Ladies Day At The Races July 24th 2010

This year I was very lucky to go to ladies day at the races. It's a well known annual event that takes part at several racecourses around the country. I went to my local one at Gosforth. The dress code wasn’t formal at the part we were at but we thought why not make the effort?!

Everyone was dressed to the nines and looked fab!

I went with three good mates Ceara, Natalie and Ellis. Ellis definitely won the posh outfit award, wearing a combination of Coast and Dune shoes! Natalie looked very chic all in black with essence of net and lace. Fascinators were very popular as well but i decided to opt for my grans vintage navy hat which sits on a tilt with a bow and net detail (which i believe is older then me!) It was a lovely day out very lucky for me as i won forty pounds on a horse!

I'm definitely going to go again next year...... or maybe Ascot?

Bustle and Collar

Next I began to create my bustle.

I learnt to do it in layers and fold over the fabric to give it more fullness. I done a miniture mannequin size one before creating a pattern from the back panel on my dress. On my minature I didnt join the seams from the one position on the top but I knew to do this on my final one. This is shown on the toile piece.

The collar was very similar. I used the same technique just different sizes to the bustle to fit on the front chest area.

I done this by also altering the pattern.

After creating this I realised that it was very mishapen and curved it off on my pattern for my final piece.

Creating My Toile

I created my toile using the basic pattern block and extended the skirt so it measures down to the ankle. When  got all the darts and seams sewn up I left the side open for the zip. I then began to alter it so the shoulders had more shape to them i done this by cutting off a strip of material and then taking it off my paper pattern. I pinched it in more on the back waistline and front bust line. Once all this was done i began to design the bustle by using tape to mark out where i want it to be before separating the skirt into panels.

Experimentation

Here are images I took of my experimentation of what I want my ruched collar and gathered draped bustle to look like. I used a miniature mannequin and similar fabrics to do this.

Designing and Development

These are my ideas and designs for my dress starting from the initials to the final four designs in both illustrations and flats. They include colours, fabrics and details.

Sketchbook research

For my project set at college we have to create a prom dress for a lady who owns a local boutique from a self chosen theme and research. I began by researching into Haute Couture and Ready To Wear. Then moved onto the designers Chanel, Dior and Valentino. From all this research i chose the theme equestrian for my dress. Mainly because of the quilting from chanel and the recent Dior collections. The images i have photographed from my sketchbook.