Two Fancy Dresses for Two Special Occasions

This year Mr. Skirt Fixation and I are celebrating a huge anniversary.  I’ve been married to Mr. Skirt Fixation for longer than anything else in my life!  So for me it’s extra huge.  (Okay, so I might have been very young when we got married…but still.)

To celebrate our huge anniversary, Mr. Skirt Fixation and I decided to dress up in style and go out for a fancy dinner.  I encouraged Mr. Skirt Fixation to wear a suit because I was planning to wear the fanciest dress I’d ever sewn.  (This was partially due to several dares I received on Instagram.)

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I made this dress (Simplicity 5876) for my sister’s wedding.  She had the prettiest wedding I’ve ever attended.  The color theme was black and white, and it was so elegant.  She asked me to be her bridesmaid, and picked out the pattern for my dress.  I remember sweating bullets trying to install the side zipper, and finally turned to a very accomplished seamstress for help.  I think the problem was I cut the dress too small at the waist and had to let out the seam allowances but still be able to install the lapped zipper.  Somewhere in there my Mom helped out too, if I remember correctly.  I ended up creating a shaper garment to go underneath the dress to help puff out the bottom the dress, and also to help me fit into it!

I added the lace panel in the v of the back for modesty, and it ended up being my favorite part of the dress.

My sister even fixed my hair the day of the wedding, pretty special, right?  Isn’t she a classy bride?

All this talk of weddings and anniversaries reminded me that sometimes on my anniversary I try on my wedding dress.  Sometimes being conditional on if I was expecting a child or not.  I was going to forgo the tradition this year, but Mr. Skirt Fixation insisted and also insisted on photo evidence.  He was quite impressed that I could still fit/squeeze into them, and kindly said I fill them out better now!

For my wedding dress, I used Butterick 5211, just a regular dress pattern which I lengthened somewhat.  I loved the fabric, a white satin-y fabric embossed with roses.  It ended up being a special dress for a special day.

It was very interesting to examine and wear these two dresses a long time after I’d made them.  Since then I’ve become quite a bit more accomplished of a seamstress and wish I could teach my younger self a thing or two about wide shoulder adjustments and dart placement.

Mr. Skirt Fixation and I had a very nice, fancy dinner by ourselves.  We even ordered dessert (something we rarely do!) to commemorate the special occasion.  I’m very thankful to have had so many good and happy years with Mr. Skirt Fixation.  We both are committed to celebrating many, many more!