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Tuesday, September 18, 2007

A wedding dress.

Not THE wedding dress, but a dress for a wedding. That's what I'm referring to.

Mario and I went to the wedding of some friends last Friday night, and in typical fashion, I decided I wanted a new dress about 1 week before. Knowing I would never find anything to buy that 1. I liked 2. was modest enough and 3. was in my price range, I called my friend Stephanie for moral and logistical help in making it.

Like everything else, sewing is also a whole new ballgame here in the Republic of Argentina. First, there are no pattern books with hundreds of patterns that come in nice little envelopes in a variety of sizes so you just measure and cut.

I was referred to a magazine store downtown, where they had Burda pattern magazines. Burda patterns are terrible, but that being my only option, I found one that approximated a shirt that I liked, and figured I could wing it from there. Here is Stephanie showing the crazy SINGLE page that is to represent ALL pattern pieces from the ENTIRE magazine! We had to buy fine tissue paper to lay over it and cut out our pieces.

Next, we got out the necessary items - the sewing machine and DICTIONARY, because this is not vocabulary covered in my basic Spanish classes. You will also note that all of the instructions for the pattern were printed on one-half of one page. That is why Burda patterns are lame - they lack about 75% of the needed information!


The sewing process was quite an adventure, with lots of poor craftsmanship and made up quick-fixes, but the dress did get completed on time for the party, and I think I had the fanciest dress there.

Mario and I in the lobby. Sometimes I forget how tall my Mario is. I'm wearing like 4" heels, that makes me 6' and he STILL towers over me!
With the bride and groom.

Stephanie gets extra good-friend points for staying the night at my house to babysit Gabe while Mario and I went to Buenos Aires for the wedding. Thanks Steph!

10 comments:

Erika said...

ummm can I borrow that dress for Darren's office Christmas party... I love it. Good Job! Such talent.

Tammy said...

Your dress is amazing. Now that you are an expert at Argentine sewing, can I please pay to have a fabulous custom dress made? I will pay anything! Come on, lets think a cool one up, I don't even have to worry about the modesty thing, so you can get totally creative and live through me. pleeeze.

Jessica said...

I said to Ryan: Look at this dress. She made it.

He said: Of course it is. Adrianne is amazing. Everything she does it cute.

Now can you fed-ex it so I can have it in time for my cruise in 4 days? (Not that I would fit into your 3-months-after-having-a-baby size).

Celia Fae said...

I like it when you show us magic tricks.

Paige said...

WOW, I knew you were amazing, but that dress is extra amazing. And the burda pattern thing makes me want to cry it seems so hard. Perhaps next you can weave gold out of hay. I'm sure Caitlin will be thrilled you whipped up her couture gown from scratch!

Honestly, if I didn't like you so much I'd pick you as the one person in life I'd hate.

Anonymous said...

You look beautiful. And I am sure if there was a drunk man with two black eyes there he would have told you that.

Lorena said...

I wish I were Jessica and could borrow you as my best friend.

Mindy said...

adrianne-
perhaps you could become the fashion consultant and designer to the stars in buenos aires or here in america? i think you would be fabulous. the dress is stunning and modest. how the heck did you do that?

Linsey said...

Beautiful dress! Really, is there NOTHING you can't do!!??

Ashley said...

I so should have stuck it out in our childhood days and suffered through all those 4-H sewing classes. You seriously are amazing...I would like to add that your shoes are equally fabulous.