Sophia Brown

So, I went a little bit overboard with the photos. What can I say? This dress makes me feel like a sassy movie star! Especially when I throw on a pair of sunglasses. It fits like a glove without being overly tight. It’s sexy without being overly revealing. It hugs my curves in all the right places. I don’t think I have a bad thing to say about this pattern, which is the Sophia dress from By Hand London, if you were wondering.

This isn’t a dress you throw on for any occasion. It’s not really office wear (at least, not my office), so even though I finished this dress about a year ago (maybe more…) I have only worn it twice. Once out to a fancy dinner in Washington, DC, and once for a funeral. It’s definitely a special occasion dress, or fancy date night dress. I think if you made it out of a more casual fabric, it would be a more flexible wardrobe piece.

I have no clue what this fabric is. It’s some kind of synthetic (probably polyester) non-woven stretch fabric that I purchased at the Stoffenspektakel (seasonal fabric market) in 2015. It’s kind of spongy, but not as spongy as scuba. It doesn’t press very well, so it was a little bit difficult to work with. It also means the darts aren’t as crisp as I would have liked, but I’m okay with it. I lined it with a leopard print satin to add to the sexiness factor.

I love the interesting Y-shaped darts on the bodice and skirt. It is such a unique and flattering detail. Just make sure to match your seams really well! I was so nervous about putting in the invisible zipper that I took about half a year to finally put it in. I did it before I left for Washington DC last year around this time so I’d have something fancy to wear if we went out. And I’m so glad I did and got a chance to wear it out on Halloween. I met up with Mr. Livana there (he was there for work) and then we met up with a couple of friends from Canada for a great holiday. On Halloween (which is also their wedding anniversary), we went out for an amazing tapas-style dinner, then out to a haunted house, and finished the night with at a whisky bar where they had thousands of different whiskeys.  It was quite an evening!