THE dress part 2

Whew! I found and transferred photos from various sources and will probably have a headache soon.....and they are not in proper order, but that would take an eternity(for me) to figure out, so I'll leave as it is for now.
  As you can see in the last photo, my dress form is made from a wire mesh that can be manipulated to various body shapes, and proved quite useful for this project.
  In the next to last photo, the cutting layout was pretty straightforward. The first two photos are from text messages to Jamie, for her input on the design of the back and the third is a configuration of lace placement on the front. Also the dress form has been covered with stretchy skin tone fabric. More visually appealing don't you think?
The upper back pieces are made from lower parts of one of the sleeves of the original dress.

 The front of the dress is the bodice of the original covered with the remaining sleeve. The collar of the original dress has been placed at the lower front of the bodice on the new dress. All the smaller lace appliques are taken from the original dress, as well. Some pieces were further embellished with beads and sequins, to give a little more sparkle!
   You can see the silk fabric on the skirt. It is under the lace bodice, too, to add some substance to the structure of the dress. When I was sure the design of the lace appliques were pleasing, I sewed them by hand to the center of the dress.
   This was about as far as I could go with my long distance construction. All the bits not sewn on were sorted into small bags and labeled. The yardage for hem of the dress went into a bigger bag. The unfinished dress,
bags of lace, and sewing supplies necessary for completion, were packed into that huge box and shipped to Torrance, the first week in October to await my arrival a week before the wedding.
   I used the skirt from the original dress to make a slip that would be worn under 

the dress to make it a little bit longer and provide a longer train for the wedding ceremony and first part of the reception. Photos of that will be in next installment.

 ready to cut!!

 It's taking shape..