I now have a sister-in-law, and she rocks. Her name is Jessica and she came to me a few years ago, along with her friend Cristin to ask me to make her a dress.

She had a photo in a magazine and we started from there. She wanted a simple shift style dress with a few cool style details.

As it tuned out, I already had the perfect fabric. When my great-aunt Kathleen passed away, I inherited a TON of fabric. A lot of it was a little funky and not quite my style, but hidden in the piles were a few true gems. I had about 4 yards of a gorgeous raw silk in a lovely deep purple color.

We ended up with a scooped neck in the front, and a nice V in the back. The dress has an empire waist and I added some geometric ruffles to the seam under the bust to add some detailing. The skirt part of the dress also has some tucks and darts to add shape and fullness.

This dress ended up being my payment to her for spending 4 entire days with me cleaning out my apartment. WELL worth the trade, I would say!

Doesn’t she look gorgeous?

All photos by Drew Beck