Dress Flip Fail

 A couple years ago I made this 1920s-style dress:

In the halls of Costume College 2018.

It is a version of the famous 1-hour dress, but it was draped instead, and the side detail was appliqued instead of inset. The beaded detail on the collar was my first attempt at anything of the sort and was meant to evoke Egyptian jewelry.  

There was beading on the seam of the side appliques as well, in an attempt to add some depth and grace to the outfit--unfortunately, they are so subtle as to be invisible.  I had added a tuck at the top of the applique to add some shaping.  It was imperfect, but with a sash it was about as flattering as a 1920s silhouette ever is on me.

Detail of the side applique, bodice tuck, & nearly-invisible beading.

In any case, it was fine for the event, but even then I was unhappy with my choice of fabric: the lighter blue was a repurposed sheet & the darker sections were a very stiff cotton.  It certainly didn't flow from the hips or drape properly at the shoulders.  To top it off, after I washed it, the beading started to come apart.  

I determined to revamp it into something better.   

My first thought was to remove the beading, add a yoke & detailing similar to this at the top of the applique.

 

As soon as I started to remove the collar beading, I found this: 

 

What I had thought was natural citrine had been dyed, and it had stained the collar.   The collar piece would definitely have to be covered or cut out.  Unfortunately, adding the detail to the top of the applique wasn't going to work: the applique was set at my natural waistline, not at the 1920s dropped waist.  Any added detailing would be absurdly high under my arms.  It was also too short and the hem would have to be let out--a minor matter, all things considered.

I removed the detail on the sleeves, the appliques on the sides, & the tuck at the waist.  Unfortunately, every single one of the stitches remained imprinted on the light blue fabric. :( I thought I would add some pintucks to the bodice to take out the extra width & give it the proper shape like this:

 

 

Unfortunately, this still left the issue of the marks that had been left by the applique as well as the staining on the collar.  So, I briefly thought about doing something like this, and reshaping it into a pinafore:

 

And then I thought I would add embroidery like this around the neckline. . . or the waist. . . or something to distract from the marks on the sides and the wear-marks visible in the center of the panel.

It occurred to me that I really just hated the fabric.  It was a bad color for me, it was visibly worn and in poor repair, and all the re-shaping and added embroidery in the world would be the sewing equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig.  

After 3 days of brainstorming and agonizing about how to salvage this dress, I realized that it just wasn't worth it.  I am letting it go.  I am starting from scratch with new material that has the proper drape and a more flattering color.  I am at peace with this.  Mostly.  It still feels somehow, just a little bit, like defeat. 

Anyway, on to the next!