I absolutely loved my last Montana dress (you can read the review here https://thewheeliestitcher.co.uk/2024/02/24/style-arc-montana-midi-dress/ ) so when I was planning a dress to wear to an upcoming evening wedding reception it wasn’t difficult deciding on a pattern.
The Montana dress from Style Arc is perfect because it’s so comfy to wear having such a loose waist and looks suitably glam with the length. I needed to ensure that I would have plenty of room to give lots of hugs and possibly even some dancing so didn’t want to be restricted by tight waistbands or necklines that would gape. I find it’s quite a fine line between making a loose fit in the waist and adding too much room and ending up looking like a bad Hattie Jacques impressionist so hopefully I’ve got it right with this dress.
The gorgeous fabric I’ve chosen this time is Twilight Graffiti from Minerva’s Exclusive Viscose Challis range. I’m afraid my photos don’t do it justice as we were battling shadows from the sun but the colours are so beautiful and eye catching, the peacock green especially. I was very kindly gifted this as part of their Ambassador project.
I know I’ve sang the praises of the Exclusive Viscose Challis range many times before, but honestly it really is the most amazing base cloth. It’s so beautiful and flowy to wear and always washes brilliantly. I have some fabric left so I will be making a blouse which will look lovely with cut off trousers for the summer.
This time around for my Montana dress as it’s for an evening, I decided to use a different neckline and went for the v-neck option which comes with the extension pack. I did my usual full bust adjustment and grading out for my full tummy and after tissue fitting decided to raise the neckline by 2cm just to give me a little more confidence. This might seem like a very small amount but it was just what was needed to achieve my optimum fit. I have to be careful with necklines because it’s surprising how revealing they can be when viewed from above and when leaning forward.
As with last time I opted for the 3/4 sleeves with elastic casing.
I won’t repeat all my construction methods as you can read all about that in my previous post.
I’m really happy with this dress, I’m sure it’s going to work well for the reception but I can also see myself enjoying wearing it throughout the summer. Viscose Challis is lovely and breathable so perfect for lazy summer days.
Wheelchair Considerations
1 There aren’t any fastenings with this dress and it easily pulls on over your head.
2) Raising the neckline of the v-neck ensures comfort when wearing.
3) The fact that there are no seams in the centre back on either the skirt or bodice make this a really comfortable dress to wear. Also there is lots of room around the tummy.
4) Despite having a full skirt there isn’t too much fabric bunched up underneath you when you sit.
5) I chose to omit the side pockets as I wouldn’t be able to reach them and I didn’t want any gape in the sides.
6) Reducing the overall length of the midi dress by 4 inches achieves a length that looks like a full length maxi but doesn’t get in the way of the wheels.
(Image description: there are six images taken from different angles, showing Yvonne, sat in her wheelchair in her garden wearing a long black dress with brushstrokes over it in gold, red, blue and Peacock green.)
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