Saturday, November 17, 2012

An old dress gets a new life



My 32 year old prom dress made its debut on stage, Thursday this week, as Olivia's wedding dress in the very modern interpretation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night presented by my son's high school.

My mom made this Vogue pattern in 1980 and I wore it to the prom. As you can see from the picture I accessorized it with royal blue (peep toe pumps, clutch, belt, bracelet, even the orchid!), remember it was the 80s! I don't have the pattern any more but I know it came with a short and long version.

The dress came with me when I moved to MD after college and I used it at least once for a Halloween party, I thought I made a pretty good Greek goddess ;-)


I thought the dress would be perfect for the production so I altered it to fit the actress. She is shorter than me and bustier so I shortened the bodice and added a panel on the left side where the dress fastens to give her more coverage. The skirt length worked since she wore her stage shoes that have a heel.

Doesn't she look stunning?


I took my mom to see the performance today and she was thrilled to see the dress on stage. She happily posed with the actress for a photo after the performance.


Some things are worth preserving, don't you think?

11 comments:

  1. Lisette--beautiful story--beautiful dress--beautiful young actress--and beautiful you for sharing it all with us! Thank you!

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  2. What a great story! Yay for preserving the dress!!!

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  3. Thank you for sharing this beautiful story (and dress) with us!

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  4. How special for you and your mom to see the dress in action again. Loved seeing your prom picture too.

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  5. How awesome -- what a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing the photos as well -- so fun!

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  6. What a wonderful sewing story, I'm sure your Mom was proud and she should be.

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  7. What a wonderful story about the dress! It has turned out very beautiful and I love how the necklace is integrated in the dress.

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  8. What a fabulous reuse! It is perfect for the production.

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  9. Thank you for sharing those wonderful photos, and your gorgeous dress! So generous of you to pass on such a treasure.

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