've sewn some of my own dresses before, but my skills pretty much limit my options to plain cotton dresses. So I really wanted to design something that I knew I couldn't make at home. I *definitely* couldn't make this at home, lol.



I also submitted an inspiration board as well. I found products that were the same colors I had in mind -- I was worried the warm grey would be tough to pin down but Dahlia found the absolute perfect shade of grey for the lining of the dress! The sleeve inspiration is from All This Happiness (I die from envy everytime that blouse pops up in an outfit post! gah!) I included some examples of swooshy skirts (two from ASOS, one from Fancy Fine) to illustrate the fullness I was going for and some examples of delicate vintage frocks that have been hanging out in my etsy favorites forever, even though they're too tiny for me. That's the sort of feel I was going for with this design and I think the finished product definitely fits in with their daintiness :)

And then of course, Hypatia. She passed away shortly before I won the contest, and I was having a hard time concentrating on anything at all. Around that time my dad had suggested (since I was having similar mental blocks with drawing and painting) that I use her as inspiration, and then not only would I be able to work but I'd be creating things that would always remind me of her. I took his advice for the dress, too, and I'm so glad I did. I think it really captures her beautiful colors and her sweet, fragile beauty.

the prettiest dress ever

Ok, I might be a little bit biased because... I designed it :)

Before I get into gushing about the dress, though, I just want to thank everyone who commented on my post Tuesday. I was almost crying, I was so touched by how sweet and encouraging all of your comments were! I might actually share some of them in a post over the weekend, because they were just so inspiring and reassuring. Thank you ♥



Earlier this year I won a contest where the grand prize was getting to design my own Dahlia dress!  After much (too much) thought, I ended up designing a dainty cream colored dress with a warm grey lining, double layered scalloped collar, matching belt and sheer bell sleeves. I wanted to post the finished product on its own, so I'll share my design and inspiration photos later tonight :)

The dress came out even better than I imagined. The pictures seriously don't do it justice. It's pretty much my ideal dress. I thought -- if I was perusing the vintage listings on etsy and could find the perfect 60's dress in my size, what would it look like? This silhouette, the sheer overlay, the little bell sleeves, these are all elements that I look for when I'm shopping for vintage. The colors were inspired by Hypatia. Her mix of cream and grey fur was just the prettiest combination. And then of course, there had to be scallops.





Now the tricky part... I originally thought this was going to be available for sale, then when they asked for my measurements to make my dress I realized it probably wasn't. When it came in the mail I kind of freaked out thinking "OMG this is SO pretty, how could I wear it in an outfit post and dangle this carrot in front of my readers when they can't buy it themselves?!" (I obviously have a very high opinion of the dress. haha)

So I emailed them just to double-check. They said they'd be more than happy to do a limited run of the dress, but only if I had enough readers saying they'd commit to buying it first. I just felt like that would be putting way too much pressure on you guys so I decided not to offer it for sale. I think if it was available on their website it would sell well (unless I'm blinded by bias since I designed it and it's actually hideous) but putting the burden on you to buy it is something I couldn't do. I'm really sorry if you wanted one, but I hope you understand. Heck, I actually would like to buy a second one for myself as a back-up so I'm losing out a little on this decision too lol :)

I'm ever-so-slightly heartbroken over the situation, but it's my own fault for not comprehending the idea that this was a one-of-a-kind dress from the get-go. And looking at it from that perspective -- that I have a really pretty one-off dress that I designed (and that's inspired by my beloved Hypatia, no less) is something incredibly special. I'm definitely going to cherish this dress forever... I'm even a little scared to wear it because I just want to frame it or something so it'll last forever :)

dress - designed by me, c/o dahlia | shoes - vintage