The Bridesmaid Dress You Can Wear Again and Again
When my sister got married a couple years ago, I was really excited for a few reasons. One, I finally got to try my hand at altering a wedding dress (always wanted to, as is seemed like SUCH a learning opportunity, but didn’t want to try it for pay with no experience). Two, I could make her veil (which everyone had told me was tons of fun and really easy), and lastly, I could make my maid of honor dress. I learned a TON while altering her dress (yes, it did turn out, and it was done in plenty of time, though up until I moved I think I still heard beads going up the vacuum…), and making the veil was one of my all-time favorite projects. But I was also thrilled that my dress actually turned out to be a chance to recreate a dress from a favorite movie of mine: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. I have always loved the white dress Elizabeth Taylor wears to play “Maggie the Cat,” but hadn’t ever had a reason to recreate it.
Originally we were going to find dresses on one of the popular wedding party attire websites (where the bride picks a color and the bridesmaids can select their own style), but after I started checking them out, I went and told my sister I’d do whatever she preferred, but asked if she was open to considering alternatives. I was not impressed by the fact that the average dress on the sites cost $100, did not have a fabric content listed (mostly they said “chiffon,” which is a weave of fabric, not a fiber type), and couldn’t be washed or dry cleaned. As far as I could tell, they were “landfill dresses.” Wear once, then throw them out (not that many bridesmaids’ dresses get much use later, but I didn’t want to support the fast fashion industry unless I had to). She took some time to consider it, and came back saying she had seen pictures of wedding parties dressed in black, and thought they looked very elegant. This opened up the opportunity for my dream dress!
I chose Burda 6583 as a base for recreating Maggie’s dress. I chose to double the lining in the bodice, since my material was a crinkle chiffon silk and quite sheer, and I didn’t want any of the seams to show through. I simply basted each silk piece to a lining piece, and the proceeded with the pattern as though the doubled piece was a single-layered dress piece. I used Bemberg rayon lining for this with sew-in interfacing, and was very happy with the structure and body they provided for the silk.
It has an invisible zipper in the back, and I hemmed it using my rolled hem foot (hemming was definitely the biggest challenge, given how lightweight the silk was).
It isn’t quite the same, as the front is draped a little differently on the dress in the movie, but by putting a gathered skirt on the bodice, I came very close to replicating it (and I know it was a success because when I walked in the room, my sister immediately said, “Oh, you made the Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” dress!). I have worn it several times since the wedding, and love the fact that I have a beautiful, classic dress I can wear for years to come.
