Princess Silhouette Second Dress Fitting

 Today I had my second fitting (or first fitting in top fabric) for Princess Silhouette. I was anxious about this fitting because I did the toile fitting on my own so my tutor hadn't seen this dress at all. Luckily it went very well and I am pleased with the results. Again I would like to apologize for the horrible fabric that looks even worse in the pictures!

Front View Before Alterations

Back View Before Alterations

There were only a few easy adjustments to fit that needed to happen on this dress. By taking it in at the shoulder seam the dress sat a bit better and a little tighter. The neck-line, that I was worried was going to be too low, actually needed to be taken down. This wasn't according to the design but to where the corset neck-line was underneath. Having the dress sit high above the corset didn't look right, but by moving it down and building up the neck-line with decoration both the design and the fit will be much better.

Front neck line with alterations

Back with Alterations

A few other small alterations were made to the front like taking in the dart at the neck a little more and adjusting the width of the straps. The sleeves were more comfortable this time and the right length. I used the same sleeve from the first fitting but the cotton organdie was looking a bit rough, so I added a little strip to sit in with the sleeve to make it stronger. The strip was pleated and need to be moved around so that the pleats sat more in the front. Last but not least, the entire bodice needed to be backed in stayflex. The best and most improving alteration was taking up the skirt. It makes a huge difference to have the skirt at the right length.

Dress After Alterations

Evaluation:
 I feel like this fitting was a big success. I was happy to see everything come together, like it did on the other dress. But I was also happy that it only had minor fit alterations, since I did the toile fitting on my own. I really tried in this fitting to figure out what alterations needed to be done on my own; checking with my tutor but taking the lead. Doing this has given me more confidence going into fittings, which will be key when working outside of university. I think this fitting has also showed me how important the right fabric selection is. I don't think this fabric looks particularly nice, and not just in photographs! But I do think it works because it is so shiny and this costume does really need to have a lot of depth. I could have used a plain black cotton but I wanted to start with a strong base and build on that and I think this fabric fills that need. This was a very positive and encouraging second fitting.