Since we have been living in La Paz in Southern Baja, we have been invited to many weddings, christenings, business openings, buirthday parties and general parties.
We have been invited to a formal wedding next Saturday.
I am making a floor length black linen dress ( lined with HOT pink). It is a classic sleeveless, scoop neck with a high waist. I have embellished it with African bead trim.
And I am making a bolero jacket in a wonderful green on black batik print.
Here’s the fabric:
I really should be making pajamas and a robe! The wedding will be in the cathedral on the zocalo ( square) at 4:00 p.m. The reception follows in a party salon(banquet hall). The problem is: It’s a Mexican wedding. There will be lots of liquor, a band with speakers as big as two refrigerators pumping out music that can be heard without amplification on Mars. We will all be seated at tables, and wait, and wait, and wait for the food. Some botanas ( snacks) will be served round, and the wine and Tequila replenished with a flourish and no regard for the bar bill.
It can be close to midnight before dinner is served. Then the party is just starting to come alive. We learned early on to take naps and have a snack before going to some Mexican homes for dinner. And also to arrive two hours late (which is often early for Mexicans). It is difficult at a wedding. Arriving late means you will miss the ceremony.
Once at a formal party thrown by the agency where my beloved works, I fell asleep sitting up at the dinner table! and there were fireworks!
Another time on a weeknight we attended a mixer for the Chamber of Commerce, outdoors in winter on the terrace at el Caimancito the former president’s mansion now a public facility. The Tequila and wine flowed. It was cold, we were hungry. But there were no botanas, no sign of food prep and lots of speeches. We kept asking the wait-staff and they said “five more minutes.” Well those were Mexican mnutes…which are not at all like a New York minute. At 10:00 p.m. a few stale botanas were passed around. At eleven we said “adios” to the formal party and went to Rancho Viejo a late night street barbecue place.
We found a table and waited for a friend to arrive. We ordered a beer and some carne asada tacos (tender filet mignon grilled and cubed and piled high on a tortilla) and dug in.
At midnight as we were getting ready to go, other people in formal dress started arriving. “Were you at Caimancito?” We asked. They said yes and that the food still had not been served!
Anyway, I will need this dress for other occassions, like a short trip to Mazatlan, or dinner with friends in Mexico City. And with my weight loss and total lack of anything to wear, I decided on a new semi formal dress. A girl has to be prepared.
Here is a detail shot of the African bead trim:
The trim is going on the neckline and at the seam line for the high waist.
Here is the finished bodice:
The dress is almost done, I basted it all together for a final fitting. it looks wonderful, so now I am completing the construction.
Here is the pattern ( dress only).
Now I have to use a FrankenPattern to make the bolero.
Shoes? Shoes? What about shoes?
I have lovely black sandals with gold coins on them, elegant and just the right touch. BUT! the beads on the African trim are silver?
What if I added a gold coin ( also African) and wore both a silver cuff and a beaten bronze cuff …one on each wrist? Funky, mixed metals?
I am thinking about that.
Oh! And I am going to make a purse to go along with the ensemble.
That will show up next!
Here is a beach picture:
3 Comments
DeeR
April 5, 2010Good Mornin' Susan,
Love your color combo for your new outfit in progress. I think that if you incorporate some gold into the embellishment and wear the
bracelets that you described your shoes will look fine.
Dee in FL
Melissa
April 5, 2010Aloha Susan,
Another amazing design! I am sure Lazy Girl Design has the perfect purse to go with your outfit 😉
Hope you and yours are fine after the terrible earthquake yesterday.
Melissa
Koloa, Kauai
Susan Fogel
April 5, 2010Thanks Dee and Melissa for writing!
The earthquake was in Tijuana 1,000 north of us. Never felt a thing!
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