Butterick 5557. My Mad Men Dress

Over at Julia Bobbin,  you'll find lots of ladies who are crazy about Mad Men. She hosted a SewAlong, and, yes, I participated. Just today, I put the finishing touches on my Joanie inspiration dress. I haven't emailed my photo to Julia yet, so until then, I'll share some background of my dress and some photos of my finished project.

I was inspired by the incredible florals that were seen throughout the first four seasons...representing a femininity and softness in such a man's world.

So, while Joanie didn't often wear florals...just for special occasions like a dinner party with Greg's boss or for the Cleo's, I was blown away when Season 5 was getting amped up and I saw this Joan :

And in the Season Five premier, we saw this Joan:

And I was hooked. (Check out the piped scoop neck of the pink dress, and the beaded sleeve edges of both dresses.)  Of course, it doesn't hurt that these ladies were years ahead of their time, right?  Because what exactly is hot this 2012 Spring?

Florals! Bold, wonderful florals!

In everything from dresses and skirts to jeans and jackets.  I selected my fabric, which is a charmeuse. But  you know how charmeuse can be so shiny sometimes? But it was this back side of this bold floral that I was in love with.

My pattern was Butterick 5557, from their Retro line. A copy of a 1955 pattern. This pattern is a two piece, but I knew it would work better for me...giving me a few more curves with that wonderful peplum-ish  top.

In addition to changing the neckline to a scoop neck and adding piping to the neck edge

I also added some beading trim to the sleeve hems. By layering two different beaded trims, I created a custom trim to add to the sleeve. I simply sewed them together the two along the ribbon using my zipper foot.

So here she is:

My tribute to Joan Holloway.

Now I just need a special occasion!