The Little White Dress Goes to the Beach!

Notice how beautifully the bodice fits, and how trim I look, this is the real me! I have worked hard to get to this point.

White is the presence of  all color. I love white, and I love color.
When I wear white I feel peacefully alert. White clothing  is luxurious because it needs more care.
 White can be a disaster when it comes to crowded cafes and restaurants. I once had a double mocha, extra hot splashed on my white cashmere blazer.  Th owner of the cafe was mortified and offered to replace it. I jokingly said that the jacet cost $5,000, so it would probably be better just to give me free mochas for life. He said that at the rate I drank mochas, it would be cheaper for him to buy me a $5,000 jacket. 
We settled on a free lunch and the cafe owner would pay my dry cleaning bill.

 When the Pattern Review contest  called the Little White Dress(LWD) was announced, I decided to enter. I have had my eye on this Lutterloh dress for  months:

Don’t you love it? It has bodice shaping, a set -in waist that is attractive and slimming, and it is a pattern designed for knits. I have been sewing knits a lot lately.
 Most of the patterns I have used have been for wovens. It was nice to start out with a knit pattern. And it is a wonderful feeling to know that when I draft my pattern, cut it and sew it, the pieces will all fit together, and better yet, it will fit me perfectly.
The contest guidelines state that just as the Little Black Dress, is designed to go from day to evening, so must the contest entries in the LWD contest.
I have recently lost several inches ofrommy bust, waist and hips. since these patterns are based on my bust and hip measurements, I ws a little nervouse when I sewed the pieces together. That awful nagging voice of self doubt was telling me I had not lost those inches, and my dress would not fit.
Au Contrar little voice, the dress fits, and I feel great in it. And I have redoubled my efforts to stay on the straight an narrow and conmtinue to  shrink the bod.
Here I am in the dress without any accessories.

My sister-in-law was visitng and she used my iPad to take photos.  They are a little blurry, but you can see the dress.
See how beautifully the bodice fits? I was wearing one of my better and well-constructed bras.  For some reason I had decided to use a soft cup bra for some photos. Since the dress is a lovely, creamy soft Ponte de Roma knit, I though a bra designed to wear under t-shirts would work. what  occurred was that the girls became lazy and drooped below the lovely bodice cups. I did not notice this until we got home and looked at the photo. And we had some nice shots of me window shopping, and at the beach. We have spent days trying to get this right!
 Here I am walking on the beach wearing a silk animal print vest, sparkly belt and pink bag. The best shopping in La Paz is along the Malecon, and after shopping till I drop, I cross the street and treat my hot tired tootsies to a dip in the bay.
I had to include the photo with the standup paddler in the background.I live in a tropical paradise, and there are days like today when the sun is warm, the air is soft, and I have nothing pressing to do, that I wonder how I could ever leave.
Then there are days I’d be glad to toss the  house keys to the gardener and head north.

When we first arrived in La Paz and we were invited  to their home for dinner by  certain of our Mexican friends, we naively arrived a few minutes after the ppointed hour. Sometimes no one was home, other times the hosts were just setting up, and most of the time we were the first and only guests for hours.
 We quickly learned to arrive for an eight o’clock invitation at 10:00 p.m and to take a nap and have a snack before heading out. Dinner was often served well past midnight.
 Here I am channeling Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffanys,  greeting the morning still dressed up from the night before.

You can see the girls drooping down below the bodice cups. But  you have seen how beautifully the dress fits with the right bra…heed my warning, for this dress  wear a good supportive bra! the light was weird and gave me that bloated belly look that almost looks like a drop waist, just ignore it. I am.

Eight years ago, we built our current home. Our architects had their wedding here. The invitation said that the guest were invited to also wear white. It was the first time I had heard the term “White Wedding” and it did not mean that the bride was going to pretend to be a virgin and wear a white gown. It means that all of the guests should wear white as well Here I am in two versions of my White Beach Wedding Dress.
These are two more wrong bra photos. I won’t do that again!

 The dress is lovley, I have received compliments  from friemds and strangers, and I have plans to make it in red next week.
 Please leave a comment below and if you are a member of  Pattern Review, please take a moment and read my review, and make comments there as well. Here is the Link to my review: My Review

Hey YOU in the frozen north, follow this guy’s advice!