Betty

The day has come! It's time for the Mad Men Premiere and, the debut of my Mad Men inspired dress for Julia Bobbin's SAL.  What do you think?  

I had a lot of fun with this project. My inspiration was the floral sundress Betty wears in season1. I used McCall 5842 to sew my version. The dress I sewed doesn't look anything like the dress in the show, but it definitely carries a Betty aesthetic with its full skirt and bold floral print.   

I modified the bodice to accommodate zero ease throughout the torso and whacked 6 inches from the skirt length, but, otherwise, stuck to the pattern. The skirt length isn't authentic to the era; it's an editorial modernization that I took liberty with based on my own preferences. The dress fits, nearly perfectly. I'm beyond thrilled with the finished project and see myself wearing this dress TONS this summer.

I had a complete blast photographing this dress, (if you couldn't tell by the obscene number of photos), and trying to "get into character'. Truth be told, I'm just too happy to pull-off a believable "Betty Draper" . 

To date, this is my favorite dress I've made. After a success like this, it's hard not to dive head-first into the  other projects I have picked out for the sprint/summer season. Meanwhile, I'm trying my hardest not to toss in towel on my current sweater project... but we're growing apart; I'm not sure if we can make things work.   

If you've made it this far into the post, you're probably sick of pictures, but I couldn't resist a twirling series. No matter how old I get, swirling skirts is always fun.   

That's it for me. I'll be impatiently waiting for  itunes to download tonight's episode so I'm able to get my fix; the anticipation is agonizing! :-D Be sure to tune in to Julia Bobbin's on April 1 to see all of the amazing creations contributed to the MadMen Dress Challenge!