The Sincerest Form of Flattery

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then I make a habit of flattering companies like Laura Ashley, Cath Kidston, Victorian Trading Co., and -- most recently -- Anthropologie!

When a garment is too expensive, too immodest, etc., I like to put my own spin on it. So when I saw the "Sweet William Blouse" on Anthropologie a few months ago, I saved a picture to my "inspiration files." It was a mere $128 on the website, but I just decided it would be more fun to make it... *ahem*

So here's my version:



The fabric is a blue-and-white striped "mystery" fabric that's been in our cupboard for ages. The bodice pattern is -- well, do I really need to tell you? Okay, how many of you guessed Simplicity 4499? *wink* I improvised the sleeve ruffle, which was actually pretty simple. I added a tie to the back, just for fun:



I didn't want something quite as frilly as the rosettes on the original blouse (it's hard to see from the tiny picture, but they're quite overhwelming!), so I found a fabulous rolled roses tutorial on Sandi Henderon's website. They're addictively fun to make!



I still have some more stashbusting to share, and some still in the works. And yes, one of these days I will start "real" work on my wedding dress! I've designed it, picked fabrics, and done some prelimary experimenting -- but I won't start the "real" thing until we've moved (we're down to about 2 or 3 weeks!). Exciting times. Busy times. VERY busy times...