Friday, July 10, 2009

Vogue 1026 - The Secret Secretary dress

I've had this dress planned for over a year, and finally got around to it. I love this pattern - it's fitted shape and interesting construction lines. I made the matching belt, but wasn't in love with how it looked, so opted for a skinny black belt instead.

I ended up going back and sewing the front pleat closed down to the pocket line. The pleat was flipping up a bit more than desired. Now I think the side view is much more flattering.

The back. Those pesky Christmas pounds are making this look a little too snug. They will be gone ASAP.

This pattern is rated as easy, but making sure the front contrasting bands were all the same width and the sharp corners of the bodice was not what I would call simple.

Aren't these flap pockets cute? The fuchsia fabric is polyester shantung and the black a thick satin.

Here you can better see those sharp corners of the bodice and where I sewed the pleat closed.

The black bands along the neckline extend to the back as well. I decided to use a black zipper because I couldn't find the right shade of pink for a perfect match. All you see in the pull tab anyway, and that ends at the black neck bands.

I did find the right shade of pink for the lining though. I love that this pattern included separate pieces for the lining, and the front dress lining piece is straight across and not pleated.

Inside lining:

So, kind of a weird title for my post, right? I never name my clothing, although I know many people do and it always makes me chuckle. However, I made this dress to match these shoes, and they were called "Secret Secretary", which I think is a hysterical name. I know they're pretty flashy, but I love them. I am hoping the reserved design of the dress downplays any naughtiness from the shoes and makes the outfit appropriate for church.

40 comments:

  1. Wow! Very sharp. You look sooo good in this dress.

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  2. Beautiful outfit! And the shoes are adorable. Very nice job. Is the fabric silk shantung? How is it to work with?

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  3. Wow, i love this colors. The dress is beautiful, flatters your figure and fit perfectly with your beautiful shoes.

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  4. The dress is just perfect. It is very classy and conservative enough so it won't be a problem wearing the shoes with it to church. It looks fine to me.

    www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com

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  5. What a very pretty dress, the color is so pretty on you. Great shoes, too.

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  6. So pretty! The belt looks really sharp.

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  7. Amanda, I have a question. You use the prettiest fabrics. Where do you purchase your fabrics? You can email me or answer me here. You can find my email address on my profile. Thanks so much.

    Regards,

    Trudy
    www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com

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  8. Gorgeous dress, I agree this pattern doesn't look remotely easy, but you did a wonderful job, the black contrast and pocket flaps look perfect.

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  9. Beautiful dress. Thanks for the tip on stitching down the pleat.

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  10. That dress is the perfect union of pattern and fabric. Fabulous!

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  11. A fabulous dress, love the shoes, and the fit you achieve just amazes me!!!

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  12. You look beyond adorable in that dress. I love the strong contrast of colors you choose it really sets off the design. It looks perfect and the shoes couldn't be more perfect.

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  13. Hi Trudy,
    I bought this polyester shantung at JoAnn's. They always stock it in various different colors. There's also a Hancock's in town that I regularly frequent. Online I like DenverFabrics.com and purchase from them about once a month. But I also sometimes buy from Fabric.com and GorgeousFabrics.com.
    Amanda

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  14. Truly a great dress and I love the way you did it. I just love the shoes you chose to go with the dress.

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  15. I love the dress. It definitely doesn't look simple with the contrast bands! Love the shoes--Naughty Monkeys (?) hit again!

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  16. Beautiful dress...love how you made the dress to go with the shoes!

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  17. You did a beautiful job on that dress. It's gorgeous and you look lovely in it. It's a great match for the shoes, which I love.

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  18. Good looking dress (style and color) Love the shoes!

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  19. Very pretty! I really love the pink and black together. I'm glad you explained the title. When I saw it, I knew I recognized it from somewhere, but just couln't think where. I had my eye on those same shoes for a long time (in a different color, though) but just never got around to buying them.

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  20. WOW!!! That dress is fabulous. You hit this one out of the park!! I have to have this pattern now.

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  21. So beautiful on you. Love the shoes. Not sure I understand why someone named them Secret Secretary. Do secretaries secretly wear lace pumps at night?

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  22. What a beauty. Love the color and the matching shoes.

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  23. I can definitely see that gorgeous pair of shoes sparked such a wonderful looking outfit. Very nice!

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  24. Gorgeous looking dress. I absolutely love pinks and blacks together. The fit is perfect.

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  25. Beautiful, and as always, you do very precise, professional sewing and it shows. The shoes--I am soooo envious!

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  26. I have an eye on that pattern since it came out. Your version looks fabulous and very elegant! The shoes are TDF too!

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  27. Gorgeous dress. I really like the contrasting colors.

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  28. Beautiful! that dress is fantastic, and it is going to look awesome with those shoes! Wonderful job, as always!

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  29. What a beautiful job you did Amanda-typical of all your sewing. I agree that this pattern should NOT be marked easy; my goodness, it's a designer style! I wondered how long it took to make, can you say? Also, a question on your normal seam finish with packaged binding. Do you use single or double fold tape? Thanks in advance for answering my questions!

    Rosalind

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  30. Very nice sewing. You must go turn heads in church.

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  31. The dress is beautiful!! LOVE the color. And the shoes are super yummy!

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  32. WOW! Beautiful outfit. Fit perfectly. beautiful color. and u look absolutely stunning wearing it. and those shoe... perfect!

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  33. Your dress is beautiful. You really did a great job with it. I have had this pattern in my line up to make and still have not. I truly like the pink and black; the shoes are perfect with this. Wear it and enjoy.

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  34. Amanda your dress is exceptionally beauty. Outstanding craftmanship and those shoes are the perfect match.

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  35. What a perfect dress for those gorgeous shoes. Fabulous outfit and the colour and style suit you so well.

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  36. Thanks, everyone! I think this is the most comments I've ever received for one post!!!

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  37. You look way better than the models on the envelope! Thanks for sharing!

    One question, do you normally have to do any fitting adjustments? Do you do a muslin?

    All your clothes fit so well so I wonder if you can share your secrets!

    Thanks,
    Kennis

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