Adventures in Dressmaking::Pleated Skirt and Ruffle Tank

My husband has a birthday coming up, a big one in fact-The big 3-0! My husband has been traveling a lot for work lately, so he wanted to do something low key, yet I still wanted to dress up. I thought this outfit was the perfect compromise! (As well as a compromise to our budget!)

I had the Anna Maria Horner Study Hall Skirt pattern in my stash and really wanted to give it another go. I wanted to make it less juvenile and more dressy. I thought that doing something monochromatic but playing on textures would do just that. For the main skirt I used a black Kona cotton and a satin for the pleats. I think I'll get a lot of use out of this skirt. The only negative I have against the pattern is that it was a tad big. I even made the smallest size but it still feels a bit too loose...in the way that it might just spin all the way around while I'm walking.

*images from Clairelafaye

For the top, I needed something super fast. I was inspired by these tanks in this etsy shop by designer Clairelafaye. They are so girly and fun. In the end, I chose to just cinch up some chiffon and sorta snake it around the neckline, giving it a bit of an asymmetric look. I hand stitched the chiffon onto an $8 tank top (even less if you have a Target coupon) from Target right on the dress form-so simple!

Go check out what Suzannah has been up to this week at Adventures in Dressmaking!