Vogue 1241, A Copycat

I have this habit. 

Of "window shopping" online.

I love everything.

I cannot buy everything. 

So I save photos of things that I think are spectacular.

And then I go back and look at them and drool. It's my own personal pinterest.

This week I went back to look at my awesome clothes folder, and look what I found from June 2010:

Adrianna Papell Ruched Cotton Sheath Dress ($118)

I fell in love with the pleating at the neckline, the split neck, and the ruching at the sides. The print is pretty fabulous too. I can't find this dress online anymore, but here's a similar style. 

Then I came across this picture that I saved in April 2011:

Betsey Johnson Leaf Crepe ($178)

What I loved about this dress was the print, the combo of black and grey and royal blue. And again the ruching at the side fabulous.

So I saved these photos ages ago. And forgot about them in my conscious mind. 

In July 2011 I bought Vogue 1241, loving the split neck, the pleating at the neckline, and the ruching at the sides. Are you seeing a theme here?

Line art for Vogue 1241

And also in July I bought this fabric especially for V1241.

Printed Peachskin Fabric, from Fabric.com

And together, they made this:

Funny that Adrianna Papell (my inspiration dress) and Kay Unger (the designer of this pattern) make such a similar dress. And that I found a print so similar to Betsey Johnson's crepe dress. And even funnier that I didn't remember that those two dresses were in my "repretoire"and effectively recreated the look.

So here is the dress on:

Front

Back

I added 3 inches to the skirt, added cap sleeves, put a button loop and button at the top of the split neck, and added a white lace modesty panel in the split neck. 

The reason for the button at the neckline is that without it the neck gaped horribly. And without the modesty panel, there was a whole lot of cleavage and bra-age. I think the reason for that is that I should have made an adjustment for a larger bust, and I didn't. Also, I think I messed up on matching the left and right pieces of the bodice, which means that the two pieces are farther spread apart than they should be. The combination means gape-age.

Regardless of my foibles, I really like this dress. It's a print (yay!), and it's got a flattering fit. I tried wearing it yesterday with grey hose (you know, for warmth), but I'm not convinced that's the best way to wear it. So perhaps this is not a cold weather dress, but come spring I've got a fun dress just waiting for me.

The shoes are Vince Camuto Momas, purchased at the Nordstrom rack last month. I have fallen in complete love with all of Vince Camuto's leather shoes (remember these?); the leather is buttery soft and smells like leather. So TC saw these, pointed them out to me, and well, yada yada yada, they are now mine.

These shoes have ruching on the heel. So charming!