These Features Make You Look Classy & Feminine for Everyday Style

Ladies,

There are certain features that are consistent classy and feminine ways to dress.

You can always look for these 5 features to ensure you look particularly nice:

• Full coverage of under garments (bras are a particular issue)
• Non see-through fabric/fully lined to be opaque
• Long enough to sit and move without flashing anything
• Fabric that ages well (doesn’t pill easily)
• Styles that don’t make you look naked in your clothing (too much skin exposed through cut outs, open backs, plunging necklines, etc.)

Yes, the best clothes have these same principles and still have a vast array of variety and styles.

I see these designs in all price points, including sewing patterns. But the fact is, they are not necessarily the most popular styles because they’re not in flux like trends. They are just basic styles that look good no matter the era because they are not about shock value other than making you look shockingly put together. I will say, this is probably the most shocking thing you can do today is look modest and classy.

I am always on the hunt for these classy gems of dresses but because I do not always find them, I began sewing them. However, even finding sewing patterns that meet these criteria has been a challenge. But this is one such gem I found. I purchased this pattern years before I encountered this Oscar de le Renta dress. I was drawn to this sewing pattern for all of the same reasons I admired the designer dress when I saw it: I loved the shape and height of the neckline, the width and placement of the straps, and the full midi length skirt.

I fully intended on widening the straps of the pattern, which is the same strap look on the designer dress. Even if they did not do it for this reason, my strap re-design and placement was based on hiding bra straps.

Simplicity 9917 Sewing Pattern

I love how elegant this style looks for a strappy warm weather dress, and I knew I would get a lot of wear out of it in a breathable fabric.

My “Designer Dress” Fabric

Undoubtedly, the designer dress has a high-quality fabric, what looks to be a smooth sheen cotton, like a cotton sateen perhaps. I chose a different type of cotton, a matte, sturdy cotton from Hobby Lobby on sale for under $5 per yard. I was not attempting to copy the designer dress, so my floral dress is a busier rose print than the larger and more spread apart floral motif on the designer dress. I like both looks and I can always make different renditions of this dress.

Dress Features

The dress I sewed and the Oscar dress have the same bodice shape, the same strap shape and placement, and the same midi length, although I did mine a bit longer to a tea length. Both have a wide hem facing, which gives a quality look and structure to the bottom of the dress. Both have invisible zippers down the back. The Oscar dress has bows that sit at the base of the straps on the back of the bodice. I did not design bows for my dress since I preferred to keep my already feminine rose print dress a bit sleeker without added bows. But I think bows can be a really beautiful feature.

Intentional Style & Value of Our Items No Matter Price

This Oscar de la Renta dress retailed for over $2,000. My dress came in at under $40; this is including the sewing pattern, thread, zipper, and fabric. But there is a cost in what I produced as well. It took me years to learn how to thoroughly and properly sew a dress like this. Every time I sew a dress, I spend hours upon hours washing and ironing fabric, laying fabric just so, cutting it carefully, pressing seams, and sewing French seams, which locks in the edge of the fabric to be fully enclosed so it will not fray. Not to mention tailoring the dress to fit as I go. It takes tedious attention to detail and many hours to do things just right; it is no wonder designer dresses sell for thousands. If I made this dress to sell, it would have to be thousands to pay me fairly for my work. Sewing has made me realize just how valuable goods are, especially when made well. We tend to treat clothing with a flippancy that women in other eras could not afford to do. It was only recently in history that premade clothing was so affordable. Even if we are buying premade and at a lower price, we can be intentional about it. We can be intentional about the styles we wear, that they have features that look nicer such as things that fully cover underwear, things that are not see-through, things that fit properly. We can be intentional about how we launder things and enjoy taking care of them in thankfulness to God that we have such nice things. We can be intentional owning less items that we love and help us look our best, rather than having a ton of items that we don’t love and don’t make us look our best.

Wear Your Pretty Dresses Daily

If we sew something or buy something, we should wear it and not just save it for a “special occasion”. Your day is a special occasion. Your husband is a special occasion. Your children are a special occasion. You are making their day special the more you do special things. It is in the action of making something special that it becomes special, not just a holiday or tradition we all partake in. We are able to be a blessing in this way.