Frock for a wedding

My motorcycle racing friend Ian has finally decided to get married at Easter - for the first time, and at the ripe old age of 67. This is very exciting, because I'll get a chance to wear a hat. No matter that the wedding is "smart casual", I'm past the age of worrying that I'm overdressed and I have a lovely hat that I've never worn. OK, I have several hats that I've never worn, but this one is really very nice. I bought it in Edinburgh nearly five years ago.

So I had to make a dress to go with the hat, didn't I? It nearly drove me crazy, I broke ten sewing machine needles just putting the zip in. Plus the material I first chose for the bodice decided it didn't like being unpicked, so I had to make the bodice twice.

Never mind, here is the finished article, front view (with hat):


And back view (also with hat):


The bodice is actually ivory, not white, and is a much better match for the hat than it looks in these photos. The skirt is a full circle, and is about four inches shorter at the front than it is at the back. Sort of like Dior's "New Look" of the fifties.

I plan to wear it with my lace-up ankle booties, mostly because the wedding is in a garden and the boots are wedges so will (hopefully) not sink into the grass. I also know, from experience, that I can wear them for hours on end standing and walking; they're amazingly comfortable for such high shoes.

First stop tomorrow on my way to work is the sewing machine fixit guy.