first draping

I'm sure you're all curious about what I've been doing with this secret bridal fabric. Unfortunately I have not had a lot of time to work on it, but I wanted to give you a couple of shots. Please ignore the mess and the hot pink bra on the dress form (my form has a very small bust so I need to enhance it with a padded bra). This first shot just shows the general shape of the dress. It will be fitted at the bust (and possibly through the waist) and then have an A-line skirt in the front and a modest train in the back. Here I'm playing with the idea of using long darts in the front rather than princess seams (i.e., making the front out of one piece instead of 3). You can see the pinching that happens at the waist - this is the difficult part of designing for a plus-size figure. The trick is to show off the waist while minimizing the hips (and sometimes the bust).




This shot shows one option for the top of the dress. Ruching draws attention to the waist, while de-emphasizing the hips if done correctly. It can also be used to enhance the bust. If I go along this route, then the bodice will be heavily lined and boned to give the perfect hourglass figure. I would probably not add any fullness to the skirt (i.e., no crinoline).

The other option I'm considering is having the ruching along the bust only. In this case, I would create a fitted underbodice to cinch in the waist and provide structure for the bustline. I would also create a fuller skirt (with crinoline and perhaps pickups) to draw attention away from the hips.

Both options would end in a beautiful dress, but I think the first would be more simple (in terms of style, not difficulty). That makes me want to do the second one (I love a challenge). Either way, I want to do a lace up back and godet train, possibly in red. What do you think?