Wear-it-to-Death Lodo Dress

                       

Introducing the 2017 lead contender for the wear it to death summer dress: True Bias Lodo.

This was a quick make with a striped ponte from Metro Textiles and a woven cotton for the facings purchased at the Seam Shoppe in Key West, Florida in March. 

Seam Shoppe in Key West

The  pattern, while quite simple, is well drafted.

                                                   

There are no bust darts and only very subtle contouring along the side seams to achieve the cocoon shape.  Given the amount of drafting errors in most indie patterns, I have become increasingly wary of purchasing outside of the Big 4.  However,  Kelly from True Bias has professional drafting skills from FIT and I had a good experience with the True Bias Southport Dress.

The only deviation I made from the Lodo instructions was to edgestitch the facings before flipping.

                         

I was a bit on the fence about making the Lodo, as it is a style that is easily available in RTW and I generally try to sew clothes that I wouldn't otherwise purchase.

Similar Cocoon style dress spotted at Eileen Fisher

Speaking of RTW, I have been keeping a spreadsheet of all my clothing and shoe purchases in 2017.  My goal is to keep annual clothes/shoe/accessory costs well below 4% of my personal paycheck after tax.  So far I am on track for the year.  However, the final stats will somewhat lack in integrity since much of the new clothes I wear are me-made and I am not factoring fabric/notion costs into that 4%. Nor am I factoring in the fabric that I purchase this year that will languish in the stash. Sometimes I wonder how my spending on clothes would be different if I did not sew...