The color of this dress and the amazing floral print sold me right off the bat! It's salmon!! I love to eat salmon, I love the book Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, and I love the Crayola crayon shade, salmon. We're just in salmon heaven over here!
Sure there was some weird layering...
...and a bit too much elastic for me...
...but the potential of this piece was shining through. I just loved how drapey the material gathered at the waist looked. Time to get crackin!
I began by cutting off the top of the dress, starting right at the armpit!! No more sleeves.
Post-trim, I put the dress on and measured how much I needed to take in. I pinned the new measurements...
...and stitched it in place.
I had to tweak the top of the dress next. I folded under the raw edging and pinned this area in place to prep for sewing.
It's new seam time!! I ran the top of the dress under my machine and was ready to go.
Paired with a woven/elastic-y belt and some wedges, my dress was ready for a charitable afternoon at the vineyards.
An event with the amazing organization Chrysalis (they provide resources and support to low-income and homeless individuals who are in need of employment, helping them down a path to self-sufficiency) was held at Cielo Farms in Malibu and before I even walked inside, my klutzy self managed to do some damage. Honestly, I was trying to fix the wobbly sign...
It was truly a magnificent Southern California day, as it still felt like summer outside.
We were able to taste a little bit of everything, but my favorite was their Woodstock Honey Pie varietal - a mix of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscat - which was the perfect mix of smooth, sweet, and not too dry. Totally perfect for a warm afternoon.
I always get comments about strapless dresses and how they stay up - really, all I had to do for this was take in the dress so it was tight enough in the bust, add a padded strapless bra underneath, toss some Topstick in my purse for good measure, and it fit to a tee. (PS, Topstick is one of my FAVORITE tools...super-strength, double stick tape, that really works for everything!) I was on the fence about adding straps, just for additional color and texture, however I decided to keep the collarbone area open. (Add whatever kinds of straps, drawstrings, elastic, you'd like to make this style of dress work for you!)
After a few hours in the 'bu, our group headed back down PCH for a fish taco stop. We had a bit of a wait, and because we were right on the water and had some time to kill before our table was ready, we got some fruity beverages.
When this is your view...
...you just have to go with the fruity beverages, amirite?!
I hope everyone had a most wonderful weekend! Let's get those Monday smiles on our faces and take on this week like champions! (I'm in personal pep talk mode at the moment, so some of my "yay, team" energy is flowing right into this post. I also saw Gravity this weekend and feel like anything is possible when you can actually feel and physically touch the ground :)) xo Marisa
