Monday, June 25, 2012

We Interrupt This Dress...

I have a minor crisis. Blue Angels weekend is in 3 weeks and I need a new bathing suit. Yes, I went with the same group of people last year and wore my bikini with lots of margaritas and no shame, but I've been wearing that bikini for at least 3 years now! Here's a picture of the setup. You're in the water for several hours (see people in floats and standing) so there's no point in wearing a cute pareo or wrap. (See the Blue Angels I caught in the right corner?)

Okay, so I cruised PR some last night for the 2 patterns I have and started on 2 years ago, and there's no hope of turning them into one-pieces, which I've decided to go with. (Enough of the stretch marks, already!) But I remembered I bought the Kwik Sew Swim & Action Wear book - hooray! I didn't have that when I ruined the boy shorts, so I'm hopeful the elastic will work out this time. So I began my research for the best style. First I tried on all my old suits (I never throw them away) and salvaged what I liked best about each one. Here they are being menaced with scissors!

And here's what I ended up with - lots of pads, a couple of nylon padding bra cups, and some buckles....

And here's where I get stuck. The princess seamed one-piece is slimming, but you can't do anything interesting with it besides contrasting fabric, which I don't have.

Here's what I do have - bought off Fabric.com 2 years ago.

So here's the other option - the spaghetti strap style, which unfortunately has a high back. (That's my skinniest feature, so I was hoping to emphasize it.) But you can jazz it up with beads to take the attention off the hips!

So I'm torn - whatcha think? The suits that I bought that I like the most are halter style, which also brings attention up from the hips, but there's no option for a one-piece like that. Maybe I'll have to draft one...

And on a side note - do you get Boston Proper catalog? I get one once a year for some reason, and look what I saw:

I made that very dress, see? I totally should've done the straps like hers. (I bet nobody told HER that stripes made her hips look wide!)

And check this dress on sale:

That is so totally my current dress in progress!

Maybe I should draft a swimsuit like the catalog has....wait, I don't have any leopard-print.

5 comments:

Pam said...

I love your dress - and the plaid bathing suit!!

RobbieK said...

I have that Kwik Sew book and use it a lot. I think you should go with your blue/green wavy fabric and a tank suit. A great basic suit in a fun fabric. As I recall, the back comes down below bra level ....Maybe you could even find a solid to go with if you don't think it's fun enough.

sewistafashionista said...

I like the idea of purloining old swimsuits for the best bits. Could you just draft a pattern straight off of one of them? I think we have the same Kwik Sew book. I haven't made a swimsuit out of it yet. Looking forward to hearing what you think of the patterns.

Dr. Fun (AKA Sister) said...

Thanks Pammie! And Robbie, yes, the tank has a lower-cut back. I will take your suggestion and do that - start basic before getting fancy with princess seams and beads....when I haven't even successfully sewn elastic yet!

Dr. Fun (AKA Sister) said...

And Sewista - I can even get hooks for straps from my old suits! I'm tracing the tank now, so we'll see how it turns out. None of my old suits was totally perfect, so if I could combine a halter top with a one-piece, that would be ideal.