Dress with pleats

And here's the dress.

E and I had both taken the day off work today, so he was kind enough to take a few pictures. However, the weather was grey, windy and cold so we decided not to go outside. And I was feeling a bit tired so I wasn't on my best posing behaviour...

Anyway, as I told you before, the dress is made from a thin but sturdy denim-like fabric with pinstripes woven in and floral silhouettes printed on.

I think it's the print I really had to get used to. On the whole, I don't wear a lot of prints. I love plain colours, stripes and plaid. I can see the beauty of a print but I don't use it for myself very often. I don't really know why but it has become such a part of the way I dress that it feels a bit weird to wear one all-over.

I made the dress as I sketched it earlier: cut-on cap sleeves, button front without collar and a slightly flared skirt with two big pleats at the front which start with the pockets.

At first, I didn't like the way the pleats flare open. I tried pressing them but that actually looked worse. After wearing the dress for a day so, I don't mind that much anymore. It's just a natural result of having pleats on one's legs in a fairly narrow skirt. And the resulting silhouette is, in fact, flattering and easy to wear.

And did I mention there are pockets in those pleats? The top of the front skirt is one piece, the pleats only come in at the top of the hip and I've made pockets at the top of them. I didn't end up buttoning them down, mostly because I realized that would make to pocket openings too narrow. Oh, and partially as a result of that, I didn't use the contrasting buttons.

I think it will serve me well as a spring/summer dress.