Baby Blue Sunshine: Hi-Lo Lace Top and Skirt

* For this week, I want to showcase Zi's latest creation: this lace top and skirt set made for a special little lady. Zi has become the go-to gal for lace hi-low skirts; remember the white one in this post? She has also made one in pink and this one in blue. The blue set is a good-bye gift as the little princess and her queen were moving to Texas ... we'll miss them.
* Check us out on Instgram: @zichie_designs and @e_fazion

Enjoy the pictures below.

Black & Neon Lace Dress - Twirl, Baby, Twirl

* Last Sunday, February 15th, was my church's 3rd annual Red Rose Banquet. Last year, I wore the blue and white dress (blog post of version 1.0 here and version 2.0 here). For this year, I wore this lovely lace dress that Zi made for me for my birthday in 2014. Yay to wonderful sisters :).
Some details about the dress:

• The bottom half is a full circle skirt - perfect for awesome twirling!!!!
• Princess seams on the bodice - elegant.
• Exposed metal zipper at the back.
• Neckline lined with an assortment of fabric covered and plastic buttons.

** Check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs, @oz_zee and @e_fazion.

New Top Design - Not Sure What To Call It

* In November of 2014, I was Christmas gift shopping when I saw a picture of a doll in a dress that inspired this design. The dress was fit and flare and the bottom was 2-tiers: one floral and one solid pink. It got me thinking ... what if the bodice and first tier were a blouse that could be paired with any bottoms from skirts to shorts to pants to leggings? And while I'm thinking about it, how about a hi-low hemline?

** On Thanksgiving Day, I got Zi's measurements and brought my vision to life in kente print fabric. It worked!!! I was invited to a company's end-of-year dinner party and I made another version of the top in a lovely gold and black brocade that made me think of flames and paired it with the very first high-waist skirt I made. My version of a LBD dress :).
Enjoy the pictures below.

*** Check us out on Instagram: @zichie_designs

The Top in Black & Gold Flames paired with a Pencil Skirt

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 I like how the opening in the front resembles a flame too.

Added black tights, black sandals, gold hair flower and black & gold earrings to complete the night's look.

The Top in Kente Print Fabric

Spots & Stripes Dress: January's Make Of The Month

  * At the beginning of this year, I set a goal to have a #MakeOfTheMonth every month. This will be something I make because I want to - not because of a client's order, special request or for sale on the Etsy store.

** The #MakeOfTheMonth for January is a Spots & Stripes dress that I sketched on a post-it note sometime in 2014. The design was for a fit and flare dress with spots on the bodice and stripes on the skirt. I didn't get a chance to do anything about the sketch till now. I did change the original design by adding stripes to the bodice and I think that was a smart choice. Enjoy the pictures below :).

** Check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs.

I was going to get regular polka dots and a matching striped fabric but these 2 together caught my eye and won't let go.

The initial plan was to have an A-line skirt but I've recently been wanting to make box pleats so I did.

As I previously mentioned, I was going to make the entire bodice out of the spotted fabric but after I took a 2nd look, I decided to bring the stripes up into the bodice.

 

I wanted to do something different for the back so I added a cut-out but I made the band wide enough to cover any bra straps. :)

Final Look: