Modes Royale Crepe Cocktal Dress

One bodice, many different looks.

It all started with this 1953 Modes Royal dress.

In 2008 I attend my very first doll convention "The Girls from Dream City".  I decided to make a dress for the auction.

I was thrilled to receive an Oona doll for making an outfit.

Ten years later, and I am finally getting around to making more dresses and the pattern.

Of course I couldn't stop at making just a white dress.

I love my new PS Zita!

The ladies look lovely together. 

I loved the bodice of this dress so much, that I make chiffon and tulle versions of it.

I used scraps of the sequined fabric from my last project.

This version is my favorite. 

I also used the leftover fabric and lace from the previous project to make these rose taffeta dresses.  Violet's dress has a full circle skirt, and Gene's dress has a half circle skirt.

I love this color on both of these dolls.

Just in time for summer, I used the bodice to make some adorable gingham sundresses.

Pattern Coming Soon!

Modes Royale Cocktail Dress with Chiffon Bodice

This trio of dresses was inspired by a Modes Royale 1956-1957 Fall/Winter design.

 

I love the description of this dress-  "Scooped and contoured is the direction of this skirt planned to arch out at sides and glide at back."

View A is made out of black casa satin. I love this satin because it is not too shiny or flimsy.  It would also look beautiful in a print.

The sash and straps are tied slightly different than they are in the Modes Royal picture.  I will add pictures of the sash tied like the original picture at a future time.

Madra looks stunning in her new "Hutton" wig.

Originally I was only going to make the dress just like I saw it in the picture. 

But then I remembered the beautiful embroidered chiffon fabrics that I had bought a long time ago in Seattle.  So I created a View B.

 

View B has a full skirt and gives the dress another great look.

My two JAMIEshow Oonas are my models

 

The black chiffon is silk.  I prefer silk chiffon over polyester because it drapes better.

I used polyester chiffon for this dress though because my white silk chiffon is more of a cream than a true white.

 Then I had to try the design in lace.

 

Just when I thought I was done, I started wondering what the design would look like as a sheath. 

 

 

View C was made from embroidered chiffon.

 

 

 

But wait!!  That is not all!  I think I want to make a View D now.  It will be made out of a cotton print.  I will add the photos and instructions after I make it.

To purchase this pattern click here.

Modes Royale Inspired Four Piece Cocktail Ensemble

I have been planning on making this outfit since 2008 when I discovered the Modes Royale patterns.  Of course other projects kept jumping in front of this one, and another designer made this before me, but I still was obsessed with making this design myself.

I really like the idea of the lace sheath under an overdress or redingote.  I started thinking about other possibilities and I ended up adding a sash, and a straight skirt to create four different outfit options.

I wanted to make this outfit for last year's "Every Day a Holiday" convention, but I didn't like my first attempts.

I originally designed the redingote with a full gathered skirt.  I like the way it looks with the straight skirt under it, but I hated the way it looked over the lace sheath.  I will be selling this outfit as a 2-piece cocktail dress.

This is my original lace sheath, I loved how it turned out with this lace, but I felt like the pink underlining didn't show through enough.  I ended up selling the sheath and sash as an outfit without the redingote and skirt.

I decided to start over on the redingote.  After really inspecting the original picture I realized that the skirt is not gathered at the hips.  It is more of a flared skirt.  Why had I missed that detail the first time around?

Here is my 7th attempt.  It took a lot of tries to get the skirt to look the way I wanted it to.

I changed the lace on the sheath, and I like the way the pink underlining shows more.

I think the sheath looks beautiful with the matching sash.

I added the straight black skirt to be worn under the redingote.  This is my favorite look!  I think it is so elegant.

 As an afterthought, I realized that the skirt could be worn over the sheath for another look.

Here are all four pieces combined into two great outfits.

To purchase this pattern click here.