Effervescent Ensembles: Draping Cowl Back Evening Dress

Better images coming! The dress isn't fitting the shoulders of this dress form very well. 

Today's post is about an evening wear project created for a draping course I took this past fall. I created a 50's inspired evening dress in a honeydew shade, with layered mint and aqua chiffon on the skirt. The rest of this post outlines the process in creating this piece. 

This look is inspired by 50's pastels and interiors. I've always liked the period and its silhouette, and I've wanted to create a dress with a cowl and a full skirt for a long time. This project presented was the perfect opportunity to do so. 

Here are some of the potential designs I considered for this project:

And these are some of the flats created for the final considerations:

In the end, I went with the following look:

The Process

The images below are from the draping of the project. I wish I had more images of the mock up and the progress, but I didn't take any at the time. I would take some pictures now, but I took apart the muslin to make changes. 

After constructing the mock up, I changed the back bodice to have princess seams to tighten up the fit of the bodice. I also drafted a separate facing to prevent it from slipping out. 

Final Result

Here's the final result! There are a few changes I plan on making in the future. First and foremost, I need to press/steam a few areas better (particularly the hem). I also plan on shortening the sleeves and adding a cuff. 

Thanks for reading!