A few months ago Nataya contacted me through instagram and asked if I’d do a sponsored post featuring one of their dresses.
I don’t generally do sponsored posts because I have to actually love and need a thing in order to feel comfortable marketing it. And I really don’t need any more pretty frocks…
But I knew about Nataya because my friend Emily has raved about their dresses. She’d always wanted to have the excuse to have one. Hmmmmmm…
Someone who I love and owe a lot of favours to (Emily is my tech wizard for this blog and Scroop Patterns!) loves the dresses and would look amazing in them…
I sense a plan coming on!
So I had a chat with Nataya and Emily, and they both agreed to a post featuring Emily in her favourite Nataya frock. Three weeks ago a gorgeous dress arrived in the post in pretty pink packaging! This is the 40163 Downton Abbey Tea Gown in mauve in size 2x.
Emily tried it on, and I did a little tailoring to make it fit her perfectly. We were both actually very impressed by how well it fit even before the alterations.
Emily is 5’2″ and super curvy. We added bust darts to the lining (100% cotton so it’s cool!) to make it fit at the bust. We took in the shoulder seams 1″, and the back waist 1.5″. Finally we added gathers on the sleeve hems, which both petite-iffy the sleeve length, and worked with Emily’s slimmer-than-average-for-her-bust-size arms.
Emily accessorised the dress with two antique Edwardian necklaces she owns, vintage lace gloves, and vintage shoes.
We added a bunch of roses to my re-re-re-re-make hat (which I guess makes it a re-re-re-re-re-make now!), and she borrowed my pagoda parasol to complete the look.
And then we spent a delicious afternoon exploring the Ashton Norwood gardens in Upper Hutt
Emily brought some special antiques: a family handkerchief, and a very special fan. We got some photos of them for her family.
Altogether we had an absolutely lovely time. Emily looked stunning and I’m thrilled I had the opportunity to practice my photography skills.
And I’m very impressed with the dress as a non-sewing option for Edwardian costuming. I think I need to throw an Edwardian garden party now!
oh my stars, what a beautiful photo shoot! ms. emily looks entirely gorgeous in that dress and that dress looks stunning on her. the colour is made for her, too. and the hat is trimmed into matching perfection. i love what you did with the sleeves.
i have a nataya dress in my closet which has gone unworn for ages as i never felt it fit me properly or in a flattering way. perhaps a few tailoring tweaks are in order…thanks for the inspiration, and for the eye candy of this edwardian styling in a garden. those hydrangeas!
Ah, Nataya! Late 90s Elise worked at a store that sold their dresses, and they were always SO romantic and fun. I see that they’ve adapted their Titanic Dress, and it’s lovely. Lovely color, and wonderful on Emily–who is a wonderful person.
Beautiful!
Oh, Emily, you were so correct to wish for this dress. It’s just right for you. You are stunning!
This could be a rate the dress feature
Wonderful dress, wonderful photos!
In addition to all the other comments, I love how the colour makes her eye-colour really pop 🙂
Emily looks stunning, and very period.
…and that’s despite the fact that her outfit is not 100% period-accurate.
How lovely!!! And honestly Emily is very much reminiscent of what women looked like during that time, being curvy and voluptuous, so the style totally suits her! And the dress!! Simply divine!! Is this a pattern available on Scroops?
Simply lovely!