Little Black Dress for Ballroom Dance

Little Black Dress for Ballroom Dance

I decided that 2013 would be a good year to try on some different hats. My love for ballroom dance has challenged me to become more creative and resourceful. One day I aspire to have a closet full of ballroom dance costumes, but that is several years down the road. The quality and details of ballroom dance costumes are worth every dollar, but what do you do in the mean time when you just don’t have the resources to purchase. Once you have finished feeling sorry for yourself, you pull up your big girl panties and you get to work.

Let me tell you the story about the Little Black Dress. Several years ago my mother volunteered at a consignment shop for a Church in Daytona Beach Florida. Every once in a while she would pull an item to purchase and bring home. She was the first one to spot the little black dress. She picked it up for special occasions like a dinner cruise or special cocktail events. Just 2 years ago she was cleaning out her closet and the little black dress resurfaced. She asked if I thought I could use a dress like this. I replied of course and that I would love to see this dress. I was going to be competing that year and the uniform requirements were very strict and plain. A long black velvet dress would be perfect. I received my mothers box and opened it up. She has always taken amazing care of her clothes. There it was wrapped and folded perfectly in a dry cleaning bag. I tore it open, put it on, and gasped. It was the perfect length, fit, and the material moved and stretched perfectly for an American Smooth Waltz, Tango, or Foxtrot. So the little black dress came along for a ride to  the USA Dance Chicago Competition in 2012 and then it went back into the closet. Unfortunately in 2013 I would not be competing in Smooth at the USA Dance Chicago Competition so there was no need for the little black dress until………I found a new dance partner. Now one thing I haven’t told you is I am 5 ft 9” and finding a dance partner is always an ongoing challenge. This past October I hit the jackpot. I found John Smith from Louisville KY. John is an amazing competitor and loves to dance American Smooth and Standard. He and I have the same goals we are working on qualifying for this years nationals.

So you are probably wondering what this has to do with the little black dress. Well if John and I are headed on a serious journey in 2014 I am required to have an American Smooth Gown. I tried on many dresses at the Ohio Star Ball this past October and I just couldn’t afford to invest between $5000 and $7000 at this time. After I tried on the gown of my dreams, reality set in. Why I am I even bothering trying these dresses on if I can’t buy? I took off the dress and I walked over to the Swavorski Stone Vendor and I purchased about 2900 total stones and a hot fix applicator gun. I invested about $300 dollars in stoning materials. I came home from Ohio and I went to a fabric store in downtown Chicago and I purchased 1.5 yards of fringe, cups to sew in as a bra, and 1 yard of tool. My plan was to work on my dress during Thanksgiving in Shreveport Louisiana. My soon to be mother in law Mrs. Barbara gave me a quick lesson on hand stitching and once I got the hang of it I was off to the races. I sewed and  I stoned and I stoned and I stoned.

Off to a good start right? Well here is the dress after Thanksgiving with a belt that I stoned to go along with the dress, but as you can see I am still missing volume. The little black dress is transforming as we speak but it’s still just a little boring.

 

Soon after I returned home from Thanksgiving I wanted to add the fringe but I was sure where to add the fringe. So I played around with a few options and I decided to follow the stones from the mid chest down towards the belly button vertically. Look closely in the picture below.

So what was the next step? I brought the dress into the dance studio where my coach and I train and dance and she said I needed to add fabric for volume. We talked about some options and I had planned on going with black. The thought crossed my mind to pick up the fabric and drop it off at a tailor and let them do the work. So I headed to JoAnn Fabric and I spotted a beautiful Pink Chiffon. Now let it be known I am a sucker for pink. So I went home with 2.5 yards of Chiffon and eye hook and some pink thread and planned on hand sewing in every single panel of fabric. I was heading to Louisville for the weekend with my good friend Vaneza and we were going to be training and spending the weekend together, until a vicious ice storm hit the midwest. We made a judgement call at the very last-minute to not go. Instead we decided to start working on the little black dress. Vaneza’s job was to start cutting the panels into triangles and my job was to start letting out all the hems and seams. We worked until after midnight. When we woke up the next morning we started again. Vaneza finally looked at me and said let’s go pick up a sewing machine at my house. We went back and forth and I finally decided well if we are going to make the trip I’ll just buy one. So back to JoAnn’s we went and $200 later I had a Singer Sewing Machine. It took Vaneza and I probably 1.5 hours to get it threaded but once we figured it out we were on a role and here is what happened.

We did we got the pink panels sewed into the dress and soon after Vaneza had to go home. I got up first thing the next morning and starting hemming the bottom of the dress with the sewing machine. Once I got on a roll I was unstoppable. Once the dressed was hemmed, It was time to start decorating. Its needs more. Its needs more. I had purchased 4 packs of plum-colored feathers and black feathers. I still had several hundred stones left. It was time to start decorating the base of the dress. This is where you get to be very creative and this is the fun part. I ironed the Pink Chiffon and then I started to stone and feather. I started on the pink panels first and I only intended on feathering those. Now we are getting somewhere

 

but then I decided to just feather the entire bottom part of the dress. The first outing for the dress took place last night at the Fine Arts Building Open House in Chicago. I haven’t shown my mom yet but I think I will send her the story of the Little Black Dress. Thank you Mama