Taupe floral midi dress.

Here we are in the middle of April and us Southern Ontarians are recovering from a recent ice storm! Luckily for Eric and I, we weren't here when the storm hit! We escaped to beautiful Arizona and our timing could not have been more perfect! 

One of the things I packed for our getaway was this dress I recently sewed. I was shopping for fabrics for other projects and stumbled upon this beautiful fabric. I saw it, loved it, and although I wasn't sure what I'd make out of it at the time, I purchased some anyway. Usually I wouldn't go for anything taupe because I don't think that colour looks good on me, but this fabric... I couldn't resist it. The lavender, cream, and black colours of the floral print break up the taupe and compliment it nicely. All the colours come together in a modern and chic, but understated way. 

Due to other ongoing projects, I had to stash this fabric away for a good couple of months before I finally had the time to get to it! It's been a while since I sewed anything for myself and now that I had this gorgeous fabric on hand, I couldn't wait to finally sew something new and beautiful, just for me!

After some brainstorming, I decided to make a button front midi dress with a fitted top and a lightly gathered skirt.

To make this dress a little more interesting, I added a solid black stripe down the middle where the dress buttons down. I was also planning on adding the same black stripe along the hem, but in the end decided against it. For once, I preferred a simple hem. For the buttons, I chose plain charcoal buttons in a pearl finish. 

My aim for this garment was to make a comfortable dress that I could wear on causal occasions. For this reason, I added thin spaghetti straps (in lieu of a strapless dress) that I positioned close together at the back. This is my favourite way of wearing thin straps because I find they sit comfortably on my shoulders without ever falling off. They also compliment my body shape and look quite nice when they come together at the centre back. 

I love this dress. It's super comfortable and versatile; I can wear it casually with flats, or dress it up a notch by pairing it with heels. Since the fabric is not see-through, there was no need to line the skirt, which makes the dress light and flowy.

When the summer heat is on and humidity is high, my go to outfits are dresses. My favourite  garments are those that flow freely around the body. This dress is a stylish option to wear anytime, but especially on those hot and sunny days when you don't want fabric plastered to your body. 

Now if we could only get some summer around here already!!!