PPR Challenge #2 – Kat’s Design

Challenge – A Night at the Opera
Challenge – Create a dress that is classic and elegant yet still head-turning that a socialite could wear to the opera.

Just like the designers on the show I was in a bit of a time crunch on this challenge, due to construction I had to move out of my house for a couple of days and pack everything in my craft room away. Because of that, I think this dress turning out a little simpler than what I might have if I had had more than one afternoon to work on it.

That said, I do like the finished dress and think it has the class and elegance the challenge called for. In my mind, the person wearing this dress to the opera gala is perhaps a younger socialite, someone who hasn’t necessarily got all the jewels yet, but still wants to look like she’s dripping in them. It has a lot of bling, but the bling is kept pretty simple and having it around the neck removes the need of a necklace.

I think there is a sex appeal to the dress, but it is not in the least bit crass. While it is basically a sheath, darts at the bust line that follow along to the side just above the hips give the top of it some shaping. The bottom of the dress has a slight train to one side, nothing too crazy, just enough for a little drama.

Because of the stretchiness of the fabric I used, I chose to hand sew the whole thing (hey, they wanted couture, right?!). My accessories, of course, are from the Neiman Marcus accessory wall and still with that whole dripping in jewels idea.

I don’t think this dress would put me in the bottom at all this week, but I’m afraid the simpleness of it might keep my somewhere in the middle. Though a lot of the gowns shown this week were simpler designs with just a little something extra added, so who knows.