Today was a delightful day.  Clare and I had such a great time celebrating her birthday.  We bought her school uniform for high school, had lunch in the city, and went to the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition.  I don’t have enough superlatives for the exhibition.  The level of detail in the garments was mind-blowing.  And I still have no idea how he comes up with the garments he designs and makes!  Incredible – I recommend it highly.  Be warned if you are planning on taking kids – some garments are definitely not PG rated so you might want to steer your kids away from those ones – in room five in particular.  I really hope that I can schedule a return visit so that I can examine the garments again.  Amazing.  We finished off the day with pizza at home and a movie, Soul Surfer, which I highly recommend as well.  Anyway, back to the garments that I can produce!  No couture here, I’m afraid, but clothing that works well with my casual suburban lifestyle.  Today I wore my second Pattern Fantastique Celestial dress.

This was sewn at Sewjourn in December. The fabric is vintage John Kaldor that I had in stash. It has wonderful drape and was really easy to sew.

It’s also very easy and cool to wear. However, in this drapier fabric the sleeves wouldn’t stay turned up. I’m either going to have to tack them down in a few places to keep them turned as in these photos, or else just wear them unfolded. Unfolded actually works quite well in this softer fabric.

I sewed the size 12, the same as last time, and shortened the pattern maxi length by around 10cm or so. I just had enough fabric to squeeze out the dress. I included the pockets again too. Construction details are exactly the same as last time. I haven’t finished with this pattern either. I’d like to try the sleeveless version, and to try it in the above knee tunic length. Have I mentioned that it is very straightforward to make? Love it. It swished beautifully around my ankles today – I feel great wearing this dress.