Derby Dress 2012 (S2588)

Every year, our good friends host a Derby party. The ladies get into the spirit and tend to dress up as if we are actually at the Derby, hats and all. I wore the same black hat as last year but forgot to include it in the photo.

This year I chose a Simplicity Project Runway design that allowed me to pick and choose elements of the dress to get what I wanted - straight or full skirt, sleeves or sleeveless, skinny neck band or yoke, belt or tabs or no trim. (Simplicity 2588 (straight skirt, skinny neckband and sleeveless) It was a little difficult to determine how much fabric was needed because of the options. My dress used approx. 1 3/4 yd (60" width).

The fabric is a satin twill I purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics about a year ago, intending to make a flowy skirt. The fabric ended up having a little heavier hand than I expected so I decided it wouldn't be suitable for the skirt I had in mind. But it worked beautifully for this dress. I trimmed the waist with a braided piping purchased from Rainbow Fabrics in Chicago.

Pattern sizing was true. I had to make my typical adjustments for small upper body. Overall, the dress ranged anywhere from a size 10 (through the shoulders and bust) to a 12-14 (lower bodice to waist) to a size 14-16 (at the hips)!

Prior year Derby dresses:

2007 Dress
Not sure what I wore in 2008
2009 Dress


2010 Dress
2011 Dress