Amy Stephens of Fair Fashion Year discovers the ultimate little black dress – and styles a week’s worth of different looks for every occasion.
Amy Stephens of Fair Fashion Year discovers the ultimate little black dress – and styles a week’s worth of different looks for every occasion
I first spotted the little-black-dress genius that is the The Uniform Project back in 2008. Since then, I’ve wanted one of the original classic-style LBD that Sheena sold on the site. As the dress was always sold out, along with the pattern, I decided to get my own made right here in New Zealand.
TAILOR-MADE IN WELLINGTON
With the help of Toni (a tailor I was recommended), my very own LBD was created. Toni was fantastic and very patient, analysing the dress from the Uniform Project website to create an almost identical replica. I went to her house for several fittings and she was always very professional and fun to work with.
100% WOOL AND REVERSIBLE
The fabric (from Global Fabrics) is really light and breathable against my skin. It never crinkles much and is easy to hand-wash. The dress also has a lining, so it’s reversable (it buttons down the back) and it has two detachable collars – oh, and pockets! I use stick-on velcro to attach the collars, which works a treat and means you’re not fussing about with buttons.
I wear it most days as it’s super comfy and pretty much goes with anything. For the $200 it cost to get tailor-made, plus the $67 for fabric and buttons, it was well worth it. Big thanks to Toni for all her hard work on this one!
Contact Toni at [email protected] if you’d like a wonderful tailor-made dress of your own.
Meet Amy from Fair Fashion Year
Amy lives and works in the wonderful city of Wellington and has always been interested in fashion. But recently she’s become concerned with the ‘dark side’ of fashion and the ethics and sustainability of it.
She’s been blogging about her journey so far on her ‘fair fashion year’ – there are three rules. They are to only buy pre-loved, Fairtrade or New Zealand-made clothing and shoes.
So far it’s been a pretty amazing and interesting eight months! You can read about her year so far at Fair Fashion Year!
