Hi curvy sewists! Gillian here…I’m starting a new series today, all about what to wear for different occasions… except unlike all those magazine articles about how every woman looks great in a little black dress, I’m hoping to celebrate the diversity of ages, figures and tastes that make up the CSC community!
Picture this, if you will: elegant venue, fancy cocktails, food on sticks, men in suits, and you, wearing… what?
‘Tis the season for holiday parties with colleagues, friends or as someone’s plus one. You want to feel confident and maybe just a bit sassy or sexy – the best version of yourself!
Here are three looks that I think could be fabulous:
1. Retro Cutie
Look, sometimes a party just calls for a big twirly skirt, ok? My fellow editor Tanya swears by the Decades of Style E.S.P. dress, which she wrote about here. It’s got a classic 50’s feel, and works well in a variety of fabrics. Tanya says it’s quick and easy to sew, so you could whip one up last minute. How about a kitschy quilting cotton in a festive print, some bangles, and a big flower in your hair? Or maybe a silk cotton or double gauze in a solid colour for a more elegant feel, with a big statement necklace?
And if, like me, you are constantly cold, a ponte or sweater knit Jenna cardigan on top would be perfect. Sophie-Lee reviewed the pattern here, and it’s been popular in our monthly curvy sewing round-ups. I think version with gathering at the yoke is particularly flattering, and channels the same vintage vibe as the E.S.P. dress.
The E.S.P. dress goes up to 46″ bust, 40″ waist, and 49″ hip. The Jenna Cardi goes to a 48″ bust.
2. Casual Elegance
Do you prefer a little Lagenlook? Butterick 5655 is a lovely drapey dress with lots of hem volume. You could style it over the slim trousers included in the pattern, or pair it with leggings or tights. If you live in a cold climate like me, you’d want to extend the short sleeves longer or layer a sleeveless version over a knit top. The pattern works in stable knits or lightweight linen, so you’d have lots of options. I can picture it a metallic linen, given the whole thing twinkle and texture… in a solid jewel tone ponte… or in black bamboo jersey with lovely drape!
To add warmth and visual texture, I’d layer on something like the shrug or cowl from MIY collection in a loose sweater knit. The size range isn’t great, but the patterns look simple to size up.
Butterick 5655 goes up to size 24W. MIY Collection Cowl is one size, and the shrug goes to a 40″ bust.
3. Sassy Skirt and Top
Let’s start this outfit with the Snapdragon Pencil Skirt from Tenterhook Patterns. It’s designed specifically for plus-size women, with the option of a petal hem, asymmetrical hem, or a class pencil skirt shape that I’d be tempted to chop into a mini!
Maybe you make it in an attention-grabbing print or bold colour, and pair it with a solid jersey top, like the designer did here, or CSC member Andie did here! Andie’s looks great with her Bronte top – and if you like a little more skin, you could carve out the neckline into a lower curve like I did when I sewed the pattern as a dress.
Then again, how about a neutral skirt, and something attention-grabbing up top? I think a lace tee would be fabulous (fully lined or over a camisole) or sparkly sequins! Something like McCalls m6927 would be a good place to start for the top. You could even go for a crop top inspired by Ashley Nell Tipton’s recent Project Runway Collection!
Bronte goes up to a 49″ bust; Snapdragon runs to a 56″ hip; M6827 goes up to a 53″ bust with cup sizes pattern pieces up to DDD.
I’ve tried hard to picture women of all ages, figures, and senses of style as I wrote this post – in truth, I’m picturing the women from my family and particular individuals from our fabulous curvy community. I hope I’ve represented that diversity well!
Now, what would I wear to a holiday party? That’s easy – a sparkly shift dress I made recently, or a floral version of the same pattern that I just wore to a family wedding. With a long coatigan, of course, which have been my obsession this fall!
Do you have any holiday parties coming up? Which of these outfits would you choose? I’d love to hear about your ideal party outfit, or what you will actually be wearing to an event this season!
Gillian, thanks so much for including the MIY Collection Parkwood Cowl and Brightside Shrug, they’re 2 of my older patterns and am working on making my newer patterns available in a much bigger range of sizes. Love your outfit ideas, they make for a great blog post!
Aww Gillian, now I want a cute 50s inspired holiday print dress! In quilting cotton! With a machine Retrospektive cardi! And here I thought I was over such desires… ?
I love the cardigan too BUT I resist PDF patterns whenever possible. They take almost half a day to print off and put together and then cut out from the large put together pieces! Otherwise it is a lovely pattern and it is difficult to find a GOOD cardigan pattern!
You know, I actually prefer pdfs! I cut the edges of a stack of papers at once, then glue them together. I like being able to cut out my size without worrying that I’ll regret it later, because I always have the pdf to fall back on! To each their own though, right? I agree the world needs more cardigan patterns – and more nice sweater knits would be nice, too! 😉
I have one, just one: Sew Chic’s Fifth Avenue dress. I zip it up and I am invincible. Sizing goes up to 18 (45/38/48); bodice is fitted, but has enough seams and parts for cup alteration possible from the B it is now. I am box shaped: I continued the hip drape around to the back to disguise my lack of waist. http://www.sewchicpatterns.com/fifth.html
What a killer dress! I’ve never seen that pattern before, but it’s so elegant. No wonder you feel “invincible”! I’ve never made something that formal, but I’d love to try one day.
I just went to our holiday party last weekend. I wore my Simplicity 1459 in the red/silver metallic fabric. Accessorized with all silver sparklies – belt, evening bag & shoes and a petticoat! It was so much fun. I had somebody ask if it was from Anthropology! Never, ever in a million years has that happened to me. Of course – there were no pictures, because I was working. But the dress can be found here: http://gmariesews.blogspot.com/2015/02/another-holiday-dress-fail.html
That dress is gorgeous! And with a petticoat, it must have been so fun to wear! I’m glad your coworkers appreciated your excellent sewing and styling!
The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear ‘elegant venue, fancy cocktails and men in suits’ is: silk jacket, lace cocktail dress, killer heels! Life is too short. When you get an opportunity to dress up, take it!
I need a pair of killer heels. Preferably that I can walk in – at least across a room! Never did learn that skill. 😉 I’m loving the idea of a stretch lace dress, too – do you need to treat the seams any differently, or would you just sew a layer of jersey underneath as an underlining?
Have fun at your Christmas party – just think of yourself and very prepared with the right dress for the right party!
You’ve got mail!
Not that my office parties call for fancy gear, but I do like to add a bit of sparkle for a holiday party. I’m working on a wear-it-4-ways drapey cardigan from some lovely sweater knit I bought at JoAnn, of all places. It’s alternating stripes of lightweight, open-knit ivory and wide solid stripes of silver lame (that’s la-may). I just love white and silver for a winter-themed party. I may wear a beige-metallic sequin top under it, or, if there’s time, make a top to go under it from a white and silver cross-weave cotton. Sparkle plenty is my holiday motto!
That cardigan sounds gorgeous! Drapey garments are so nice in a fabric with sparkle – lots of movement and razzle dazzle, and none of the uh-oh-that-highlighted-my-bumps issue that come with something tight and shiny! 😉
It turned out pretty well–a bit of a cutting accident, but I managed to fix it. And I definitely got a lot of compliments on the cardigan at the holiday happy hour (the words “angel” and “snow princess” were thrown around–and who doesn’t love that?).
Fun post! We sometimes forget that one frivolous and fabulous top in our wardrobe of classic good clothes really makes a difference. I have no parties to attend this year so I just made a stretch velvet top to wear over jeans for this year! I a am 63! Here you go! One frivolous and fabulous top LOL.
You are convincing me I really need to sew with stretch velvet! Did you have any issues working with it? That colour is fab on you!
No trouble at all. It behaved very very well. It is sleeveless because i ran out of fabric! I had to use the selvedge as the neckline!
WOW…What a great post. I usually pull something out of my closet and wear with my black velvet perennial pants (KAYLA kENNINGTON pattern), which has an elastic waist and 5″ of ease (dynamite pant-think I have 20 pairs from silk to flannel) and then a TNT top pattern (too any to mention)….BUT after reading this post I think I need a cute dress….yes your SPARKLY SHIFT PATTERN yes, I have to say I’d make in black crepe (sleeveless) with black ruffly sleeve cap….and to stay warm I’d add legging with a cute short suede black boot. But I’m 67 what can I tell ya! Again thanks for the great post- Laura, MzSweetpeaStudio.com
I’m so glad you enjoyed this post! I had fun writing it, and imagining al the pretty things we could all wear! 😉 Your description of a black shift dress with ruffley cap sleeves sounds SO CUTE – I want one too!