Dress-less

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Top: Forcast

Skirt: DIY

Shoes: Mel (similar here)

Belt: I Will Fly

You’d be forgiven for thinking this was a dress, but it’s actually a skirt and top combined. The two blacks are just slightly different (different fabrics: The top is a stretchy jersey, the skirt a suiting fabric) so to soften the difference between the two I’ve added a feature belt.

This is a great way of getting around the issue of two items that almost but don’t quite work together, and I use it regularly. Not just to match blacks, but to marry two pieces – like two different colours, or two different patterns – together.

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The belt’s an oldie but a goodie. It’s an elastic belt with two fabric hearts that snap together, and I spotted it on Etsy a few years ago. I contacted the buyer about getting one custom-made to my measurements (don’t you LOVE Etsy? Clothes made to fit YOU, not YOU trying to fit clothes)

I bought the top at the end of last year, and its been one of my favourite recent purchases. I hadn’t heard of the brand Forcast before, as their Victorian stores are all in malls I’m not familiar with. I stumbled across them on a work trip, and I’m glad I did because this top is just lovely.

It has a wide flattering boatneck that adds length to my short torso, but miraculously doesn’t make me look ridiculously top-heavy. There’s a built-in shelf bra which is obviously useless for me in regards to bust support but does mean the top doesn’t ride up, and it also provides a double layer of coverage so the fabric doesn’t become sheer.

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The half-length sleeves are a new trend that I’m really starting to appreciate: very elegant and retro, with a vaguely balletic style, but the real killer feature for me is the deep scooped back:

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Lovely.

12 thoughts on “Dress-less

  1. Lovely indeed 🙂

    The moment I saw the photos, without reading the post itself, I thought – that’s the kind of dress I’m looking for! And then I learn that it’s actually two-piece! Excellent idea, and you look fabulous in it 🙂

  2. So, as soon as I saw your gorgeous photos I thought, “I have to have this dress!” I must admit that I usually skip quickly past the photos to read your text then I go back and pore over each photo (goodness, that sounds creepy doesn’t it?!) but this time the photos caught my attention so I couldn’t pass them by. You look stunning and I’m distraught that this ensemble is not a dress that I can purchase, but a two piece with a skirt you’ve made. A skirt you’ve made!!! I was kicked out of sewing class quite some time ago so clearly I’m not destined to ever have an outfit that looks like yours. Bugger!

  3. Gorgeous! The sleeves & scoop back are so sweet & flattering! And I’m always jealous of that belt. You look just lovely, indeed.

  4. Really suits you – the neckline looks particularly good with your glasses and with your hair like that! Also, thank goodness for black tops that don’t become see-through ten minutes after you’ve left the house :-p

  5. Have admired your shows for a while and I am thinking about buying some Mel shoes. Are they comfortable even after a long, hot day?

    Claire

    1. Hi Claire,
      they’re not too bad actually! I haven’t personally found that they get as slippery as you’d think plastic shoes would, and they definitely don’t get stinky

  6. This outfit is adorable! I love it.

    Just discovered your blog via Pinterest. It wasn’t until I saw the box of Rice Bubbles that I thought, “Hey, is she an Aussie?”. Not only an Aussie, but a fellow Melburnian!

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