Yesterday, I went with my mom, my best friend, my cousin, and my future mother-in-law to look at wedding dresses. As you may know, I fully intend to make my own wedding dress, but I was advised by my sewing teacher and my mom to try on different styles before committing to one to sew, so I scheduled a couple of appointments at the few local bridal shops.

       The problem is (and I knew it would be) that there are almost no styles remotely like what I’m looking for at the few wedding shops in our area! It seems that everything is long (I want a just-below-the-knee length), really tight on the hips (not a good look for me), really beaded and sparkly (I want something plain or maybe an unembellished lace), and strapless (I want at least straps if not sleeves). Oh, and did I mention that they were (almost) all crazy expensive? It was kind of disappointing, but at least my mom and Phillip’s mom had a good time having me model dresses.

       I came away from the experience realizing that what I really need to do is just start sewing! I decided that I’ll start working on re-creating my favorite of the vintage ones I shared in this post. I figure that if make it, modify it a few times, and if even then it looks absolutely hideous on me I can start over with another style.

        I’ve been searching long and hard for a pattern for this dress for a few months. I’ve come across a few that resemble it, but none that seem to be an exact match.

   Then, last night, I found this pattern image online:

(source: Vintage Patterns Wiki)

       It’s still not quite the same (obviously the skirt is totally different), but I think it’s getting close! The problem is, that of course there don’t seem to be any copies currently available from online sellers. I kept finding this book for sale, but I’m not sure what it is and if it has an actual pattern for the dress or just some kind of list in book form. Does anybody know?

      Thanks guys! I can’t wait to get started sewing this thing!