Wearing: Kimichi Blue

I would not have normally picked a rain-soaked day

to be down on the river in

my brand new, very white, Kimichi Blue's...

however, I'd promised my son we'd go so he could skip rocks

and it was almost serendipitous in that I got to pull out

my visually adorable little umbrella from Old Navy.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining!

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is the common fate of all;

Into each life some rain must fall;

Some days must be dark and dreary.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

(Anthro Weave the Ring Skirt, F21 Blouse, HUE tights, UO Kimichi Blue Skimmers, Old Navy Umbrella)

Constructing: Once Upon a Midnight

Before this fabric became the dress it is today, it was a maternity dress I'd built for a special occasion.

Then, as it happens, I quite suddenly found myself no longer pregnant or in need of maternity clothes.

Since no self-respecting girl would ever let such amazing Dupoini Silk go to waste, I reworked the fabric into my Once Upon a Midnight Dress using no patterns and having no plans...just an insane amount of fiddling that went from a pile on the floor to a thing of beauty.

Of course, it has pockets.

Of course, it has a belted waist.

Of course, it has ruching and tulle.

But, my favorite part of the dress is the sleeves,

which I shaped using 26 pin pleats.

From my point-of-view, sleeves are the extra frosting to a beautiful dress--the chance to take a dress from merely pretty to extravagant.

I constructed Once Upon a Midnight several months ago, but it never fails to give that sometimes elusive "ah-ha" feeling a girl can get just by putting on the perfect dress.

(Kristina J. Once Upon a Midnight Dress, Target Skinny Belt, HUE tights, Steve Madden Pumps)