Rifle and Co. Painted Roses

I made two rayon dresses for my spring rotation, but I'm showing them out of order because I wore this one first.  (The other one was a hot mess until I fixed it on Friday, so I'm happily wearing it today!  Pics to come in a day or two)

This fabric is from Rifle and Co. for Cotton+Steel and is from Anna Bond's Wonderland line (from her illustrations of Alice in Wonderland).  I didn't really love the specifically Alice-themed prints, but this one really jumped at me.  I normally try to avoid black clothing as it doesn't suit my coloring, but I felt that the black was such a background color that I could get away with it.

I'm actually totally thrilled with this dress.  It was a last minute addition to my rotation and I really like it.  I found a light weight wool cardigan on ThredUp that warms it up nicely, and the cashmere cowl (also found on ThredUp) helps too.

Because it is still kind of damp and chilly, I did put a thin t-shirt layer under it all.  I have a coral shirt with 3/4 sleeves that will work when it is a wee bit warmer.  

I cut the back the same as the front on this one and I really like the fit of it.  I am still fiddling with the back elastic placement on the new smaller back piece, but I'm getting there.  I also went back to the patch pockets that come with the Simplicity 1080 because the kangaroo pocket looks really weird in rayon (I discovered this the hard way on the first rayon dress).  I find the patch pockets pretty fiddly, especially in rayon, but the finished look is so much better than the kanga pocket that it is worth it.  Better to fiddle with something and have a wearable piece at the end.

Ponchik was my "helper" for these photos.  She kept up a steady stream of commentary the.whole.time.

All in all, a good dress!  I think I have a lighter weight cardigan in a teal-green color that will work when it is too warm for the wool one (although it does seem like warmer weather is still a long way off--I'm not complaining!  I keep putting my Uggs away and then taking them out again.  Crazy weather.)

The print on this fabric is just so pretty!  My Chinook scarf will look well with this dress too, I think, once I finish it!  (I've set it aside to work on the gemini cardigan).

Just the facts:

Painted Roses dress: Rifle and Co. for Cotton+Steel rayon challis fabric, Simplicity 1080 (redrafted), elastic, bias binding

Undershirt: Loft via ThredUp

Cashmere cowl: Nordstrom via ThredUp

Black wool sweater: Banana Republic via ThredUp

Tights: Foot Traffic Signature Cotton tights in black, via Sock Dreams

Boots: Uggs (Whitely, I think), via ebay

Thistle Earrings: etsy