Charleston
Charleston Swing Dress by Annelaine Patterns
I made myself an accidental capsule wardrobe! I got so excited about all the ways to try styling the new Charleston dress that I inadvertently made a little capsule.
Capsule wardrobe is a term coined by Susie Faux, the owner of a London boutique called “Wardrobe” in the 1970s. According to Faux, a capsule wardrobe is a collection of a few essential items of clothing that don’t go out of fashion, such as skirts, trousers, and coats, which can then be augmented with seasonal pieces. This idea was popularised by American designer Donna Karan, who, in 1985, released an influential capsule collection of seven interchangeable work-wear piece
Wikipedia
The Charleston Dress is a swing style dress. There’s the basic version with a crew or two levels of V neck and a solid front. There’s also a V neck placket version that has snaps or buttons down the front. The skirt has a few cuts too, for varying levels of hi-low drama.
This is rayon spandex called Memphis from Amelia Lane Designs.
This solid black is rayon spandex from Sincerely Rylee.
This is the placket version, with black size 20 Kam snaps down the front, on unbrushed hacci sweater knit from So Sew English. I use snaps because they’re much faster than making button holes and they are cheaper than buttons usually.
Styling Options
Here;s my placket version Charleston Dress worn over my non-placket Charleston dress! Same pattern! I like how they line up in the back because I did the straight front and low back cut for both. The pattern includes high front to create a more dramatic hi-low effect as well.
Same dress with a Coffee cardigan over it instead. I added 8.5″ in length to this Coffee Cardigan to give it a duster effect. (Blog on this mod)
Again, the same Charleston dress but this time knotted and worn over a skirt.
The skirt is a modified Virginia Skirt from 5oo4 – I slimmed the flair to make it more straight than A line. I used Liverpool from The Fab Clique.
So many different looks from one pattern!
Since I changed back and forth all in one day for these photos, I kept it simple with this bar necklace from Amazon and some plain, flat black boots. (I’ll pin those amazon items below)
Edit to Add my Latest Charleston Dress
This is the new and immediately sold out Dulce DBP fabric from Amelia Lane Designs. Perfect for the Charleston! This is my new favorite dress and will be perfect for Thanksgiving too! I raised the neckline a bit on this version.
This version is Hope mid-weight rayon spandex with a two tone olive neckband.
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Pattern Link: Charleston Dress by Annelaine Patterns
