I have been a huge fan of Wes Anderson's films since I was much too young to be watching them, so I was very excited when Asteroid City came out this summer! I think that the desert is the perfect location for a Wes Anderson film, and I loved the vintage Western music and fashions of the movie. I love everything about Wes Anderson films - the deadpan humour, the great actors, the cinematography, the colours, the music, and especially the costumes. This movie had more costumes than previous Wes Anderson films, and they were all in exactly the era of fashion that I love to wear. Of course, that meant that I needed to make an Asteroid City inspired dress as soon as possible.
I have been admiring this adorable fabric from a local quilt shop for more than a year but I never had a specific project in mind for it. However, after admiring it again this summer I realized that the turquoise would be perfect for an Asteroid City dress, so I bought 3 meters and brought it home with nothing more than a general vibe. After scouring my patterns and deciding that none of them were quite what I wanted, I ended up going for a Frankensteined approach to patterning. Although I could have easily flat drafted a pattern for one of the dresses that are actually shown in the film (the characters of Midge Campbell, June Douglas, and Dinah all have gorgeous 1950s inspired dresses that I was interested in), but I wanted this to be a simple project before I move in September and I did not want an exact copy of any of the dresses in the movie. As much as I love movie costumes, I prefer to make my own designs inspired by movie costumes rather than copies so that I can have my own personality in each of my dresses.
I finally settled on using the bodice and sleeve pattern from my much beloved V9052, a Vintage Vogue pattern from 1947 that I have used 5 times already. This pattern has a simple bodice with a split crew neckline, short sleeves that go to just above the elbow, and a four piece skirt. I have made this pattern as is, without the sleeves, with a shorter skirt and flutter sleeves, and now with an A-line skirt. I find that this pattern is easily customizable and looks very different depending on what fabric and styles you make with it.
You can see some of the other versions I have made here, along with a photo of the original pattern
For my newest version, I used the bodice pattern without any alterations (I always use the size 8 since it fits me perfectly) and the sleeves just about an inch shorter than the pattern . I then cut out two strips of fabric about 2.5 inches wide and double the width of the sleeves to make a pleated ruffle. For the skirt, I cut out a 3 yard width of fabric at the length I liked. I just measured some of my other dresses to decide which length I wanted it to be. Since this fabric was a double-wide fabric, the skirt actually only has one seam in it - the seam where the zipper has been inserted.
To add a bit more detail to the dress, I used an emerald green thread to top stitch by hand around the neckline and above the ruffle on the sleeve. I also finished the hem with navy hem lace, though I did not get a photo of it. Overall it was an easy and stress-free make!
I loved that the costumes used in Asteroid City were 1950s/1960s inspired in bright and airy colours, and I loved that the dresses were the types of dresses that you could see anyone wearing in the era. There are lots of shirt dresses and cotton clothes that would be comfortable in the heat (which also being absolutely adorable). I wanted to mirror the bright, fun, and simple designs from the movie while making it into a design that I know that I would wear often. I tried to balance the severity of the neckline and the simple bodice with some femininity of ruffles and a full skirt. I chose to pleat the ruffles and the skirt so that they still match the feeling that the rest of the dress has. I think the elements all work well together and come together to make a very comfortable, functional dress.
I am very excited to finally have a dress made out of this beautiful fabric, and I can't wait to wear it around and live out my Midge Campbell in Asteroid City dreams!
Thanks for reading,
~Katherine
