A sneak preview

I'm off to my second lesson of the pattern drafting course tomorrow evening. If you're interested in hearing how I get on, I'll do a post at the weekend. 

I previously mentioned that I chose a Zac Posen dress as my inspiration. I spotted it while looking at his Spring 2013 collection. I wanted to make something slightly complicated in the lesson with teacher support so I could make something of similar difficulty, or more, at home. Here is the dress:

Original found here

I love the silhouette and the flow of the skirt. The bustier detail is wonderful and I'm intrigued by the sleeves. The contrasting patterns on the panels and their sharp lines are what really makes it for me. Given that I only have six weeks in the class, that the idea is to have a completed dress by the end of it and the fact that I have never drafted a pattern in my life I realise that this would be beyond my capabilities. I have simplified it quite a bit while keeping some of the details. I haven't yet shared this with my teacher so some of what you will see may change. Please also forgive my sketching - drawing is not one of my talents!

I wanted to keep the silhouette as much as possible and some of the sharp lines so panels are a must. There will be a contrast one of either side. Additional panels (number to be determined) will be added to the skirt. I'll also keep the bustier. The sleeves on the original are knotted, which would drive me crazy, so I've opted for a cuff to help keep the poufy effect, they will be gathered at the top. The original has a circular back cutout which I'll be skipping completely. It will close with a centre back zip. 

The panels, bustier and sleeves will be made from a contrasting fabric. I haven't yet bought any as I wanted to wait for the class to work out how much I would need. I'll be going on Friday and have a few ideas in mind but again, that may change tomorrow. I want to avoid black and white (I'll only mess it up!).  Suggestions gratefully received!