*updated with winner, below*
Several months ago, my mom happened upon a local fabric store she hadn't any idea existed a few mere miles from her house.
"Bec! You will not BELIEVE this place! You must come with me next time you come down!"
So I did. Our next trip to my parent's house in Encinitas (Hal, kids and I go down to visit every month-ish) my mom and I went a shopping. For fabric. And whoa-eesh, had fun. Hours later we returned to the car with a giant bag of fabric including small scraps.
"These would make perfect pockets!"
"And this for the trim?"
"Oh, totally. High five!"
"High five!"
My mother taught me to sew when I was pregnant with Fable, desperate to nest in a house where nesting wasn't really in the cards so she sat me down with my sister's sewing machine and taught me.
I've been dying to sew ever since but haven't had the time nor the sewing-without-my-mom-nearby-skills (not to mention a sewing machine) to do so. My mother on the other hand... can pretty much do anything and do it well so I gave her my blessing to sew her brains out without me (so long as she promised to incorporate some of my fabric choices/ideas.)
And she did. And when she finished our dresses she went BACK to ANOTHER (even MORE amazing) fabric store and made five more. Behold:
Nine Dresses, Three Patterns
1. First three dresses made with the easiest of all patterns. You can find it here. (It's called "Shoulder Tie-topper." Be sure to scroll down.) Great pattern for beginners and so effing cute.
2. This next dress/pattern is adorable and so perfect for playing. It's a super easy on/off with no buttons or strings. You can find it, here. Also incredibly easy (or so says WWW.)
This green dress is my favorite. Fable's madly in love with birds and when this arrived in the mail Fable had a conniption of happy (these photos were taken on a very hot day at a very hot park, hence the not-so-stoked face.) She literally threw the dress in the air and fell backwards with glee.
3. My fave pattern is this one also available on Erica's. It's called "Macy Giggle Sundress" and you can find it here. (Once again, you'll have to scroll. I cannot link individual patterns unfortunately.)
Okay so I lied about the green bird dress being my favorite dress. THIS is my all-time favorite dress ever to have hanged in Fable's closet period the end:
(My mom made it out of curtain fabric)
I think it might be hers, too.
So! Because everyone has been so kind commenting on Fable's dresses both here and on flickr, my mother has offered you, my reader(s) one custom-made dress for your daughter/niece/future child? I'll be picking one winner at random next Tuesday PM. To win? Tell me about your favorite dress. (Mine is a little black number with ruffles on the chest.) Good luck and happy sewing!
GGC
*Congratulations to commenter #59, Emily! My mom is super stoked to make you a custom-made dress especially (and I quote her because she's sitting next to me as I type this) "because you live next to David!" (My brother ALSO lives in Somerville.) Email me ASAP and I'll hook you up with WWW to discuss size/fabric/pattern! To the rest of you, thank you all so much for participating! This was such a fun giveaway and my mom and I so appreciate all of your comments, stories, awesome.
375 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 375 of 375 Newer› Newest»-
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«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 375 of 375 Newer› Newest»VERY cute dresses :) My favorite dress right now is a cheetah print with a medallion pattern over the top. Sounds kinda lame, but it's super cute...
Wow, I would love to try one of those. I have this terrific fabric that I was going to use to make an apron, but let's face it, my daughter will wear a new dress way more often than I'll wear a new apron.
My favorite dress ever? I have this swingy, ties-on-the-side black dress that my mom and sister talked me into buying. It's cut way lower than I usually buy and clings across the belly... but when I wear it, I feel just beautiful. My absolute favorite.
OH MY GOD those dresses are cute! I am a novice seamstress myself with very little clothes-sewing experience (have done a couple skirts and an art smock). I just finished (after TWO YEARS) my first quilt...that wasn't a baby quilt, that is. But I think I can for sure manage the first pattern. The third (and cutest!), maybe not.
my own favorite dress? All the ones I like belong to my daughters. I prefer skirts, myself :)
i only have one dress. ONE. I don't feel comfortable in dresses, they've never been my thing. That being said, I'm not a lesbian, I'm thin, i'm not particularly athletic, i'm not a tomboy, i just don't wear dresses. I have one black dress that i wear to weddings. luckily none of my friends know each other so they don't know that i repeat for every occasion! i got it at the dress barn which i thought was only for old ladies but it's not!
my dress is stretchy material with a sheer stretchy material over, it comes down like diagonal on the legs and my boobs spill over. classy, i know.
I love anything by Wheels and Dollbaby but I am coveting this dress at the moment
http://www.wheelsanddollbaby.com/#/online-shop/dress/fille-de-marin-birkin-dress-
Pity I can't afford and have nowhere to wear it! WAH!
Wow, these dresses are so cute. Can your mom teach me to sew too...lol. Sewing is actually one of the things I can wait to have my future mother in law teach me how to do! Being from Texas I have a thing for sun dresses and casual dresses to stay cool in the heat but...my most favorite dress is a simple, strapless little black dress. I can dress it up or even make it casual. I think I like it so much because of the way my fiance looks at me when I wear it, it seems to be his fave too!
My favorite dress is one my oldest sister wore. She's 14 years older than me, and when she left for college, it became my blankie because it smelled like her. :-)
LOVE those dresses...so original and sweet.
I wear dresses all the time...so easy and comfortable. My favorite is too small for me right now, but looks lovely hanging in my closet. It's a Marc Jacobs white with neon pink, teal and orange polka dots! I bought it in my early twenties from Nordstrom Rack for like $30!
My favorite dress involves a strapless tight bodice and a big skirt that hits just above the knee...and it has pockets. Any dress with pockets makes me swoon.
LOVE her dresses!! Your mom is so talented. I have always loved everything she has on. You dress her wonderfully.
My favorite dress is a little yellow sundress I bought from urban outfitters. It makes me feel sexy and non-momish which I like...ya know, after having 3 kids and all. :-))
My favorite dress is my wedding dress. It was satin and organza and was ivory and oyster. It was not something I would have picked out myself but once on it was perfect! I definitely had that moment of, "this is the dress!"
I'm having a daughter due Thanksgiving day and I just want to say Fable is the best dressed, most adorable little girl ever!
A white linen wrap dress that I on;y wore once before getting prego once, twice. Ahhh, I loved that dress.
Sadly, I can't wear dresses. I do have a great black skirt that makes me feel like I am a 50's housewife. And not the good kind. :)
Those are gorgeous dresses. I am jealous.
I love dresses. I found a gorgeous black minidress in Notting Hill that I wore constantly for a while and then a few months ago I tried it on with jeans and thought...hmm...maybe this is really a shirt. Or should be a shirt. Regardless, it's my fave.
Gorgeous. I love the one you like the most too. The one before the bird dress (which looks great on your daughter and is gorgeous) is great too- the combo of the blue black and the gathering at the top.
They have so much flare and they are so colorful, but they are not over the top either. Great dresses.
Did your Mom come up with an average cost (material not labor)?
Great designs too.
Thanks for sharing.
ok, First, these are the.cutest. dresses. EVER!
I love wearing dresses. I wear them instead of shorts in the summer so I have a lot of them but my very favorite is a strapless green dress that kind of looks like it is made from curtains. I bought it on sale at Anthropologie a few years ago and I am still crazy about it!
My little girl, Ella would love love love one of these dresses, I think I will get the patterns and try them out myself but I would love to win one!
Your Mom is so sweet! I went out and bought a dress pattern after seeing your first bubble dresses you made. Unfortunately, I have not used them nor gotten my sewing machine out since having my 2nd child.
My daughter is a couple months younger than Fable so she could fit in the hand-me-downs. : ))
LOVE!!! Your mother is so talented. I wish she sold these so I could buy them all!
My favoite dress is a deep dark navy blue number with ruffles on the chest and little itty bitty buttons.
Those are stunning! My favourite right now is a cute little sun dress that I have been living in this summer - black, white, and summery!
What a generous giveaway! I'd be thrilled with a custom WWW creation for my daughter. My favorite dress was made by my Mom for my grad. It was a deep blue sleeveless silk sheath and I felt so grown up wearing it!
My current favorite dress is last season's Amalfi dress by Boden sadly I didn't make it to my weightloss goal before it was sold out. Le Sigh. There is always next spring!
(the dress: http://bit.ly/9ryvsK )
I'm convulsing with cuteness overload. And envy. Your mom sounds rad.
My favourite item ever was a skirt that my grandpa made me. I remember telling my grandpa that I needed a "twirly, swingy" skirt. I was about 7. He wasn't exactly sure what I meant. I was usually whinny-ing and insisting I was a horse or reenacting scenes from Anne of Green Gables. He never knew what I was on about. So, to be very certain I got what I wanted he took me to a fabric store, patiently waited while I chose my fabric and then helped me choose the pattern. I adored that skirt and twirled and swirled to my hearts content. I wish I still had it.
My mom and I aren't close. My favourite dress now is an old sun dress of hers. It makes me feel like I have a rare piece of her. A happy piece. I wear it and feel thankful for the sunshine in my life and wish it for hers.
I'm not sure I've ever commented without saying your daughter is beautiful. She is.
PS: My 16 month old daughter Soleil would look absolutely smashing in one your mom's creations. And I'm officially inspired to learn to sew.
A simple burgundy empire waist dress with a stretchy fitted bodice and flowy soft skirt. It looked great on and fit any occasion. The most special thing about it really though is that my brother bought it for me circa 1991. I couldn't afford it at the time..I think it cost $70 or so. My brother and I live across the seas from each other now. I treasure that dress. It is rolled carefully in my bottom drawer. I'm not quite the same size I was before I had my 3 children. I still have hope I can wear it again.
i'm not a dress person but my fave dress in my closet is a strapless cream-colored one with modern hawaii-like orange, blue and brown flowers all over, bought in...hawaii. =)
I'm so jealous you have a mother who sews these amazing dresses for your daughter! I took a basic sewing machine class and FAILED at making a simple pillow case...I had wanted to make dresses for my 19-month old daughter but gave up right there.
My favorite dress is a green jersey wrap dress that is very flattering (and easy to nurse bebeh's in!).
Holy cow! I LIVE on SAXONY in Encinitas-- FEET from that store and have been DYING (beyond lamenting) for a good fabric store around here and I did not know that one existed! (Thank you GGC and WWW!)
My favorite dress is a black, 3/4 length sleeve, v-plunge-neck MATERNITY dress that looks sleek and sexy when I'm 6+ months pregnant...a tough job.
I think my new favorite dresses are the little girl ones I just saw in your post. gorgeous gorgeous. Your mom is amazing. Does she want to open a shop and sell those?
your mom rocks!! LOVE made-with-love dresses!! MY favorite dress is a simple sleeveless black dress, above the knee and with a deep V. Basic, but perfect for all occasions depending on accessories!
very cute! I love sewing new dresses and skirt for my girls, I find it a crazy experience to be excited about being in fabric stores! My own favorite dress is a strapless black number, just below knee length, with small white polka dots on it. I feel like I can channel and in vargas girls when I wear it!
Oh my god I need to learn how to sew! I'm dying over how adorable these dresses are! I love the fabric! My little Lila Dove is turning one soon and I can't wait to start putting her in cute dresses all the time. Hmm so I think my favorite dress of all time is this 1950's prom dress from Macy's that I found at a flea market. It was light pink and had taffeta and ruffles and velvet double spaghetti straps. (sounds like a nightmare now!) I bought it when I was 15 in hopes that I would grow some boobs by the time my prom came around so I could fill it out. That unfortunately never happened so I had to get another dress for prom. But I still love the original one.
My fave is a little ruffled grey jersey dress I got on clearance at anthro! Comfy and cute.
My favorite dress is a little sundress I grabbed off the clearance rack last summer at Target! It is a purple print with adjustable straps. Cute but oh so comfy.
I LOVE all of Fable's dresses. That WWW is multi-talented!
This pretty strapless number that I wore once and would love to wear again but this is difficult while I am nursing. It was white with brown floral pattern. I
wow - what fantastic dresses! My almost 4 year old would go crazy for any of them.
My favorite dress is one I never have an occasion to wear - a fitted black dress that somehow makes me look like I still have the stomach I once had before kids!
My favourite dress at the moment is my womama birthing wrap that I wore when pregnant, when in labour and now I wear it frequently as it covers my larger-than-usual body and has easy-access to my boobs for the little one.
http://www.womama.co.nz/collection/birthwear/group/17/page/1/style/Bwrap/Womama%20Birthing%20Wrap%20Black
I just love the Macy Giggle Sundress, and it would look adorable on my pseudo-niece!
Ugh, I wish WWW made dresses in my size.
My favorite dress has to be a gold Diane Von Furstenburg number that I found in a vintage shop about a year ago. Can be dressed up or down and makes me feel like it's the holidays year round.
Adorable dresses!! What a talent your mom is.
My favourite dress has a bit of a story. I was just starting to date my now husband. On my birthday, he hands me a black dress bag. I blanch. Then he says he bought it on a recent trip to San Fran (we lived in Canada), so I realized there would be no returns.
I'm not exactly your off-the-rack size 8. I'm 6'1, with a generous hour-glass figure.
Feeling like this is going to be one of life's most embarrassing moments, I take it to the bedroom to try on. Pulling it out of the bag I'm in love with it. Beautiful champagne-coloured slip dress with a delicate lace over-top. The material has some give, but it is obviously meant to be form-fitting.
I try it on and it fits. Perfectly. I wore that dress for years until the stitching gave out.
My fav. dress is simple. Cotton or something really soft that has no major fuss but just plain comfy. For my 4 year old daughter, my fav. dress for her is the same. Something with no buttons or something she can do for herself but is so soft and comfy. Comfy being the key here. ;)
R
OMG i love them all... but have a son... so can you make one that's let's say a size 8 for me???
*SNORT*
they're beautiful. and fable models them all so well.
So cute - I love the dresses for Fable. The mis match of patterns is the best - but they are not so over the top "cute" with ruffles, etc. like many of this style are (see Etsy shops...good grief!).
Anyhoo..my current favorite was a surprise to me when I tried it on. I love the maxi dress/sundress look, but alas I am all of just under 5'2", so pretty much any dress is maxi length on me. Found this bright happy glittery (subtle glitter) turquoise, black, gold patterned sundress with the gathered torso and a cute flared skirt (that comes to mid-calf on me) and I put it on and thought "va va voom" - makes the boobage look good, makes me look thinner...love it.
Aaaaah I love all that cute fabric!! I am super jealous of your moms mad sewing skills! I can sew *very* basic things, like curtains, but I jacked up my sewing machine timing and now it doesn't work at all... And there aren't any good fabric stores where I live in Spain and ordering fabric online just isn't the same! Fable looks ADORABLE!
My favorite dress is a dark purple kneelength dress... Its my go-to dress instead of a LBD.
The fabric is to die for....i'm so envious ! As for my fave dress - it is a long summer retro pattern dress in blues/pinks/browns that is pratical enough with 2 young girls, comfy and makes me feel gorgeous and curvy - a perfect combination! You are lucky to have such a lovely mum! Eilidh x
I would love to win a dress for my 2 year old daughter. My favorite dress is a blue patterned wrap dress with a ruffle sleeve. It is comfortable, looks good for many occasions, and is made of some miracle fabric that can be thrown on the floor, stepped on for a week, and still look good.
I still count a dress I had when I was five (made by my mother) as my favorite. It had a blue bodice and the skirt was made out of a fabric with newspaper print on it. I still love that dress! I have an 18 month old and I a m very jealous of all your daughter's homemade dresses. Good job nana!
My second daughter is due in about 2 weeks and my nesting instinct is in full force. I actually bought a sewing machine months ago to make stuff for both my girls (other is almost 2) but have yet to pull it out of the box. As far as my fave dress goes, for myself, it's a simple tee shirt dress. So comfy. For my daughter, I bought her this Gap sweater dress a couple years ago and it was adorable.
The bird dress is ADORABLE.
My favorite dress is my wedding dress. Not only is that sentiment cliche, but so is my post. Lots of women on here giving props to that particular dress!
Favorite dress....one I bought for my sister's wedding & NEVER WORE (she chose something else w color - go figure! - this one I love is black.) Anyways, sad as it is, I love the dress, but there it hangs in my closet...to be worn?? ever??? someday!!!!!
Those dresses are to die for!!! Major props to WWW!!!!
My fave dress right now is a retro-ish looking black dress with tiny white polka dots and red buttons. Totally flattering and I get tons of compliments whenever I wear it.
Seriously??? What a great give-away!!! My fave dress is from Etsy: a long blue denim sundress with this great vintage scarving on the bodice and peeking out beneath the skirt--full and flowy and very 1960s. LOVE!
My favourite dress is a cotton sundress that is white with blue stripes in an alternating vertical/horizontal pattern. It has a perfect empire waist and strappy thin straps. Perfect for garden parties, kid chasing and it stays in place without needing five minute adjustments.
My favorite dress is black and has sort of pleats that run along the bias... it gives off a very 1920's vibe.
I LOVE the #3 pattern. Especially the stripes. So precious. I also love the #1 pattern where the pocket material has the building on it. Fun!
My first daughter wears a 5T, so she might be too big? I won't know if the next one is a girl until November! :)
Thx, GGC and WWW!
The green might be my fave of Fable's but they are all so beautiful!
My own favorite dress was a full-length linen jumper/almost-maxi dress I scored at the Limited in the late 90s before maxi dresses were hip. I'm not doing it justice here with my lame description, but it was so cute. It was a safari brown, had really cute side pockets and was so flattering. I wore it for years and years until the linen finally wore out :(
My favorite dress is a magical LBD as well. Picked it up years ago at J Crew. It is sleeveless, high neckline, wool number with a sweet thin black ribbon around the waist with the tiniest of tiny bows smack dab in the center. Makes me feel like Audrey Hepburn...er maybe, Holly Golightly. It's magic power is that no matter how big or small I get (tiny size 4 to a pleasantly round 12). Prego or not. It always seems to fit. Perfectly. Abra cadabra. xoxo LBD.
My favorite dress was my prom dress that I got from a vintage shop, it was red velvet (?) and just adorable and it's been a LONG time since I've worn it, but still love it.
My favorite dress was (and I know, how original) my wedding dress. I got married at 19 and bought the first dress I tried on at David's Bridal. The funny thing is, I would SO not pick out the same dress today (think poofy ballgown skirt with beaded corset), but for me at that time, it was perfect. I feel like that was one nice thing about getting married young was that I was able to get away with wearing such a "princessy" dress.
My favorite dress is a black halter cocktail dress, knee length, with some great fabric folding along the midsection - super slimming and very classic.
My favorite dress would have to be my '50s-ish-inspired black dress with cream polka-dots. It was a diamond-in-the-rough find at a discount store. It has a perfectly flared skirt and a tiny ribbon waistband and bow. It just fits and my husband adores me in it! :)
**My sweet Zoey would look more than adorable in one of your cute dresses!! **Fingers crossed!**
My favorite dress is a very simple grayish-brown halter from Banana. It's classic and timeless and I've been wearing it for years. And, it hits at the perfect point on my knee to minimize my tree trunk legs! Bonus!
Just when I thought I was OVER the fact that I have two boys and no girls (yet... hee hee....) I saw these dresses and yearned from deep within my ovaries for a girl to make them for. What a gorgeous job WWW has done! (And kudos to the design choices as well.) My favourite dress is a retro flapper style halter, it's gold and black and fits like it was made for me. I love love love it.
My favorite dress is an oldie -- my mom actually got it in Hawaii in the late 60s! It's an orange Hawaiian flower print, with a smocked top, wide "tank-top" straps, and a loosely-gathered skirt with a small, loose ruffle on the bottom. It cracks me up because EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I wear it, people stop me to ask where I got it. It looks new, and I love that my mom wore it when she was my age! PS I resolved to learn to sew and make all of my future childrens' clothes after seeing all of Fable's dresses - those things are awesome!
Love, love, love each and every one of these.
My favorite dress - that's easy. A navy blue sailor dress I begged my mother to make for me in 7th grade. Makes me cringe to think of it, but I was a happy 12-year-old in that dress, complete with white nylons and white patent leather flats. Yikes.
My favorite dress is my Madam President dress, as I call it. Simple, elegant grey with square cut neck. Fits and shapes perfectly. Hope to win your mom's creation!!!!! xoxo
My favorite dress would have to be a gray cotton maxi dress that I got for $7. So comfortable - I wear it all the time.
My favorite dress is one I bought for a wedding a few years ago. Black with tropical sort of floral print on it, great skirt perfect for dancing. My daughter would die for one of these dresses. She's four and LOVES dresses.
Love the dresses! I don't care what your mom says -- NONE of those look easy to make. It would take me weeks to complete just 1.
I'm not a real dress person myself, so I'd have to say my favorite dress was my wedding dress.
My favorite dress of mine is a red silk sun dress with white polka dots. It's perfect for any summer occasion. Love.
she is the most well dressed little girl i know!
Yay, yay, yay! Thanks for this giveaway! My favorite dress is my wedding dress. I know, that's kind of cliche...but I just LOVE it! I put it on every year on our anniversary. :)
I just ordered a sewing machine so that I could make my daughter dresses - these are too cute! My favorite dreww is a red tea length cocktail dress that I unfortauntely can not fit into anymore. But just thinking about it now gives me motivation to try!
My favorite dress is purple, with slightly lighter purple dots on it. Its got a gorgeous skirt and inch wide straps, and I love love love it. Dress it down with skinny jeans / leggings, dress it up for work with a nice sweater, pair it with some killer boots for a night on the town ...
I love it. :) And I love the dresses. WWW is so talented!
I think my favorite dress was my "little red riding hood" dress when I was about 6. It was red corduroy, with black piping and a white collar. It didn't have a hood, but I still called it the little red riding hood dress... and it was WONDERFUL. According to my mom, my favorite thing was always to get dressed up in my dressiest dress and go out for pancakes.
mine are basic sack dresses. it is too hot in az for anything other
Officially inspired! LOVE!
I just had a daughter in February (big brother first, then little sister, just like your cuties) and was thinking it might be fun to try and make some dresses.
I know this is cliche, but my favorite dress was definitely my wedding dress. I never buy clothes full price or anything, and to have a dress that was tailored just for me and that occasion was something really awesome.
My earliest solid memory is of my 4th birthday party. My mom gave me my first headband - thin, wrapped in brown and gold thread. Willy Wonka was on TV. One of the presents waiting for me had a little bell ornament covered in tiny mirror tiles, like a Christmas disco ball.
The dress was my "Princess Diana dress." There wasn't anything especially Princess-y about it - no big poofy skirt or anything. I'm guessing it got its name from being my fanciest party dress close enough in time to her wedding. It was ballerina length, chiffon over something-or-other, cream colored and shaped like a bell itself. There were small fabric roses made from the same material gathered on the neck on the left side. I adored it. Getting dressed for that party was the first time I felt grown-up and like I shared a grown-up girl moment with my mother.
I love the last one that was made of the curtain fabric... my daughter would love it!
My favorite dress is the first dress I bought for my daughter, before she was born in 2003. It is from gymboree, and it is a twirl dress with spaghetti straps. The pattern is ladybugs. I was so thrilled when she wore it to my sister-in-law's outdoor wedding when she was three months old. Now my second daughter wears it.
tristamj (at) hotmail (dot) com
I never seem to wear dress, so no real fav but my daughter is a total girly girl and she cant get enough dresses.
My favorite dress is this adorable sailor print on white cotton with pockets, a lined skirt, and a bow at the waist that just feels so casual and cool in summer. I bought it for myself as a reward for finishing a writing project. It's cheap and not all that, but I love the way I feel in it!
My favourite dress is a rich chocolate brown Calvin Klein dress that I got for a steal at Ross. It is figure hugging and has ruffles down the front and I feel AMAZING every time I put it on - I am usually pretty self-conscious in dresses as I think I look 'too fat' or whatever, but this one hugs all my curves, gives me fabulous cleavage and makes me feel a million dollars - who could ask for more?! :)
Love, love, love all the dresses your Mom made for Fable and I would love, love, love one for my little 7 month old baby girl Iris.
Your Mom rocks!
My favorite is also a LBD. It has a scoop neck, 3/4 sleeves, and is above the knee. It is from Old Navy, but I have dressed it up with sparkly tights and shoes to wear to several weddings, or I dress it down with flip flops and wear it on hot summer days to work at a preschool. I love that dress.
mine is my rehearsal dinner dress, black, scoopy cowl neck just the right amount of drape and clingy. Made me look cute even though i was 5 months preggo :-)
I have a brown silk dress with black polka dots. It's an A-line dress with a collar. It's very 1950's Mad Men. I adore it, and it's so flattering. I have to think of more special occassions to go to, just so I can wear it more often!
I'm totally motivated to try sewing one of those for my daughter! But if I won one, that'd just add to her ever growing wardrobe!
My favorite dress is still my wedding dress...only worn once and still in a garment bag in my closet, not even dry cleaned after 3 years. Can't bear to part with it though!
So amazing! I love all the fabric pairings, too.
My favorite dress masquerades as a skirt and top, but it's actually a dress! Grey on the bottom with buttons up the front and then a beautiful silk abstract floral on the top in warm spring colors.
My favorite dress is a classy little zebra-print sheath dress.
My favorite was a red hibiscus dress that my Grandparents brought back from a trip to Hawaii.
Fable's dressing are perfectly girly!
OMG, I loved you before but now I am IN LOVE WITH YOU!! I just love Fable's clothes. I just started "sewing" clothes for my girl and it's a work in progress. Thank you so much for posting the links with the patterns!! I can't wait to get sewing!
Wow! You've done an amazing job! I really like the Macy Giggle sundresses but wouldn't mind having all of them in my daughter's wardrobe or, er, my own. Anyway, I don't really have a favorite dress these days. I can't wear them while nursing and my body isn't the same shape it was before having a baby so I guess we'll see what I like in a few months.
Anthropologie biycle shirt dress!
I know this is going to be all mushy & weird, but my favorite dress right now is my wedding dress!! It's simply stunning and I can't wait to wear it in January.
Aside from that I have 2 cute summer dresses that are adorable prints that I love. Sadly I need to lose a little to look good in them again :(
kikisescapades(At)gmail(dot)com
Also my word verification - cosyness! love it!
Hot pink satin party dress. I looked high and low for months to find the perfect dress for my 10th anniversary party and didn't find it till the week before the event.
My favorite dress ever is one from the past - a shirt-style dress, very plain style, but with a blue and white swirly, William Morris-type fabric. Loved that dress!
THis post made me seriously think about digging my sewing machine out of the moving boxes...before we move!
Oh my gosh! Those are all beyond adorable. I think my favorite is also the pink one at the end. It's so (Girl's)Gone With The Wind. Heh.
I have this fantastic Audrey Hepburn style dress in a sort of stretch wool fabric, simple sleeveless and with the reverse color. Looks hot but is also super classy.
My all time favorite dress was an Easter dress my mom made for me 4th gradeish. It was off white with small flowers woven into the fabric. It had cap sleeves and small teal ribbons sewn across the front. I later wore it to my first youth symphony audition. I probably remember all the details wrong, but I loved that dress and wish my daughter could wear it someday. Hmmm...maybe it got saved somewhere, I'll have to ask my mom about it!
I love the dresses your mom made! And your daughter looks so stinkin' cute!
My favorite dress is from Banana that I actually HAD to buy for a briddesmaid's dress. I still love it, 3 years later. :)
I've been trying to muster up the time/courage to sew some pretty dresses for my little girl!
My favorite dress is a pretty simple, black dress that I bought at Ann Taylor forever ago. Alas, I have a three week old baby, so I haven't worn it in forever, and likely will go a few more months before it will even possibly fit.
My favorite dress was a black halter 3/4 length dress I got in college and wore for 10 years until it literally fell apart. It fit me no matter how much weight I gained or lost and always made me feel good about how I looked. I love all of the dresses you have made for your daughter! :)
my mom has this one picture of me as a kid. maybe 5 years old. hiding behind some roses. in a red and white dress with an awesome petticoat. and the kicker? a bell sewn somewhere in the petticoat.
bravo to your mom... and to you too!
My fave dress is the wedding dress I just bought! I didn't want something stuffy and formal, so I was scared of getting married...
THen I found the perfect dress, which is romantic and beautiful but not stodgy, and it is going to set the tone for our whole wedding. It made me realize that my wedding can be anyway I want it to be, not how everyone else expects it should be.
oh my god my absolute favourite was a deep emerald green velvet puffy sleeve dress that I wore absolutely everywhere age 4-8. So inappropriate for hot australian summers but it was *VELVET* and it was *EMERALD* so of course you're going to wear it everywhere, right?
I love that blue & white striped with the floral. Am going to dust off the sewing machine for my 20 month old piece of joy. I have aunty duties to fulfill! xx
My current favorite dress is one that I bought at Target on clearance for about $12. Its one of the Converse dresses and a nice jersey in purple. I've been complimented in that dress, and I feel pretty in it.
In high school I had a blue flannel baby doll dress that I LOOOOVED, I wore it to Lollapalooza one year, I wore it with leggings, over jeans. I lent it to my boyfriend for "switch day" at school.
Before that my favorite dresses were ones that had full swinging skirts with which to spin in the hallway at church.
Squee! Look at Miss Fable's cute little buttons and button face!
Fave dress: Red silk Roman-esque dress I fell in love with from a window. I was unemployed at the time, and certainly didn't have an extra $200 - but a week later my grandmother sent me a $200 check for Christmas. I took it as a sign, went to the store, tried it on, fit like a glove, bought it, and wore it to my engagement party six months later.
I can't wait for my future little person sewing projects. Thank you for sharing!
I love the little yellowish/gray one with the black ruffle. My favorite picture to go with it is the one with her in that dress and a jean jacket and little red pepper by her foot on the sofa. Awesome.
Oh gosh these are gorgeous! OK my favorite dress... it's the zebra striped dress with clingy fabric I bought years ago at Forever 21.. (i'm in my thirties ;) and wore dancing a zillion times, and then wore pregnant too. I'm pregnant now with a girl ( EVer Elizabeth ) due in November :)
My favorite dress is a red, embroidered dress from Anthropologie. I can never afford to buy anything full price there, but two years ago on my birthday, a combination of the birthday discount coupon and unexpected cash allowed a purchase. I love it. I can wear it in all seasons, dress it up or down, wear it on its own or over skinny jeans with a jacket. I get compliments on it every single time I wear it.
I love that third dress pattern; I've got a three-year-old on the way from Ethiopia, and I'm itching to make some dresses. First, though, we have to finish the bathroom remodel, which I've heard is much easier to do if you don't have a toddler to bathe.
I'm not a big dress kind of gal but I love to wear skirts. That being said my favorite dress would be my wedding dress. I never felt so beautiful than that day and I loved how simple the dress was to begin with.
Love, love the dresses your mom made for Fable. The color combos and patterns she chose are so cute together.
My favorite dress is a 50's style shirt dress, black with white polka dots.
My favorite is the Macy Giggle Sundress. My daughter is 3 years old and LOVES dresses. She pretty much wants to wear one every day. Why did I even buy tank tops for the summer?
Hmm... I have a sundress fetish going on right now. My favorite is a cream and blue plaid spaghetti strap one with ruffles around the bottom.
But my favorite of Fable's is the last one. Gorgeous. Want.
So, as a kid, I refused to wear dresses. Absolutely refused. I was a shorts-in-all-seasons tomboy.
As I grew up, I decided dresses weren't so bad after all. I will say, I prefer wearing them with leggings underneath.
My favorite dress? A black, purple and grey color block style dress that is just above knee length. It's cute, comfortable and is great with or w/out leggings. Also, it was $9.99 on clearance at a department store I never shop at but happened to be walking through to access the mall!
It's my favorite backyard, summer dress.
I lovelovelove Fable's dresses, always have! Been reading your blog for some time now and our girls were born just a week apart. Oh, how I adore Ms. Fable!
My fave black dress was just given to me by a friend. A beautiful little hand-me down number with large ruffles in the front and super short. It's beyond hot, I'm wearing it to a summer evening wedding in two weeks and I'm super stoked!
Amanda, Harper's Mom
My fave dress is one that belongs to my daughter. It is a white sundress with blue Swiss dot, smocking and little European nautical scenes embroidered along the hem. A Janie and Jack number from their Spring line.
My favorite dress is a black dress that I have that is super comfortable and practical. It is a tailored shirt dress. LOVE IT
my favorite dress still hangs in my closet, I am sure that my nursing boobies wont fit in it, but I hope to one day, haha! It's blue, floral, been my go to dress for every wedding, outdoor summer event I have happened upon since I bought it. Now that you have me thinking of it, maybe I will see if I can fit in it :)
These dresses are so cute! My favorite dress is one I wore to a Christmas formal in college actually. Black, short and simple, with a built in satin sash and just the right amount of "swish" to it. I just loved the way I looked and felt in it.
Oh, I sooooo want to learn how to sew!!! Those dresses (especially the last one) are so darling. You & your Mom should totally start your own etsy shop! ;)
My fave dress at the moment is this: http://www.shabbyapple.com/p-702-cider.aspx
GOOD LUCK TO MEEEEE! :)
rchelle315@yahoo.com
my fav dress was a black floral babydoll dress that I got for $10. It was the perfect length to wear over jeans or go solo. I was big into the dress over jeans look back in the early 2000's. I never felt more pretty and confident as when I rocked that dress!
Love these! Makes me want to learn how to sew! My favorite is a little black dress with a cotton lace top and a bubble hem skirt. I can never find dresses that fit me right (weird body shape, I guess) but this one rocks.
a brown and turquoise knit wrap dress.
looks good with boots or heels and comfy too!
my favorite dress was a black velvet dress with a cat face on it from when I was five... now my favorite is a navy blue satin dress with a rhinestone belt
My favorite is a knee-length black dress with a scoop neck. It's form fitting and really flattering. Even though it was out of our price range my husband saw me in it and instantly agreed to buy it for me. I feel great when I wear this dress, therefore it's my favorite.
My favorite dress is a little ruffly cream colored dress with feathers around the hem. I bought it three years ago in a fit of whimsy, and to this date I have only worn it once for a photoshoot with a photographer friend, but someday, hopefully soon, I will get a chance to wear it for real. Its not the type of dress you can just wear with no occasion, and since its close to white-ish, I cant really wear it to a wedding.
i love the blue stripe with the flowers, absolutely adorable!
You have inspired me to break out my sewing machine again! Especially since I *may* be pregnant again!
My favorite dress a black sundress with ruffles down the front. I can wear it with flip flops and it is casual or my wedge heels and some nice jewelry for dinner/work.
I'm five months pregnant with a little girl and I just bought a sewing machine so this post was pure inspiration for me! Mt favorite dress is my wedding dress, a strapless knee-length antique lace number from BCBG.
Wow! those are gorgeous and makes me want to carve out time to sew some dresses.
My favorite dress was from my graduation. Long black with a rose pattern cut out on one side with red silk underneath. I still have it even though I will never be that size again :)
I love the last dress your mom made out of curtain fabric. How beautiful is that?! You've inspired me to sew~
This is probably pregnancy talking, but I LOVE the ice cream cone dress. So sweet!
Sooooo cute!! I cannot wait to move out of Montana so that I, too, can be exposed to fabric that is neither camoflage nor fleece! My favorite dress was one my grandmother had made me for a school dance. It was teal and white, wore it with long pearls & my hair DOWN instead of the typical up-do... it was beautiful and totally one-of-a-kind.
I had a dress with a long pink jacket (which was a bit much in FL, but I loved it until I let it go). The dress itself had a shimmery/silver top that met with a pink, A-line skirt (the same pink as the jacket). The jacket had two buttons, right where the two contrasting parts of the dress met...so it almost looked like I was wearing seperates with the jacket on. :)
I much prefer making dresses for my girls.
my favorite dress is a teal one I bought 10 years ago in England. It's not too loose or too tight (I can sit in it easily, even on the ground at picnics) and it doesn't show my bra and it's really soft and has just enough detailing to be a little fancy.
but not as fancy as fable's dresses, which are just lovely.
I'm not much of a dress girl, but my all time fave dress is one MY mother made for me when I was in high school. It was a simple pattern and she used gorgeous fabric that was midnight blue with golen yellow suns, moons and stars. She also made a little matching pouch bag. I loved that dress so much since my mom made it.
Fable's dresses are stunning. She looks super sweet in all of them. Way to go, WWW!!!
338 comments ahead of me but I will still put my hat in the ring for the chance to win an adorable dress for my Chloe. My favourite dress? Hands down my prom dress. It was an electric purple fitted mini with big puffed shoulders and a deep vee on the back that ended in a huge bow with tails longer than my skirt. I designed it myself and had a seamstress make it. It was so 1988 as was my big teased hair, frosted lipstick, and stilettos. Still the hottest I've looked to date, I think. Funny to think my chic peaked when I was 17.
My favorite dress was one borrowed from a friend. Perfect for any occasion. Black with blues and yellows. A little off the shoulders, just above the knee. Look and feels like a dream.
My favorite dress, hands down, is my wedding dress. I know it is so predictable but I loved it. It was light, fun, and easy to dance in. My husband says it had just the right amount of "church boob." Not to mention it just felt like me. I am trying to figure out how I can get away with wearing it at least once a week: ) I have recently started learning to sew and am loving it. I think I am slowly working my way to quilting. Love your sight and all the pictures.
My favourite dress is a red formal dress that I picked up because I just loved it but with no idea of where I was going to wear it - and I think I've worn it four or five times! I just kind of "find" places to wear it it to :D
It just feels very classic to me. And I love the colour red.
What beautiful dresses! I am going to try the first one (which seems the easiest), but I'm pretty rough around the edges (hems?), so I can only hope it will turn out half as cute. My favorite dress? This is totally cheesy, but the dress I wore when I got married, ivory silk liked rumpled bedclothes with a blue sash, strapless, made me feel like the most special person in the world.
We had a family member with a sheep farm. I was entered into the "make from your own wool" category at the State Fair when I was six. It was a wool sleeveless sundress/jumper with a drop-waist skirt with wide pleats. On the shoulder there were ceramic buttons with little sheep on them! Some of the sheep ate the buttons when the dress was being stored next to their pen but luckily there were extras.
Mine is a brown cotton sundress that I can pull over my head that I bought for a $1 at a suburban garage sale. I wear it every weekend.
I haven't had a favorite dress since I was a little girl of around 8 or 9. (I'm afraid that I've become terrified how how to properly fit my own grown up body into a dress that is flattering)
But, that favorite dress.. It was actually rather hideous in the way that late 80's/early 90s children's clothing seemed to inevitably be. It was made out of regular cotton, and slightly darker then pepto-bismal pink, with a square inlaid on the front made out of lighter pink, and in the middle of that square was a teal fabric kitten.
I wore it all the time, at home, at the park, until my knobby knees were sticking out far too much, and then it was banished to the keepsake chest in the basement.
I still totally have it.
i love each and every one of Fable's dresses! I need to learn to sew.. or maybe just win one of them! So, my favorite dress is a little bcbg number i bought nearly 10 years ago, it's long and black, sleeveless but not strapless, and there is a sort of belt of three interwoven colors, burgundy, rose and tan, that goes around the waist - so that is all you see in the front - black with this belt; but turn arrround and there is a dramatic V that dips down between the shoulders and that tri-color belt suddenly fans out to be come the entire back of the dress, like a burgundy, rose and tan train - except its not train length. So, quite demure from the front and then you spin around and weeeee woooowww, gorgeous unexpected color. love it.
I don't have a critter to put dresses on, but they are so gorgeous!
My favorite dress is a white with black polka dots Banana Republic dress. It was on all the billboards in Chicago, I wanted it desperately, but all the stores I went to were out of it. My bff found it in my size for like 75% off and bought it for me. The kicker...I got pregnant soon after, so I have yet to wear it. Soon!
My favorite dress is a sky blue bohemian style dress my Mom bought me from Anthroplogie several years ago. It is light and loose and always fits.....(-:
My favorite dress is not mine, it's a toddler size Betsy Johnson number with a slim stap tank top sporting a large cherry print and a long skirted part with a bright pink tulle overlay. i want it in MY size. Its one of the few pieces of baby clothing I have hung onto since baby 1 over 8 yrs ago.
Wow. Your mom rocks. Those are great dresses, and I am thoroughly inspired. My favorite clothing changes, but my favorite dress for my daughter is one made out of vintage fabric -- deep brown with great big blue dots. I'm still squeezing her into it as a smock.
My favorite dress - as cliche as it sounds, would have to be my wedding dress. I loved the simplicity and timelessness of it and I still, five years later, look at pictures of myself in that dress and can't find anything I don't like.
My favorite dress that my girls have worn is a little white smocked sundress from Carters. So sweet, so pure, so summer!
My favorite dress is a floral number, big red roses or somesuch on black, with an asymmetrical hem and a big ol' ruffle on the bottom, that I think looks like a flamenco dress, and which I bought especially to take on a trip to Mexico with a killer pair of heels (which ended up getting replaced for a pair of flip flops, because it is VERY HOT in Acapulco, and the tequila is VERY STRONG). I love that thing so much I PAID FULL RETAIL.
my favorite dress is the one that i'm waiting for UPS to deliver to my house right now! bcbg column gown with graphic pucci print down the middle....i hope it fits!!!
My daughter is a dress lover and she would love to have a beautiful dress made by your mom. I love the blue dress, about 1/2 way though the post with Fable sitting on the steps...she looks so beautiful in that one, but i also love the icecream one!!
My favorite dress is a 1940's navy crepe buttonfront, ruffles at the neckline. I feel like the most awesome, sexy, cool cowgirl/Rosie the Riveter in it. It came out of my best friend's closet and it smells like all 60-ish years old it is.
Oh my gosh, the ice cream dress kills me. I wish my grandmother had taught me to sew.
I've never been a dress kinda gal. I always feel like my lack of an ass makes them look ridiculous on me. I'm more of a skirt person. I loved my wedding gown though. Sometimes my 3.5 y/o daughter and I get it out and play dress up.
My favorite dress is an orange, reversible, rayon, hippie-print dress. I feel like a ray of sunshine when I put it on. It's HOT! :)
My favorite dress lives in a closet with other clothes passed down from the duaghter aged four to the one aged two. I think next year we'll see a lot of it and it is yellow/black/white cotton with a bee print.
Pick us - we'll use it for two girls!
Oh my goodness the cuteness that flowed out of that post was almost too much to handle!!! I absolutely ADORE the tan and brown dress paired with the denim jacket... holy fab-tastic batman... it's awesome!
Being a relatively new dress wear-er, my favourite is a safe, comfy sweater dress.. purple, with a hood and pockets.
Would love a custom-made dress for my good friend's new baby girl!!
My favorite dress is a little green number I got from anthropologie years ago. It is one of those grecian goddess dresses and everyone is stunned when I wear it.
My favorite dress is a simple black pull-over short sleeve dress. I can accessorize it any way I want to go out or just leave it be for a comfortable day around the house. It has side slits up to there that drive my husband nuts.
My favorite dress was one of my Mom's dresses from the 60's that was long and had smocking and beautiful flowers. I wore it for Halloween when I was in 8th grade and then once I was more assured I wore it often to school just because I liked it. These dresses are adorable.
I adore all of those dresses, but I think that last pink one would be my favorite too. I would have been in heaven as a wee lass in that one. The buttons in back! Love!
My favorite dress is currently a midnight blue silk mini with a blouson pleated top and slim skirt. I wore it to a wedding when I was just a few months pregnant and I'm wearing it to a wedding this weekend. It makes my legs look pretty amazing and as a 5'3" shorty that makes me very happy.
My favorite is the last one made from curtain fabric - so cute! Also, thank you so much for the posting on the trials of marriage. It means a lot to me right now...
My favorite is the last one made from curtain fabric - so cute! Also, thank you so much for the posting on the trials of marriage. It means a lot to me right now...
Oh I hope I can still get in on the drawing~ I've only now discovered your post on dresses (with a new baby of my own, I'm short on internet time!) I adore ALL the dresses you and your mom have created.
My favorite dress was a rented halloween costume. Sad, I know, but I've never found a better fit- and I've spent years searching. It was a medieval empire waist princess dress, I believe it was champagne colored. For a few short hours, I felt like a true princess. I still smile when I think of it.
Thank you for sharing the dress patterns. Hopefully, I'll find time to attempt them before my daughter grows up.
Adorable dresses, I love them ALL!
My favorite dress for my daughter, Spencer, is one I purchased for her last fall. It was short, fitted, and was black and grey striped. It was a light sweater/knit material. It had cute little vintage-styled buttons on the left shoulder. And I was fortunate enough to find a pair of grey, corded leggings that matched it perectly. I loved it so much, I took her to one of my favorite parks and did a photo shoot (I am a freelance photographer in my spare time). Some of those photos are now hanging in my living room, as a triptych.
Oh wait, I feel like an idiot. You want to know about my favorite dress for myself, not my daughter.
This is easy. About seven years ago, I found a lovely little dress at a yard sale. Straight out of the 80's. Baby pink, with cream-colored polka dots. Sleveless, strapless, with a sweetheart neckline. Very fitted, and the bottom half fits like a pencil skirt. The best part, is the huge ruffle around the waist, which resembles a tutu. This dress is so much fun. I have never worn it and not had a fabulous time. And the best part? It cost $4.
My favourite dress? Electric, bright, brilliant blue with thin braided straps and a scooping, flowing neckline and gypsy hem. It's fancy, but in a way that reminds everyone I'm still a hippy. Fingers tightly crossed to win my daughter HER new favourite dress!
I just happened upon your blog today and wanted to tell you that I love your choice of fabric pairings! Not everyone is good at putting different fabrics together, but these are all fabulous!!! Love them!!
I went to Erikas web site and ordered some of the patterns you suggested here. Not cheap I must say and i was VERY disappointed when I got them in. Both patterns were only the bodice. no skirts or pockets ect. I will be returning them ASAP. What did you do as a new seamstress without the full pattern??
I know this is an old post and I hope you still get the comments. I've been inspired by the lovely dresses your mom makes for Fable, and I ordered the Macy Giggles pattern. I've made it twice now, and I have the same problem each time, and I was hoping your mom or another reader who has made the dress might have advice or a trick to make it work.
On the back of the skirt, there's a little panel that's sewn on, and then a V is cut into it, and it's turned to the inside. I can't for the life of me figure out how to make that fabric stay on the inside and lay flat. I've tried topstitching it around the slash, but the bottom of the V always looks weird. Has your mom (or a reader) had the same problem? How has she solved it?
Hi, Erin. I don't sew it as a V...I sew it as a square at the bottom. Then I clip the corners, turn it inside out, and topstitch. It always stays down that way!
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