7 Days of Holiday Dresses: Kelli's chic silk print dress

7 Days of Holiday Dresses: Kelli's chic silk print dress

• 11.19.2013

It's time for the second post in my holiday dress inspiration series, 7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses! It's purely coincidence that we have two Kelly/Kelli guests in a row... ;) Here's Kelli from True Bias with this beautiful silk creation from a Megan Nielsen pattern!

Hi, I'm Kelli from True Bias and I am so excited to get to share one of my favorite dresses with you today as we all dream up the amazing outfits we are going to make for the fast approaching holiday season.

When I think about the perfect party dress for the holiday season I immediately think of the show New Girl. Pretty much every thing that Zoey Deschanel's character plays in that show is the perfect blend of retro innocence with modern chic. In my mind that is what a holiday party outfit is all about. You want to look gorgeous, but still classy in a nostalgic kind of way. That is why I decided to show off this dress for Suzannah's holiday dress feature. I love that it is a classic style with some feminine romance. I can wear a bright fuchsia lipstick with it and feel totally modern and 1950's chic at the same time.

When I made this dress it was the first time that I had ever sewn with 100% silk fabric (and boy had I been missing out). I bought it at Vogue Fabrics in Evanston, IL for about $10 a yard. I love the turquoise/pink print and the small graphic nature of the pattern.

The base of the pattern is Megan Nielsen's Darling Ranges dress. I fell in love with the simple silhouette of this pattern and have made it multiple times. This time though I knew that I wanted it to be a little fancier. There were a few changes that I made to do this. First is the bow at the neck. The original pattern calls for single fold bias tape around the neckline. I made double fold bias tape and encased the entire neckline edge. Then I extended the bias tape for at least a foot at center front to make the ties. This is my favorite detail. I feel like it added the extra retro touch that I was looking for.

I also felt like buttons would be too busy and too casual for this dress. Instead, I added snaps to the bodice and top of the skirt. I sewed the bottom section of the skirt together from the hem to about 6 inches below the waistline. This way I could easily slip in and out of it from the top, but not have to worry about the possible wardrobe malfunction of a completely snap from dress.

I usually wear this dress with some bright lipstick, high heels, and a skinny belt and I feel pretty confident at any party.

Thanks so much Suzannah for having me! Can't wait to see all of the other amazing dresses featured during this series.

Thanks, Kelli! I love the flowy silk and bright colors! And YES, I, too think of Zooey's dresses on New Girl for holiday party looks!!

Readers, stay tuned for the rest of the holiday party dresses series this week and next!