A white dress is a pretty scary thing to wear for a lot of us. But a white fitted dress? Well, that’s just raising the ante and many times…there really is no winner, unless it’s a wedding dress! But I went for it anyways and made myself one.

A Wardrobe Staple?

Is there a such thing as a classic white dress? I don’t know. It’s certainly not the “classic red dress” we all dream about, but for some reason, we’re more than happy to have that  vixen in our closet, even though it’ll only be worn less than a handful of times.

White, on the other hand is not something I see being worn often at all. In the summer? sure. But even then, it’s far and few in between because….well, let’s be honest: we all have those lumps and bumps we don’t want to show and white is the colour to bring those bad boys to life.

But what about in the winter? Can we wear it then? I mean, it is  after Labour Day and all…Ugh, see? There are already too many things to think about…Ah. Screw it. Who makes these rules anyways?

The Original Plan: A Summer Dress

If you look through my instagram, you’ll see I posted a preview of this dress back in the summer. I made it thinking it would be a great summer dress simply because it was white. But here’s the truth…

My cousin and I tried taking photos of this dress twice but I wasn’t wearing it well. It didn’t look flattering as far as I was concerned. On top of that, I had trimmed down the side seams so I couldn’t even alter it! Ew. Lesson learned…After tossing it aside, I stepped up my gym routine (because I wanted to, not because of the dress) and when I recently tried it on again, I was really happy with the it looked!

It dawned on me then that this fitted white dress might actually be a bit more suitable for the winter. See, the fabric is fairly thick and it has 3/4 length sleeves, which doesn’t really work for summer because I’d get hot, sweaty and uncomfortable in it. Fall is more browns and neutrals, so it wouldn’t fit there either. But winter?? Why not?! Not only will the dress be warm (ish), it will also stand out among the typical black at parties and events (and any other colour for that matter!). White also looks amazing against the snow. As my dear friend Humara put it, there is something so magical about wearing white when there is snow on the ground! Sigh….how dreamy!

Material and Under Things

Look, white is an awesome colour to wear, provided you’ve got the right material. If it’s too thin, everything is going to show and your outfit will look cheap. Invest in a thicker fabric because it’ll help hold it all in together. While white is bound to be a bit see through, the thicker the fabric, the less will show through.

I opted for a stretch knit fabric that had a bit of a design on it. As an afterthought, I realized it helps camouflage some of the smaller things you may want to hide. And on that note, it’s really important to wear the right under-things! You want to wear nude everything. And forget the lace and cute stuff, seamless is the grand saviour here! Although sometimes unavoidable, seeing any lines and detail from undergarments show through takes away from the elegance.

Construction

This dress took me 2.5hrs to make, including cutting. I have a sloper that I used to get the shape, so that removed any time spent thinking about sizing and drafting.

I put the back together first, starting with the invisible zipper and followed by creating a back slit. Then I attached the front and back together and added the arms last. I prefer this method as it almost guarantees that the zipper will go in properly the first time because I don’t have to fuss around with any extra fabric from the rest of the outfit.

After the dress was finished, I though looked nice, but plain. So made a belt using the buckle from this dress (because I knew I wasn’t going to wear it again).

Final Thoughts

White is not an easy colour to wear, especially if it’s a fitted white dress. But I’m happy now with the way it turned out. That is one of the perks of sewing: you can try and test out anything you want! Now that I’ve ventured off and tried this DIY out, I’m not afraid of wearing white anymore and will definitely give it another shot again!

What are your thoughts? Do you like to wear white? What about in the winter? Leave a comment below!


DIY Fitted White BodyCon Dress With Belt. DIY Fitted White BodyCon Dress With Belt. Medium shot from waist up.DIY Fitted White BodyCon Dress With Belt. Sharadha wearing black winter coat over top.DIY Fitted White BodyCon Dress With Belt.


Shoes: TopShop | Coat: Zara | Fabric: 1.5m, stretch knit – Fabricland
Photos: Dushan Tharmal


 

18 Comments

  1. Baa Goldfarb Reply

    My goodness you look fabulous! Your dress is beautiful on you, doesn’t look like you gave to worry about bulges, bumps or any other nonsense like some of us mere mortals. I like the subtle texture to the fabric too. Wonderful job and yes white in winter snow is gorgeous be it a dress, fitted slacks or jacket white is for any season you want to wear it

    • Sharadha Reply

      Trust me…even I had a moment of slight mortification…lol! Thank you so much for the lovely words!

  2. I love white, I would like to wear it a lot too, but I have such a hard time finding opaque fabric that isn’t horrible to wear. And so I stick to my white woolens and the occasional blouse in summer. But with your body you can wear anything, love it with the coat.

    • Sharadha Reply

      Hi Dalia! Thank you for the kind words 😀 Oooh white woolens? that sounds luxurious. Wouldn’t mind trying that out myself!

  3. I love this dress! The fabric you chose is perfect. I would like a fitted white dress, but I am haunted by the undergarment requirements! It could be worth it for a dress like this though that is a bit more dressed up.

    • Sharadha Reply

      Hi Emileigh! Thank you! Yes I totally understand…even for this dress I had to really think about what to wear underneath. I guess having those types of underthings are good to have in the wardrobe. a staple every girl needs to have maybe?

  4. Wow, that dress is just stunning! My fear of white comes from the almost-guarantee that I’ll spill something on myself or sit in something gross. I’ve got some a couple meters of cream wool and I have no idea what the practical use for it would be! Maybe I just need to say screw it and make it elegant like your dress

    • Sharadha Reply

      Thank you! yes – I totally agree that wearing white makes you very cautious of literally everything surrounding you. But I think you’re right, screw it! Make something awesome! 😀

  5. Love the texture of this fabric!
    I’m not so much afraid of wearing white as I am of SEWING white. I’m always scared I’m going to ruin the fabric somehow in the process

    • Sharadha Reply

      Hi Tasha! I can’t tell you how much fabric I’ve ruined and tossed over the last couple years ha! And I know the feeling of being afraid to sew something out of fear of ruining it whether it’s when cutting or sewing. BUT…if you don’t make something, then the fabric just sits there. Then what!? I say if you have it, just do it! 😀

  6. Stunning! You could only get such a perfect fit if you made it yourself 🙂 I love the fabric choice too – that slightly textured and slightly heavy hand of the fabric is just what you needed and it’s beautiful. I bet you’ve had lots of compliments on it already and will inspire lots of other women to consider sewing their own clothes which is wonderful 🙂

    • Sharadha Reply

      Hi Kathleen! Thank you for the awesome words! I really appreciate the encouragement … I’ve got a few girls saying they’ve asked Santa for a sewing machine now and it’s a really cool feeling!

  7. I love this dress, is this from a commercial pattern or did you create it yourself?

    • Sharadha Reply

      Hi Debbie! Thanks so much! This is a self drafted dress. I’ve created various slopers for things like a fitted dress, tank tops etc. So I used those to create this.

Write A Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.