I love cute, easy-to-throw-on summer dresses that will look amazing with heels or flats.  Because I love versatility and getting mileage out of my clothes.  And this dress fits that bill!  

I picked Vogue 8977 for this project.  I liked this pattern the moment I saw it and I only envisioned it as a dress.  

I've had this beautiful cayenne red orange viscose fabric from Mood Fabrics.com in my stash for a while.  It has an interesting texture and a nice medium weight.  

I cut a size 14 in this dress and it still had a lot of ease.  It's a tent... no, really it is.  I had to remove about 4" from each side.  Other than that, I just measured from the shoulder and lengthened.  And I omitted the buttons down the back.

I love this little dress!  And I plan to add a few more of these to my spring/summer wardrobe!

If it were up to me, I would stay home posted up on my sofa with a stack of magazines or head to the sewing studio on nasty days.  And given the chance, I do.  But alas, life must go on!

And also, dreary days make me feel gloomy.  So to cheer myself up while running my daily monotonous errands, I decided to grab some of the brightest things in my closet!

Starting with my bright red, glossy Hunter boots.  

Wearing:  Trench Jacket: Vogue 8480 (similar here); sweater (old, but I like this one too); shirt: Vogue 1248 (similar here); pencil skirt: Vogue 8603 (similar here); purse: Phillip Lim x Target; boots: Hunter Boots.

As you all have probably learned about me, it all starts with the fabric.  The fabric will always be my muse!  It tells me what it wants to become.  And during an occasional stroll through my local Jo-anns, I spotted this great black cotton eyelet fabric.  It told me that it wanted to become a shirt dress with a full skirt.  And I obliged.

In order to get the silhouette I wanted, I needed to frankenpattern.  I use Butterick 5897 for the bodice and McCall's 6842 for the skirt.  

For the bodice, I started with view A of Butterick 5897.  I cut the size 16, but I immediately started shaving it down.  This shirt has a lot of ease.  I had to take in each side 3.75".  This top has hidden button and button holes, so for the fly I used a black cotton voile I found at Hancock.  I used it also for the collar, stand and lining.

Even though the pattern suggested that the facings and fly be interfaced, I decided to omit it.  I felt that my two fabrics combined had enough body to support the design.  Nor did I interface the pocket flap.  This was a personal judgment call.  

For the skirt, I cut view D of McCall's 6842.  I partially-lined it.  Meaning that I stopped my lining around the point that view A of this skirt should've been cut.  I wanted to play up the eyelet fabric.  I've been seeing lots of styles with eyelet, open weaves, and mesh fabrics with that half-lined look... and this is an element that I decided to add.  And instead of having the zipper opening at the center back, I moved it to the right side.  And I left the skirt unhemmed.  I loved the way the fabric looked raw, with the slight fraying.

Since this dress has a significant waist seam and this fabric has no stretch, I added an invisible zipper to the right side... right below the arm hole to the right above the hipbone.  Just so that I could unbutton the front, unzip and pull it on.

This look is called "designs that reveal and conceal".  Which is also a reason why I decided to leave the bodice unlined and to just wear a full-coverage black bra.  It's a good "peek-a-boo" effect with a fabric that  is still substantial enough to offer overall good coverage.

***Update:  Here is my shocking pink tulle skirt!

Lets see... it all started with this!  I saw this photoshoot of singer, songwriter Kelis (you know, her milkshake brought all the boys to the yard) on The Coveteur.  Seriously, how fabulous is this fuchsia tulle ball-length skirt?  She's stunning in this!

You guys know I love "dressy".  But, I've never done "whimiscal"!  Where would Erica B. wear a tulle skirt?  How would I fit this look into my wardrobe?  So I obviously took to Pinterest to research!

Here are some of my favorite looks:

Maybe this spring, I'll get some frou frou in my life!  I think a shorter length would make a great day-to-night look!

And just when I thought it was safe to open the windows and doors, and enjoy the fresh air -- here comes Old Man Winter again!  Die you old fart, just die!

As much as I love this coat I made, I really didn't think I would get much wear out of it this season.  I would've gladly packed it away until this coming fall.  But it seems that I'll be putting it to a little more use this March.

And I realized a few days ago that I hadn't worn these pants in a while.  So I thought the camel and coral were a great match.  The bright coral pants keep the sweater and coat from being so -- sedate!  I love my classics, but I like to keep them plenty of fun!

Wearing:  coat: Simplicity 1759; pants: Vogue 1143; sweater: Gino Paoli - Made in Italy (Vintage - 1960s).

When I ran across this gorgeous Italian Metallic Gold Abstract Cotton Print fabric at Mood Fabrics, I had to have it.  But typical me, I never stop and just buy a swatch.  Ain't nobody got time for that!  I pull the trigger on the purchase when I see something I like.  I'll make it work for something!

Maybe you guys haven't noticed, but I've been in a sewing funk lately.  Well, it started with a cold and cold meds and I felt like doing NOTHING!  I pretty much vegetated and flipped through all of the March issue magazines. The sewing room collected dust.  And our typical bipolar Southern weather didn't help the situation either.  One day it was 35 degrees, the next day it was 75.  Do I continue making cold weather clothes or do I start sewing for spring?  Well, regardless of the temperature, it is in fact March and almost spring.  So it's about time to pack away the woolens.  Now back to this fabric...  

I was looking for something to get me out of my sewing funk.  You know how it goes, you need that one simple, fulfilling project that gets the sewing juices flowing and what better project than a skirt!  

Sources 1, 2 and 3.

I've fallen in love with the front slit midi length pencil skirts that Michael Kors has done for Spring 2014.  I knew that I needed to make a skirt like that or my sewing world would just not be complete!  This fabric that I bought for a completely different project, fit the bill.  This is a crisp hand medium weight cotton that feels like a lightweight denim.  

I used Simplicity 2257 as my base pattern.  I used view A.  I omitted the kick pleat, belt and loops.  I added 3 inches to the length, created a french vent and drafted a lining (I used Bemberg rayon).  The fabric is 100% cotton, so I treated it like I would any natural fiber -- prewashed and dried on hot!  It sewed and ironed beautiful.

My shoes are from ShoeDazzle.com

Worn with my patent leather top, reviewed here!