A shirtdress amongst the rusty leaves

This was in October, in Paris, before I left for Thailand – with Noctvrna, we couldn’ see each other as often as we would have liked since I had moved to another city, and we had settled to meet for a photo shoot before I took the plane for vacations. Since winter sewing is not really my thing, all I had for her was this shirtdress, reminiscent of fallen leaves and pumpkin spice lattes. Looking back at those now almost out-of-season pictures, I’m feeling slightly nostalgic: many things have changed since those pictures to harder, more stressful times. Those pictures were taken around Russian orthodox church Saint-Serge de Radonège, one of Paris’s many not-so-hidden secrets. We only picked the place because we knew the bricks of the church (a material not so common in Paris, since French architecture prefers either stone or concrete) would match my dress perfectly but the air of the church, heavy with incense, and the funny garden that surrounds it complete with a vegetable garden and a cabin, set a powerful charm on me.

But let’s talk about the dress: I had serious doubts about making a green and orange plaid shirtdress (who wouldn’t?), but kept making it anyway: I wanted to test the pattern and sort of persuaded myself that it would be just the thing to dress up as a pumpkin for Halloween (who does that?)… I was right to: it’s not something I’d wear everyday or, say, in the spring, but I find it perfectly wearable. As it happens, Noctvrna told me it was one of her favorite garments of mine, among those she has photographed.

This is a new pattern as I was curious to give a try to Pauline Alice’s Cami dress, which has been such a hit on the sewing blogs. Since I found shirtdresses that come with a side zipper to be perfectly absurd, I slightly altered it. To me, shirtdresses should always be completely unbuttonnable. Nonetheless, I found the pattern well drafted and perfectly suited to my matching plaid obsession. I already envision new versions… in plaid, obviously.

4 Comments

  1. Hello Carlotta! I discovered your blog via Kollabora. This dress immediately caught my eye. Nothing pumpkin-like about it, I’d say 😉 It’s a really lovely shirtdress. I’m looking for a good pattern to make one, too, and your version makes me tempted to try the Cami dress.

    1. Haha – I just realized your point about the pumpkin – but I think of them as rather gracious fruits anyway! Thank you very much – and I recommend the Cami, it’s a lovely pattern.

    1. Thank you for your kind words, Laura Jane – and thank you for my talented photographer! If you’re in the mood for a fit & flare shirtdress, I found Cami well-drafted and a rather quick make – I liked it very much.

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