The first time I saw the movie poster for 13 Going On 30, I thought, “ohmigod, I love that dress!!”
I went and saw that movie at a double feature of it and Mean Girls. Talk about tennybopper fashionable chick-flick heaven. My only disappointment was that the fabulous polka-dotted dress from the movie poster never put in an appearance on-screen.
Anyway, what I have created today is what you could call an homage to the polka-dot dress from the movie:
I used another of my favorite patterns, Simplicity 3775, with the cape sleeve from Simplicity 4076. This is the same combination which yielded the leopard print dress with the Ultrasuede collar.
The principal differences are:
- I didn’t use a contrast fabric on the neckband and
- I did use the cummerbund waistband on this dress, as opposed to the plain, shaped wide waistband.
I first used the cummerbund waistband on the all-wool jersey dress I made this past winter:
I’d initially been reluctant to use the cummerbund waistband, as I was afraid that it would add unnecessary and unbecoming bulk, but after seeing the results Slapdash Sewist had, I thought, “yes, that’s the ticket.” I pay attention to her pattern reviews and results, as she and I share fairly similar figure features and therefore I find her remarks on fitting issues pertinent and helpful in my own sewing adventures.
Instead of adding bulk, the ruched waistband actually creates a more curvaceous look.
This is one of those incredibly versatile patterns. You can use several waistline and sleeve variations, or, as Slapdash and I have done, integrate sleeves from other patterns, create contrast effects at the neck and waist, etc. Much like the New Look 6674 which I sewed yesterday, this is one of those patterns which for me, has basically proven infallible. It is absolutely one of my favorites, so much so that I have copied it in Tyvek as I intend to use it many times more than the tissue original would probably stand for.
My dotty new dress is by no means an exact replica of the movie dress, but it is definitely inspired by, and I like to think that it captures a similar note of sweet-and-sassy femininity.
I am about to try out a new-to-me pattern, Vogue V8685, View D (with minor sleeve modifications to get around that cap-sleeve problem that I have. The more I look at that pattern, the more I think that it could be a much closer silhouette match to the 13-Going-On-30 dress, and I may have another go at replicating/imitating that dress again sometime with 8685, if it turns out well.