Dresses

Wanna hear a story? When I joined the local choir, I was given an old pattern and a swatch of fabric. The pattern is out of print; that is how old it is. But to match the rest of the ladies in the choir, I needed to comply and make the dress. In the process, I heard many complaints from the veteran members of the choir about their strong distaste for the dress. It was frequently called "the trash bag" and "the black shroud of death." The pattern was hideous and unflattering, and the fabric was unforgiving, stiff, and baggy.

My mom, a professional-grade seamstress (she made my wedding dress), sewed the dress to my exact measurements. We hoped that perhaps mine might turn out better than the others. It didn't:
So, I embarked on a journey to promote the change that I observed (almost) everyone wanted. About a year ago, I printed a few copies of a petition, and nervously and anonymously sent it around the choir during rehearsal. The first week, only about half the women signed; the other half were afraid of rocking the boat. Several men also signed the petition. The following week, we gained a few more signatures as the women got braver. My friends and I decided that we had enough of a majority to press forward. The choir's Executive Committee discussed the petition and allowed a "Dress Committee" to be formed. I was invited to be on the Dress Committee; we met several times and spent several hours determining which styles of dress would flatter most people, would be comfortable, and would be acceptable to most of the women. We ordered several dresses to try on, we took lots of pictures, and a slideshow was shown to the Executive Committee. We were given the green light to move forward; we chose several styles and held a fashion show for the women to view and touch the options. The women voted, and a huge majority voted on this dress:

I am fond of the two-piece idea because: how often does a woman wear the same size on top as on bottom? My friend and fellow Dress Committee member Kami is shaped exactly opposite from me, so we agreed on this matter. The entire Dress Committee also agreed on the 3/4 length sleeves because they cover the parts of our arms that might make us self-conscious; but they also won't get in the way of holding the music. I don't love velvet, and I don't love having two options for necklines (cowl and boat); but they are still more flattering than the old dress. I adore the two-layer skirt and the sparklies; I would definitely wear it for occasions other than choir concerts. I don't love that we can't wash the skirt, but is probably okay as long as I don't hold babies while I wear it. I do love that I can wash the shirt, which does tend to get sweaty under the hot lights.

Thank you for letting me share this story; I never got credit for the change anywhere else.