Finale: Peacock Dress

This week's theme was a challenge for me from the beginning: 

PEACOCK

I couldn't think of anything with the actual bird I loved and would actually use.

So I ended up deciding not to use a a literal interpretation of an actual peacock bird, but instead designed a dress that's thoughtfully been inspired by peacocks in color palate, form, and texture.

The dress is comfortable, perfect for Spring and Summer, and ended up having a 1920's vibe I really love.

The color palate for the dress focuses on the sapphire body feathers of male peacocks, and the chartreuse detailing in the underskirt and metallic belt  pull the green from the peacock tail.

I chose to style my look with gold shoes and jewelry, pulling in a touch of the warmer golds in the tail feathers.

The silhouette of the dress was inspired by the peacock's actual form.

The skirt has a subtle high to low hem, which was a nod at the dragging tail of the birds.  I added the chartreuse underskirt to not only add to the color palate, but it reminded me of the hidden aspect of a peacock tail, where the green flashy feathers are only seen with the tail is raised.  The green underskirt is just a little flash of color at the hem. The underskirt is removable too!

The longer flutter sleeves were a soft feminine shape and design that seemed to move and flow like bird's wings.  

There's a lot of texture in this dress.

The bodice has a cross front design with the gathered, folded details over a simple fitted bodice base.

I added pin-tucks everywhere. Each pin-tuck is a small pleat you sew to add the slight raised texture around the skirt that slightly radiates from the center front and back.

The back of the bodice has a radiating pin-tuck design to mimic the shape of the raised, full peacock tail, but in a subtle way.

The fabric was only $1.00 per yard from a thrift store and $1.50 for the invisible zipper in the side seam, making the whole dress only $5.50!!

It's comfortable, easy to wear, and something you can dress up with heels, or go casual with flats and a cardigan.

It's been fun to participate with all the other talented ladies this season!

With Project Run and Play from December to SYTYC just finishing, I'm glad the crafting competitions have ended and it's been a blast. 

 I have been working on another PDF pattern for summer I'm just inches from releasing and I'm totally excited about.