[ be sure to click for a larger view and more details! ]
After weeks of work, last minute scrambling, and generally cursing waiting until the last moment to start this dress, I finished it! The Navy Ball was this past Friday evening, and I literally finished the last bits (namely the necklace) the day before. hehe! I swear: next year I’m getting my act together sooner!
[ be sure to click for a larger view and more details! ]
How can I begin to describe our evening? If you’ve ever been to a military ball, you probably know how glamorous all the women look in their evening finest, and how handsome all the guys are in their dress uniforms. Sailor Husband wore his dress whites (basically the same as the blues he wore to our wedding, only white!) with full medals and ribbons. He was quite a sight–especially since I had never seen him in this uniform! lol. We had an absolutely glorious time: mingling with other Navy couples, the dinner was tasty (although the dessert was a bit lacking. But I have a very picky sweet tooth. haha!), the toasts were long, and the dancing was fun! Despite my utter lack of dance floor skills (yes, I do not know how to dance. Although we’re planning on signing up for a swing class this winter!), I think that was the most fun at the end of the night. hehe!
[ be sure to click for a larger view and more details! ]
My dress turned out beyond what I could imagine… Towards the end of this project, I had a hard time with envisioning just how it was going to come together–for a bit I worried that it was looking too much like it was homemade. Once everything was together and on, it really transformed into a beautiful, glamorous evening ensemble. (Be sure to click on any of the photos for more in depth descriptions.) However, I think the real hit of the evening was my hair! I originally thought about doing something a bit more authentic to the period, but talked myself out of that since I didn’t want to look costume-y (hence the slightly more modern makeup too). So I found a fantastic tutorial on YouTube and adapted it to my hair length. It took a bit of time, but I love how soft and romantic, yet still tailored it looks.
[ be sure to click for a larger view and more details! ]
The highlight of the evening had to be when we had our portraits taken. It’s a fairly standard practice at military balls (or so I’m told) to have professional studio photographers take portraits of the couples attending, so we were sure to get ours done. They looked really great from the snippets I saw (they’ll make great gifts for our parents), and to top it off: the photographer was so taken with my head-to-toe look, he asked me to sneak away a bit later to have some solo portraits done! I took the opportunity after dinner (during the long speeches) to dash back over to the photography area, and we took a ton of both retro model style and pin up pictures. Loads of fun! I cannot wait to see how those turned out. hehe!
[ be sure to click for a larger view and more details! ]
So that was my little stint at the glamorous world of a gala event. I can’t wait ’til next year–even though this sewing project pretty much wiped me out the past two weeks! lol.
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you are so cute! your dress is absolutely STUNNING and i really love the way you styled your hair. that sounds like so much fun!
So lovely and elegant! You are so lucky to be so talented! I’m so glad the dress was a success and the night too!
Wow, wow, wow!!! It looks fantastic, the fit of the bodice is perfection, and your makeup looks like it was airbrushed it is so well done. Great job, you look fantastic.
Wow! The dress is beyond wonderful – I can’t get over the fact that you made it. I love your hair & makeup – they look very movie star to me. The jet beads are perfect – & I love that you got your shoes at payless! (Who says you can’t be incredibly chic on a budget.)
How wonderful that you get to go to a ball every year.
BTW, I came across this online pattern for a vintage couture dress today on the Victoria & Albert Museum website & wondered if it was something you’d like (it reminds me of other dresses you’ve sewn):
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1486_couture/create.php
Wow, you look stunning! The dress is amazing and the hair so lovely. You and your hubby should definitely take up swing dancing, it’s a hoot!
Wow! I am so impressed with your dress. It is absolutely spectacular and you wear it well. You must have been the belle of the ball.
Thanks for sharing the pics.
Wow – the dress is beautiful and so amazing, and you look goregous as well! Thank you for sharing!
Whoa! I can’t believe how beautiful your gown turned out! You look abosulutely stunning, like you stepped out of a fairytale or movie =). It sounds like you had a magical evening! Thank you for posting all the pictures!
I feel like I’m being repetitive, but WOW. I don’t know what else to say. The dress is amazing, you look amazing, and I’m sure your husband thought the same
. I’m so impressed with your work.
Absolutely stunning, Casey! I’m glad you had a great time!
I asked my husband about Air Force balls and apparently they are nowhere near as elegant as Navy ones.
Boo! haha
You look so amazing! It is too perfect!
Casey,
You and the dress look fabulous!!!
Oh My God! Casey, you look amazing, and did you a spectacular/smashing/phenomenal job on the dress! A modern day Sabrina you are! I can’t get over how well you did on the dress– I doubt anyone would know you made it yourself, and your hair and make up complement it beautifully.
Also, how fun about the photographer! I bet that made you feel like ten million bucks.
/drooling fan girl
What a gorgeous dress! And it suits you very well. Your hair was lovely too. Sounds like you had a fabulous time! I wish I had opportunities to get all dolled up like that.
Casey, you look wonderful!! What a glamorous dress, and I adore the way you did your hair. Glad you had a great time! =)
You are beyond beautiful in that gown! It was worth all the hard work- it looks just like a dream! I really love your hairstyle, too- when mine grows out a bit I’d love to give that a try. I’m so glad you and your sailor husband had a lovely time!
You look so beautiful!! Congratulations on the dress–it’s just wonderful. I love how you can see the Audrey Hepburn/Givenchy influence you talked about, but then also how you turned it into something unique and completely you!
FANTASTIC! This is so beautiful, and your sewing skills are great. I’m so impressed, and I can’t wait to see the pictures from the impromptu photo shoot.
Holy smokes! You look stunning. I wish I had sewing skills like yours!
So beautiful! I love the whole look. You did such an amazing job on your hair – I thought for sure you had it done. Utterly glamorous.
Casey, you look utterly gorgeous!! I wondered how the whole thing would look together when you first described it coz the train and bodice were different fabrics – but it looks just stunning. Your entire look (hair, makeup, jewelry) was just fabulous and so elegant! As always, your taste never falters
Oh, Casey, you did such a wonderful job on that dress! You look absolutely beautiful. And your hair looks fab, too.
-Andi x
You look stunning! Perfect makeup. You must have gotten tons of compliments!
WOW, that dress looks amazing, and even more incredible that you made it yourself!
Oh Casey! Everything is just gorgeous! You, your hair, the dress, the necklace! : ) The entire post made me smile. I love the first close-up picture… there’s something so princess like in your pose.
OMG THAT DRESS IS AMAZING!!! I’m so happy it turned out so lovely for you!
You look beautiful and the dress is so glamourous! Would you please post a pic sometime of just the sheath dress? Congratulations on a job well done!
It’s more than wonderful! Breathtaking! I wish you a wonderful, wonderful ball!
Oh gosh!
Your dress came out so wonderful, and your whole look was gorgeous!
Can’t wait to see the couples photos
Casey – you looked stunning! The frock, the hair, the make-up – ahh you looked beyond fabulous! So fun to finally see that fabric made up, after sitting in your parents basement for so long – aren’t you glad you kept it now?!
I can’t wait to see the formal portrait with L – I still love looking at the ones of my parents at similar events. 
A very hearty well done!
This is wonderful ! You’re at your best ! Really really beautiful, I’m amazed.
And really glad you had a great night. Félicitations !
Wow, you are amazing! That dress is wonderful and you look fantastic in it! Lovely hair-do too!
WOW!!! You look gorgeous! Bet Sailor Husband couldn’t take his eyes off you that evening!
As it comes to your dress, it is really wonderful and you wore it so well with the make-up, hair-do and jewelry. You should be very proud of it.
Will there be a possibility for us readers to see the pictures from the photographer?
I am speechless. Your gown is absolutely beautiful! I love the beaded trim the most. Amazing work!
I absolutely love your dress! you did great work (-:
That is a very lovely dress you made. And it looks wonderful on you, especially styled the way you are, with the 40′s hair and look. Beautiful, good job!
Everything looks absolutely stunning! You are so beautiful, the dress is gorgeous and your hair is awesome! I hope you had a wonderfull evening!
That is just wonderful! Gorgeous dress, and I love what you did with your hair! What a compliment to have the photographer ask for a chance to take more pictures of you, that doesn’t sound like it happens to often =) I’m so happy for you that you got the dress ready, and that you felt so good wearing it. Isn’t it wonderful when hard works really pays off and the doubts are laid to rest? You are a great seamstress!
There wasn’t much dancing at the only military ball I’ve been to, but I really liked the historical dancing =) I’m so exicted you’re signing up for a swing dance class, lindy hop is my favorite dance in the world (I’ve only been dancing it for a few years) and I’m sure you’ll have loads of fun with it!
Hope you’ll have a great week, and congrats again on the marvelous hair and dress!
Just beautiful !
What a magnificent gown! You look absolutely beautiful and the dress is just… beyond description! I’m glad you had such a lovely evening and you deserve every compliment you get!
It turned out beautifully – all your hard work paid off in a fantastic dress!
Absolutely amazing! The whole look is just marvelous and movie-star like. I’m glad that you had a good time too, and that photographer wanting to take more pictures, how flattering is that?!
Amazing! I am so impressed with your final product and you look just gorgeous all around. I love how you updated the look a bit. There is nothing more fresh and striking than taking a retro style and updating it. Fabulous!! And the fact that you got a little extra recognition is perfect.
Such a wonderful project and you looked great!
Wow. Your look and dress–it’s all amazing. Congratulations on a job well done. I have a gala coming up for the film festival I work for. Unfortunately I do not possess your talent or charm so I’m whipping out an old prom dress and hoping there is no record of the evening. Again. Amazing work. Thanks for sharing!
Casey, what an amazing job! Just absolutely gorgeous! Your hair looks wonderful too. Very well done with mixing retro with modern. Great job!
I remember military balls quite well. Yes, they were very heavy in the speeches. What a bore! But it wouldn’t be the military if they didn’t have all the top brass patting each other on the back!
The dress is absolutely stunning! Even better than I imagined it would be.
Can’t wait to see the professional photos!
It’ stunning! You did great job and I love the color and your hair and make up are perfect.
Absolutely amazing. You look gorgeous and the dress is breathtaking.
I am in utter amazement. The details are absolutely beautiful and that hairstyle is so similar to something I was just requested to do on my channel…I favorited the tutorial! Excellent!
Lovely girl…
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