Fashion Sewing on A Budget ... and the Walk-Away Dress!

I was flipping through some of my old sewing books a while back, looking for something (I can't even remember what) and was arrested by this image, which of course is the famous Walk-Away Dress:



If you can't read the caption, it is:

Even a beginner can make a dress like this one successfully, from two old dresses. This pattern is smart, adaptable, and easy to make since it only has a few pieces.

The book was Fashion Sewing on a Budget, and I have to say it's one of the more helpful of the ancient titles that I've accumulated. I think because it takes a "learning by doing" approach, which is the learning style I've always favored. (You make more mistakes, but you learn more from them!)

The online copies I've linked to above, on Amazon, are fairly pricey but my copy is marked "$1-" on the flyleaf and I'm sure I've seen this many a time in thrift stores and used book sales. Keep an eye out in those places, if you want it.

I still haven't made the Walk-Away dress, myself. I keep reading other people's reviews and can't decide whether to try it, and, if so, in what fabric ... and, of course, where to put the pockets!

Miscellanea

A few things I wanted to post about, but haven't had time to work up into full-fledged posts:

Chez Cemetarian has the Butterick "Walk-Away" dress listed right now! It's B32, but even if that's not your size, click on the image above and go read up on the info she's tracked down about it.

This article from the LA Times talks about the rise in popularity of the dress. (Registration required; try bugmenot.com if you're not registered.) Best stat? "Market research firm NPD Group ... recently reported that sales of dresses soared to $5 billion in the 12 months that ended April 30. Dress sales were up 30%, while sales for all women's apparel rose just 5%." Not that I'm taking any of the credit, mind you. (Thanks to Stacy for the link!)

I blogged about what I'm reading for the new site Writers Read -- my entry is here.

And I don't usually post email folks send me (unless they ask me to), but lately I've been hearing from more and more men that they read this blog. They always say this sheepishly, as if they are the ONLY GUY IN THE WORLD to ever hit this URL. So, because I don't want them to feel alone, here's a recent email I received (posted with permission) from Joshua Ferguson:

Okay, so I’ll make it clear that I don’t really care about fashion.

First I’m a guy and as such I prefer function to fashion. I like cords, cargo pants and clothes that bring out the green/blue of my eyes and I prefer them all at the same time. That’s pretty much as deep as I go. If I can’t wear it with Vans shoes (unless in a formal setting) then it doesn’t need to be worn unless it has a specific function (read: hiking boots, gortex, et cetera).

Anyways, I was helping the girlfriend look for a dress to wear to her upcoming cosmetology graduation (something in a retro black/white polka-dot 50s style) that we could actually afford. I ran a Google Boolean search for [cute “black and white” “polka dot” god damn dress] and voila somehow I hit your site and landed squarely in the archives of October 2006 looking at a Chess Dress from way back when. It was awesome.

Awesome enough for me to read the description which was amusing enough for me to read more of the site. Finally I bookmarked it and have found myself reading about patterns and eyelets and whathaveyou and yet I don’t feel the need to renounce my manhood.

Truth be told I grew up around this stuff because my grandmother was a seamstress who worked for Chic Lingerie in Los Angeles but still. I find your site to be well written, fun and informative even if I have no intention of ever sewing another stitch in my life (it’s just not cost-effective to design my own clothes I reckon).

So, with all that said I end with a simple thank you. I have been amused and my scowl was turned upside down for the time being.

Cheers and keep it up as you would regardless of this email.

I have to say I enjoy the emails from people who say "I hate dresses, but I like your site," because that lets me know I'm not just preaching to the choir (note to choir: I love you guys, too). It's the same thing as when people come up to me and say "I thought a talk by a dictionary editor would be SO BORING, but I really enjoyed listening to you!" Hearts and minds, people, hearts and minds. Someday this will be a big ol' dictionary-usin', dress-wearin' world, and I can retire, my work done.