A new dress for a very hot late summer wedding

A new dress for a very hot late summer wedding

• 9.11.2014

Wedding attire, hot weather, the end of the bright color season... a conflict! We went to an incredible wedding last weekend and I'm so glad I came up with this maxi dress to wear to it!

Earlier this year, I was brainstorming what to make myself to wear to wedding #1 of the summer. (My ideas here.) I came across this dress from Anthropologie and loved it, and actually searched for a fabric at all similar to this (really my main criteria were big, soft floral, in cotton or silk if I could find it) and came up with nothing after at least 3 trips to the fabric store. (So I ended up making something different for wedding #1, but I still love it, and I'll keep an eye out for the perfect floral print silk crepe!!)

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And in the meantime - I still love the loose, natural waist, drawstring halter shape of that lovely Anthro dress! So, when summer wedding #2 came up last weekend, and when the temperature was supposed to be above 90 despite it being September, I looked around for another fabric to use to make something similar!

My mom had a bunch of extra of this lovely rose-colored textured cotton, and I thought it was a nice late summer color. And I quickly found the perfect pattern for this shape: Simplicity 1355, which I actually still had sitting out since I just used it for this romper project. I knew it was simple to make, though I hadn't made this bodice style yet or the straight skirt... but they were both easier than the romper version. (I highly recommend if you want to make a maxi dress quickly!)

I made the gathered halter version (view C) but rather than have the split in the front of the neckline and the tie end there, I just did the split at the center back and did a wider self-fabric tie. I put a vertical dart in the center front where the slit would be, to give it some bust shaping and reduce bulk.

I lined it with self-fabric since I had so much yardage, and wasn't sure how much I wanted to change the color by lining it with a lighter cotton. It ended up a little fluffy since the fabric is textured, but I do like the opacity of the color. Plus, no lining peeking out to worry about.

And the back - the original Anthro dress has a cool crisscross strap and open back, but I stuck with the pattern to keep it simple, and I think this halter style is a little easier to wear (less to fuss with!).

It was so comfortable to wear and also pretty! Maxi dresses make the easiest outfits - even just coupled with a simple necklace and the sandals I wish I could wear every day (and practically do).

Sandals, crossbody bag: Old Navy. Necklace:? Dress: DIY!

The wedding was in the Pearl district near downtown Portland, and it was so fun to be in the center of the city for a private party. Plus, the food was ridiculously good and the party itself was really just super fun. All in all an awesome Saturday!