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
