The Scale Dress: Finished Project

First off, apologies for the lack of updates in so long.  I just recently got pictures done of the Snake Dress and the new designs of the Courtesan Dress.  Otherwise I haven't had any new projects to speak of so thus the reason for no posting.

All photos were taken by the lovely and talented Marie Arledge.

With the help of my wonderful and very patient roommate we were able to fit the dress perfectly.  I sewed a bra into the top to help with support.  Originally I planned for it to be high necked like the lace dress but instead I allowed the natural fold of the neckline stand.  It created a really nice look and ultimately I think that a high collar would have been a little too overwhelming. 

My original thought was to lace up the back.  I was going to use a gold-ish chord and large eyelets but I didn't find anything that really matched the way I wanted it to.  I bought some pieces that would work but I wasn't really happy with them.  I mulled over it as I made the dress because the closure would be one of the last things I worried about.  I finally settled on a V with some chain detail.  As you can see it works, though I think it throws off the fit of the dress a bit and I'm not entirely pleased with the final result.  The dress was a success and it certainly worked for the con.  And of course, we are always our own worst critics.









Recently though it's really been bothering me.  I want the dress to fit better across the waist and the bust like it did in the original fittings (in progress photo for reference).  My thoughts on how to achieve this are:

1) My hope is to redo the back entirely.  This means buying more fabric if it is still available.  I shouldn't need that much (1yd, maybe 2).  If I re-cut and sew the back I will probably do a hidden zipper and forgo any back detail.  I think the dress will still be quite elegant.

2) In the case that there isn't more of this fabric I have a couple of thoughts.
           a. The first is to do an insert with some criss-crossing straps and one of those heavy metal zippers up the center for accent.  It's not my first choice but it will do in the event that option 1 doesn't work out.
           b.The other is to do just criss-crossing straps made out of an elastic OR do chain detail that's tight (not pulling but like the top chain) and then put in a hidden zipper up the side for getting in and out of it. 

Man I really need to work on my drawing skills so I can give you a better idea of what's in my head.