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Sarai’s Hawthorn (in Palm Springs)

sarai-ace

Palm Springs is my magic place.

I can’t pinpoint exactly what made me fall in love with it. Maybe it’s the cool mid-century architecture everywhere. Maybe it’s my love for pools (swimming in them or relaxing next to them).

I think a large part of it is how alien it is. I live somewhere so lush and green and damp that visiting the California desert is like going to another planet. Real life seems far away and everything is awash in these odd pastel desert colors. I’ll never forget the feeling of visiting Palm Springs in May one year, when it was still cool and damp in the pacific northwest. It felt like the first time I’d been completely dry in 9 months.

In any case, it’s magic to me. So while Kenn and I were visiting family last week, we decided to take a little side trip for a night at the Ace Hotel. And while we were there, I had him snap a few shots of the Hawthorn I made during the sew-along.

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I love this dress.

My fabric is a Marc Jacobs cotton silk blend. I decided it was a little sheer, so I underlined the skirt in the same fabric. Buttons are simple gold dome shank buttons.

Sarai Mitnick

Founder

Sarai started Colette back in 2009. She believes the primary role of a business should be to help people. She loves good books, sewing with wool, her charming cats, working in her garden, and eating salsa.

Comments

Jacqueline Moules

August 8, 2013 #

Sweet dress, chic fabric, divine accessories, beautiful arty backdrop – what is that stunning lipstick colour???

Sarai

August 8, 2013 #

I think it’s the Bite high pigment pencil in Zinfandel. I love it! It’s a really bright warm red, and stays on for a long time!

Cheryl

August 8, 2013 #

Lovely – Simple can be so elegant!

I feel the same way about visiting the Grand Canyon from my home in Orlando – still a tourist mecca but no humidity is just crazy! Could actually feel moisture being sucked from my body the minute we got off the plane in Phoenix. Went everywhere with a water bottle in hand.

Did you make any changes to the length of your Hawthorn (and if so, what change & how tall are you)? I like how it is knee length on you. I’m considering making at least one but it looked so short in the release pictures (but I think your model is taller than my 5’4″).

Sarai

August 8, 2013 #

Hmm, I don’t think I did make any changes to the length. I’m 5’5″, if that helps.

Cheryl

August 9, 2013 #

thanks – that helps a lot – I’ll have enough alterations for the bodice so not having to deal with figuring if the yardage amounts have to be adjusted will help keep my brain from exploding!

Mugsy

August 8, 2013 #

And you look “mahvelous, dahlink”! *lol*

Red

August 8, 2013 #

Love Palm Springs and your Hawthorn.

A trip to PS is one our my husband and my favorite vacations. We stayed at the Orbit Inn, which 6 mid century modern rooms decorated in period appropriate ways.

PS is so different from Atlanta, Georgia. We took side trips to Joshua Tree National Park and that was like going to another world.

I have a trip to SoCal coming up and yards of red chambray. I think I know what my make is.

Erin

August 8, 2013 #

Gorgeous! I was just thinking last night how I hoped you’d post some pictures; the shot we had of your fabric choice at the beginning of the sew-along was so eye-catching! Very, very pretty, and you look lovely in it.

Hanne

August 8, 2013 #

Love your dress! it looks really good on you!

Jennifer at My Sewing Suite

August 8, 2013 #

Really lovely, a classic.

ShanniLoves

August 8, 2013 #

Ok so after seeing your beautiful navy blue Hawthorne and Lladybird’s blue Hauthorne ya’ll have convinced me that I need this in my life! And yes I’m totally going to copy…navy blue please!

Chantal

August 8, 2013 #

So classic and gorgeous! I love it!

Diane @ Vintage Zest

August 8, 2013 #

Perfect dress & fedora combination for Palm Springs! I LOVE the architecture there of course, and you fit right in. This is almost a commercial for the hotel where you stayed! :)

Lianne

August 8, 2013 #

I really like the shoes, too. Good choice to go nuetral, and very clean lines.

Heidilea

August 8, 2013 #

So lovely! I’ve been in the mood for Navy blue after eschewing it for a decade (it colored my high school and college years too much!) Seeing you and other ladies rock it with a multitude of different colored accessories makes me realize it’s been out of my life too long!

On a side note, a coworker friend of mine moved here from Palm Desert last spring (he was a talk radio host in Palm Springs). Our weather here in Ithaca is very similar to the Pacific Northwest (we get 5 days more rain per year than Seattle), and he’s still having a hard time adjusting. I got jealous of his stories of fig and lime trees in his backyard and year-round swimming. Maybe some day I’ll get to see it for myself!

Sarai

August 8, 2013 #

I am on a real navy kick right now. It can be a little conservative, but I think that’s what makes it interesting when it’s done in cool shapes or paired with other colors. Insta-class!

The desert is a lovely place, but I must say that every time I go back home to southern california, I marvel at the lack of trees. I love my lush PNW!

emily

August 8, 2013 #

Beautiful! I love the dress and it looks like a beautiful place for a holiday. Where did you get that perfect hat??

Sarai

August 8, 2013 #

I got it at John Helmer here in Portland (it’s an Italian brand called Steffano), but if you do a search for “panama hat” there are tons of options!

emily

August 9, 2013 #

Thanks so much! I’ve been looking for a decent sun hat for ages :)

Amanda

August 8, 2013 #

Really beautiful Hawthorn, Sarai! Love it in black (navy blue?) with the brown belt, so chic. And I know what you mean about Palm Springs. Actually, SoCal has that feel to me in general since I grew up on the East Coast – living in an apartment that looked out to a shared courtyard with lemon trees was just so amazing. I felt like I was always on vacation!

Sarai

August 8, 2013 #

I do miss citrus trees. We had to give away our meyer lemon tree to a friend when we moved to Oregon.

Alice

August 8, 2013 #

Your dress is very attractive…and well fitted too. I think the fabric choice was perfect. If it would only warm up here in the Bay Area, I’d be tempted to make one!

Anne

August 8, 2013 #

Your dress looks very nice!! I really like the color and the fitt. Did you make the size according to the size chart? I made a wearebal muslin of the blouse version. But it has a lot more ease, i’m still in doubt if i will make a smaller size, but i’m afraid it will be to tight and have gapping buttons.

Sarai

August 8, 2013 #

Yup, I just made my standard size 8, though I did shorten the bodice a smidge because I’m short waisted.

Rebecca

August 8, 2013 #

Awe the Ace is literally around the corner from my house! Would have loved to have treated you to a coffee or a bite in appreciation for such wonderful patterns and endless inspiration! Glad you enjoyed P.S. ;)

Sarai

August 8, 2013 #

Oh cool! I really must post about trips in advance!

Ginger

August 8, 2013 #

Lovely dress and fab pics! I was *just* thinking of booking a trip to Palm Springs next month for some poolside R&R, and looked into the Ace just yesterday! Too funny.

Edie

August 8, 2013 #

Perfectly elegant and so lovely on you. I have some navy lawn with ivory swallows and been trying to decide what to do with it. Your beautiful Hawthorne convinced me.

Manju

August 8, 2013 #

Sarai your version is just lovely. Classic, elegant but oh so stylish. You can just feel the quality of that beautiful fabric from the pictures!

meganleiann

August 8, 2013 #

The navy blue is just dreamy! Sometimes simple really is just the best!

mrs. eccentric

August 8, 2013 #

i’m so excited to see this dress, the way you’ve made it and how you’ve chosen to style it! I’ve been a fan of Colette patterns since you had just 2 or 3 designs….i loved the femme feel, the touch of retro, the dress (love me a dress!). But i held back from actually picking up a pattern….i’m 51, and i ‘did’ the vintage thing in my twenties (had a blast), so it felt a little twee and dated this time around. I love seeing retro looks on younger ladies, as well as ladies my own age, but i’d gone on to a more antique (edwardian, victorian) and minimalist style. So a cotton pique print dress with coordinating piping and molded plastic buttons, as beautiful as i’ve seen it done on the colette flickr page, just wasn’t ‘moi’.

The Hawthorne, tho, got me thinkin’. As an outdoorsy housespouse i can always use a full skirt, and shirtwaists are a classic. Love the sleeve/less options, the ability to make up in a wide variety of fabrics. Still felt a bit too much ‘twee’ for me –

until this post. Clean, classic, elegant, easy. Simple. Hooray! steph

Giusy

August 8, 2013 #

You look like a Diva! I love the dress and styling. I’ve just finished to read a book about Audrey Hapburn and I think that some people born with a magical Allure: You’ve got it too!

francesca

August 9, 2013 #

Oh, so chic. Love the photos, love the look. This is the way I dress for work in summer…. in a hot island which is sometimes humid and sometimes dry :). I love navy – it was my school uniform colour when I was a kid and it was such a great uniform – then it was changed to a blue we called French blue which looked totally wrong….

I spent four years in Madrid – 15% humidity – great for being able to run around to meetings in your suit jacket without getting even slightly damp at temps of 40 up, but I got thru endless bottles of eye drops, nose moisturizing drops, constant nosebleeds and super dry skin – i actually used to use two layers of rich moisturizer in summer! Here, I wear hats and have given up on using even a light sunscreen on my face, as it lasts about two minutes!

Sara

August 9, 2013 #

All the navy Hawthorns are so beautiful…and yours in particular shows off your lovely tattoos! :)

Your shoes are also fantastic — may I ask where you got them?!

Rachel

August 9, 2013 #

They are Sven clogs: http://www.svensclogs.com/

Angela

August 15, 2013 #

Love this dress and just bought the pattern along with several other Colette patterns :) (Laurel, Lady Grey, Lily, Rooibos, Jasmine, etc.) I was wondering what size I should try because I recently lost weight and am having trouble deciding where to start with any of my patterns :) but on your patterns it looks like I am a “0” as far as the bust and hips go, but I am more of a 4 as far as the waist goes. I know it kind of depends on the pattern where I should start. I am a pretty experienced sewer, but have not been sewing for several years and just recently started sewing again and then threw this big wrench in the whole thing and lost all this weight :) Just wanted to know what you recommend as a starting point for my muslin so that I might not have to do quite so many muslins before I can get started on the actual fashion fabric :) Thanks in advance for your help. I am assuming that on something on the hawthorne I should use the 4 and maybe on something like the laurel that is a little less fitted I would go with the 0 or 2?