The third look in the show is the one that under-went the most transformations.  I started with one look, changed to a second (that I was never 100% happy with for this show) and completely re-did the entire look at the last minute.  Literally.  My last fitting for this look was the morning of the show.  I finished it up in the hotel room that we had for the event.  I’m now a proud member of the small group of women who have brought sewing machines to their hotel room.  Booyah!

My initial idea for this look was playing off of the lace idea.  It was to be a lace tunic dress–the very top would be lined, but the dress and skirt portion would be sheer.  Since I don’t send naked ladies down the runway, I made a khaki bustier to go underneath.  All that would be paired with ruffled full length leggings, the spats (in brocade) and a tattered lace ruff:

I somehow managed to not take a picture of this look on the dress form.  I think I deleted it accidentally.  Suffice to say, it was pretty much as you see in the sketch (minus the spats).

At the fitting, it…..well……it looked awful.  The top of the tunic was resting inside the top of the bustier, creating what can only be called a shelf above her bust.  It looked so awful that I didn’t even snap a picture of it on the model.  I had had an inkling that this look wasn’t going to work–and maybe I’d just fallen out of love with it by the time I had the fitting.  Maybe I could have made it work, but I was determined that it wasn’t going to.  Either way, I had brought back-up options.  The bustier was great on her, and I brought a pencil skirt (you saw it in my previous RAW show, actually) to pair with it.  The skirt needed many alterations, but was workable.  Everything looked great on her, but it all kind of looked…..the same color.  Her skin, the bustier, the skirt, the shoes….I wasn’t feeling it.

So, I put this look to the back of the queue and just kept moving forward with the others that I was 100% behind.  I figured something would come to me at some point.  Hopefully.  Or else I was screwed.

So, I completed the other looks, and I stressed and I thought and I changed my mind about a ba-zillion times.  Finally, I decided on doing a dress that was similar to my finale look.  I used a brown suiting with a metallic pinstripe for the top, and a cream lace with the soft moleskin under-lay for the skirt.  The underlay is shorter than the overskirt.  The back is grommeted and laces for a better fit (and a little more “staying up” power than a zipper can offer).  I bustled the back of the skirt a bit, too, for volume.  I couldn’t be happier with the result!

Walking the runway:

And a shot from the pre-show photo shoot:

The dress suffered some tearing during the show, so, sadly, it won’t be available for purchase.  However, I can make one to measure and in any color desired.  Contact me for details.

Clothing by me:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/TrappedInTimeDesigns

Hair & Make Up by:  Amanda Bravender
For inquiries : http://www.ahbweddingandevents.com

Model:  Elizabeth Austin  https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.austin.18

Photography (final image only):  Underexposed Photography  https://www.facebook.com/brittsmithphoto