The Orangey-Red Eileen Fisher Dress

Remember this one? Got on clearance--I think it had been worn and returned: the back was badly wrinkled. No problem for me--I popped it in the washer and dryer and it was just fine. But the length was wrong--not a flattering length at all.

So I shortened it, meaning I had to also shorten the separate lining. Just an inch or so--just enough to make it perfect:

See the difference? Now it hits at the bottom of my kneecap. That's often the most flattering length--it covers knees, which are seldom beautiful, and it reveals the largest part of the calf, which usually has the most shape and will keep thin-ish legs from looking scrawny (see top photo for stick calves) and will show off the shape of more curvaceous calves. This is the kind of stuff I seem to have learned and internalized from my mother, which is very odd: I forgot/discarded/ignore much of what she told me about style, but some seems to have stuck with me. Other stuff--like the balance of loose with fitted (if you have something fitted on the bottom, you pick something looser on top and vice versa), I picked up Elsewhere. I keep what works for me and ignore everything else. Like advice about Spanx, for instance. Not from my mother--she would rec. a good girdle, I'm sure.

And the pin-tucks didn't all lie flat. Now, I know how some people treat linen, but that's not how I treat it. I like it casual and natural. No pressing! So I sewed on tomato-y orange-ish beads to encourage the pin-tucks to Do the Right Thang.

I think the beads dress it up just enough. Not blingy, not stuffy. The fit is always going to be casual and a little baggy because it has those kangaroo pockets right in front at the waist, but it works for me. Especially for what little I paid for it.

Let's go see what else I can show later--The EGE photographed all the stuff I've finished lately, but I didn't want to do it in one long whack of a post with umteen jillion photos.