05 February 2011

Divine Grace

 "My darling, simply elegant . . .  you are ever, Graceful"

 "Blossoming, beautiful, . . . you are Divine"
Divine is wearing a Grace Kelly inspired gown, but with added youth. 
Baby piping around the petal 3/4 sleeves,
fire treated blooms,
 and the boat neckline, for a modest, but retro look.
Spring green checked dupioni silk on the bias for the waistband and "stems"
No big dill inscribed on the back, for whimsy.

This was quite the labor intensive dress.  I admit that I even had Divine sewing flowers on last minute and cutting the little circles for them in preparation.  We barely made the deadline, getting photos just before the sun went down.  Whew! 

The competition is grueling and narrowing.
Go over to Project Run and Play to vote for your favorite retro-inspired look!

47 say sew[s]:

motherof5 said...

I have been hovering(and reading)for a little while now... and this has prompted me to comment!
Luscious, its a winner!

Cole's Corner said...

Katy,
That dress is stunning.
It's so beautiful on your little girl.
Love it!

2 Giggle Boxes said...

This is AMAZING! Love it...beautiful colors and details. She is truly Divine! Great Job!
-Sarah

My Vintage Mending said...

Katy the details are amazing. I cannot pick one that stands out. They all marry together so well. The colors are beautiful together, fun yet classy. Very sweet. It doesn't hurt that the models are just as beautiful as Grace! Stunning!

beth lehman said...

holy moly! you are too clever - i love that you wrote on the dress!!! adorable - I love looking at your work!

Krystal said...

She is beautiful.... The dress is also!! I think she looks like such a pretty young lady! Wow:)

Stephanie Rose said...

This is beautiful!! (and so is she!) What type of fabric did you use? It's lovely

CarrieCae said...

I love this one!!!!!!!

Carolina Girl Mommy said...

Katy--

This is gorgeous! Good luck this week!

Desi

Ashley said...

Love this dress Katy! And I am loving the use of "no big dill" once again ;) It turned out beautifully!!!!

Carly said...

This is the best yet! I love the way you've reinterpreted the dress for Divine, making it youthful yet sticking to the elegance of the original. I just LOVE it!

Susie said...

Brilliant and vibrant! Love the colors and the detail. Divine is one lucky girl; to be so divine, to have such a beautiful dress, and to have a mother like you. One divine girl indeed.

k a t y said...

Thank you all for your kind comments!!

Did anyone notice I didn't dot my i's? I didn't notice until I was taking photos! How sloppy of me. At least there were no t's to cross...

Deanna said...

Gorgeous!

Rebecca said...

Katy, no dotted i's needed! Perfection!

elise said...

that first picture of Divine just slays me!
She's standing so elegantly with her dainty ankles and wrists- what a little lady!
i love the sleeve detail, the beautifully gathered skirt and the silhouette. practically perfect in every way :O)

Shwin W said...

Katy, How absolutely beautiful! I love that you put your name on it, again so clever! What an outstanding job!

Chris said...

Wow.

Melissa said...

Beautiful dress - and Beautiful model! :) I voted for you :) You amaze me!

Emily said...

Gorgeous! I love the detail on the sleeves and the "no big dill."

Ashley said...

This is beyond gorgeous! The dress and the model that is. :-)

Bless by Tone said...

I love this one - and though there are some really cute pieces at the competition, you definitely got my vote this week. I love it, so Divine

ekrisdinger said...

This one is by far my favorite yet!!

kathleen said...

Stunning and elegant--you do have the knack.

kirstin & jordan said...

FABULOUS! Oh my goodness- it is perfect! Can't wait to make something like this for Piper Jane someday...
And the 'no; big dill' is fantastic! :)

Laura said...

The dress is lovely, but best of all it is perfect on it's wearer. I love her expression in the first photo.

Siobhan said...

That first photo is sheer elegance. Grace would be proud ;)

Good luck! You must be digging so deep to create these beauties and make deadlines. Your gift is inspiring!

Jacq & Jason said...

This is absolutely beautiful. My favorite outfit of the competition!

Blogful said...

You are really going all out! Whew! I absolutely love it. Maybe my favorite all all I've seen you create. Serious.

Cory Love said...

Wow, Katy, I have just run across your blog and have spend the last week reading all the back sewing posts. I'm so in awe and so inspired!
I love this dress! My 9yo was looking over my shoulder when I was checking it out and she asked me if I could make her one! I said probably not :( I just don't think I'm there as a seamstress yet. Thanks for all your beautiful things!
Jen

Kurt Knudsen said...

the "no big dill" scripted in dupioni silk on the bias IS A BIG DILL! So are the gorgeous green roses, the piping, the cut of the dress. I think you need to move to Paris and open a shop.

Kurt Knudsen said...

and what about the HORSE?! nobody has mentioned the horse. That goes to show you how captivating the dress and Divine are.

Ann said...

I liked Dad's comment. I didn't even notice the undotted i's.

I LOVE it Katy. Fun choice of colors, too. Lucky Divine!

Andréann said...

You won my vote again. Your creation are truly original and inspiring!
and your way of using no big dill here and there... fabulous! genius! lovely!

Melissa said...

That is so beautiful! Great job!

Audrey said...

Great interpretation of the devine Ms. Grace's gown. I voted for you...looks like you have a pretty good lead there today.
All the best,
Audrey
aka AudreyGardenLady

Annee said...

Seriously this is breathtaking. Enough for me to be compelled to comment upon it's beauty! Outstanding. Truly inspiring. In a league of it's own.

lorchick @ ON{thelaundry}LINE said...

I'm a pretty big fan of child labour. Well, you know, not the factory kind. The help-your-momma kind.
What a lovely dress! Lucky girl. Wherever will your girls wear the fancy gowns they've been getting lately?

Tasha said...

Katy! I love the "no big dill" and I LOVE the dress! I went and voted and you and just amazing. I do hope we get to meet one day!

k a t y said...

lorchick--They get to wear them to church! Divine and Pearl both wore theirs yesterday. I think they felt like princesses :)

Anneliese said...

Thank goodness for Sundays, and the chance to dress up little (and not so little) girls! I love your vintage take on glamour. Beautiful dress!

Heather said...

Just beautiful!!! Love the "no big dill" on the back!

julie said...

Wonderful dress! I love so many things about it, but my favorite is how it's inspiring--I can actually see details, such as that wonderful bodice section, or the flowers on the skirt--that I could reinterpret in my sewing for my own child.

Kim said...

I love this! I just attempted those fire treated blooms and mine don't look nearly as good as yours. Any tips?!?!

Jessica at Me Sew Crazy said...

this gorgeous dress was the inspiration for a skirt I came up with using the petal sleeve detail. your creations are all so inspiring! Thank you.

http://www.thegirlcreative.com/2011/03/petal-tiered-skirt-tutorial_15.html

Micah C said...

Would you mind telling me what kind of fabric the dress is made of. I am trying to decide on fabric for my daughters dress - the last one I did was polished cotton and when we moved to high humidity it turned into a wrinkled nightmare.

Love your blog.

k a t y said...

Micah C--The fabric I used was a flatfold with no information on it, but it is definitely synthetic. If you are wanting a wrinkle free fabric, lean towards using synthetic rather than a natural fiber like cotton or linen. The green check fabric I used was dupioni silk.