Jess’ Red Dress

Normally I am a t-shirt and jeans girl. But lately I have been heavily influenced by the new autumn items at Modcloth, by Peneloping and her creativity, by Jess’s style in New Girl, and by Clara’s style in Doctor Who. I have been impatiently waiting for autumn and cool weather so I can wear skirts and dresses with tights and leggings (I do not like my legs bare so tend to wear a lot of hiking pants in summer since jeans are too hot).

Red is usually not a staple color in my wardrobe.  I’m rather drab with mostly blacks, grays, and darker tones.  But I have been gravitating towards bright colors to help with my mood (which has been somewhat down lately).  Jess’ red dress in New Girl is just what I need.

I used practically the same patterns Peneloping did (Burda 7309 for the bodice, Burda 7739 for the sleeves, and Simplicity 1873 for the skirt).  I didn’t intend to; I was going to use just the Burda for the bodice but the pattern(s) I wanted to use for the skirt were not going to work out.  Also, using Burda 7739 for the sleeves made them puffier than I intended but I like the effect.

Normally I wear my skirts a little below my knees because I have ugly knees.  But I hemmed this one to just above the knee since longer made it seem dowdy.

Since I don’t wear a lot of bright colors (my complexion is more suited to muted, darker colors), I intend to wear this dress with accessories to tone it down.  I am already knitting a Marion cropped cardigan in a light gray wool and it’s going very quickly.

I already have an idea how to put together an outfit with this dress come next Valentine’s Day despite the fact that I am single and will be spending it at home with my cats.  At least I will look nice for work.  :3