MMMay Day Nine: A guest of the brides

Five years ago my dear, dear friends Mary and Carol got married. John and I were honored to be invited into their extended family to attend their ceremony and reception outside of Baltimore. To celebrate I busted out a pattern I had considered for the dress I made for my brother's wedding--McCalls 4829. This was an era when sewing was a special occasion. Thinking about it now I really have come a long way in terms of my level of ease with sewing, drafting, and hacking patterns. That said, this dress was certainly a HUGE improvement from my earlier efforts and it was only third dress I had ever made.

I made this dress pre-pregnancy and it is a good reminder that I was bigger before and after baby, than I am now. The dress is pretty cute and not egregiously big, so I am not sure it is worth taking in. If I do decide to keep it I will absolutely need to add pockets. Here I am today wearing it, photographed early in the morning in my artificially lit office with a crappy phone app:

The fabric was a thrift score at the Goodwill in Albany, OR. I had enough to make a matching bag. I love that I find so many of my materials in the after market, but it does limit what my wardrobe is made up of. I am not as intentional as someone who sets out to find a specific set of fabrics for a specific set of patterns. As a result my wardrobe is a little more eclectic than put together. Perhaps, though, that is who I am.