On occasion I have heard some of my women friends say that they wished they could just wear a uniform, to make daily dressing and getting out the door easier. Something flattering and easy care, that they know will look good and of which they have a never ending (and preferably perfectly ironed) supply. I personally could live in silk harem pants and loose tunics, although I wear all sorts of other things too.
But I heard of an artist, a sculptor, who literally wears the same dress, in different colours and fabrics, all the time. Apparently she once bought the original dress in a shop and liked it so much that she kept getting it copied from then on. Her name is Michele Oka Doner. Here is an article about here and her work.
She looks pretty good, doesn’t she? I love her work too, you should google it and have a look. While I don’t think I would have the discipline to stick to one perfect dress for years and years, I wouldn’t mind just one copy of her dress for myself.
As luck would have it, I had just the right pattern in my stash. I found it years ago in an Italian magazine and have used it several times, but the mag is probably in pattern mag heaven by now. If you want to get your hands on something similar, the StyleArc Toni Designer dress below is very close.
The tutorial on how to shorten it shows the pattern pieces:
To make the Michelle Oka Doner dress you need to take out the centre front seam and make a simple round neck instead of the collar. You also need to add the arm scyes and sleeves from a pattern that fits you well in that area. Here are a couple of my own previous versions.
For the cowl I made a trapeze shape, self lined, about the width of my shoulders at the bottom and considerably narrower towards the top. The fabric is an off white ponte. It will show the dirt like crazy, but winter white is so dressy and a good colour for me too. I wore the dress for a big zero birthday party and felt very chic. 🙂
After I published this post Harriet Snow commented that the Tina Givens Iris pattern is also very close, or a ‘dead ringer’ as they say in Australia. This gives anyone wanting to make it another option. The sleeves are cut on in this version, which by necessity makes the bodice looser at the top. I prefer a closer fit in this area, but the Tina Givens version is undeniably closer to the original.
And a look at the pattern pieces:
Mem said:
I love this dress . I have made it a few times and wear it with great pleasure . I really like your versions and will definitely do that too . Thanks
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Rivergum said:
Great minds think alike! Is there somewhere where I can see your versions? I’d love to have a look..
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Manu said:
love it!!!
i wish, i can sewing ….
very nice!!
kind regards, Manu
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pao said:
Oh thanks so much for sharing this. I’ve loved Michelle Oka Doner’s dress since I first came upon it. And her artwork. In fact, I was scheduled to have a 2-person show with her in Chicago years ago and I was excited to meet her and her dress. But she canceled so it was just a solo show of my work.
Your version looks wonderful and I can’t wait to give it a go.
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Rivergum said:
Oh, fancy bumping into an artist with a connection to Michelle Oka Doner. I would love to have a look at your work, could you give us a link? Other people reading this blog will be interested too.
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pao said:
At that time I was doing Flying Kimono and Caged Dresses. The art site is http://patottoart.com
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pao said:
I also had thought of Tina Given’s Iris Dress. I made it with some alterations. You can see it here, if you’d like. http://projectminima.blogspot.com/2016/04/just-keep-on-keeping-on-dress.html
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Rivergum said:
Your site is so interesting! I had a lovely time browsing, thanks for the link.
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Fully said:
I love her dress too. I became familiar with it after reading the fabulous book, “Women in Clothes”. I haven’t made it yet (it’s next in the queue)but I have thought Vogue 1415 would be a good jumping off point to make my own Michelle Oka dress.
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Rivergum said:
Vogue 1415 sort of comes at it from the opposite end, with the cowl. It is a very elegant pattern, thanks for drawing my intention to it. I have some silk charmeuse I want to paint and am always on the lookout for suitable patterns to turn tha length of painted silk into a wearable end product.
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lsaspacey said:
Wow! What a great call on that blouse pattern! Yes, select a pattern for the cowl and sleeves since the skirt portion is far easier to draft oneself. Luckily, I already own Vogue 1234 and Simplicity 8379 so putting together a version of this dress shouldn’t be hard, thanks!
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Cocos Loft said:
Love this idea – and thanks for the toni inspiration. Yours are beautiful.
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Cocos Loft said:
I’m about to get this pattern! But a question: did you use knit jersey? any thoughts on the latter? thks!
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Rivergum said:
I used Ponte de Roma, which is quite a stable double knit. You could use a jersey or even a woven. I believe Michele Oka Doner uses silk versions as evening gowns.
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Cocos Loft said:
Thks – ponte makes sense, it would keep the form of the side action. So lovely on you.
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martha said:
So utterly charming.
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Patti Barnatt said:
Love your versions and Michelle Oka Doner!
I’ve been doing the uniform thing for years; when it works, milk it!
Love the Toni dress – made 7 of them this summer using mostly Dutch wax prints as well as a sparkly knit to wear to a wedding. I keep the center front seam and change the neckline to a V.
Some of my versions can be seen : https://www.instagram.com/westsidesewingstudio/
https://www.instagram.com/pattibarnatt/
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Rivergum said:
Oooo, lovely! Beautiful dresses and I really enjoyed your Instagram board.
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Vancouver Barbara said:
A couple of summers ago it was so hot in Vancouver that the only cool thing to wear was a dress. My inspiration was the Lily Linen Dress by Tessuti. I hacked a Burda pattern. I love the dress so much I’m now up to twelve or thirteen and will continue to make it. I made a big separate collar by using the same fabric, 1/2 meter by whatever width the fabric happens to be and then give it a twist before sewing so that you actually have a mobius ring. It lays so beautifully on the shoulders and neck. So, it seems, I’ve been wearing a version of the Michelle Oka Donner dress and didn’t even know it. I get tons of compliments, especially from young men! I now have the Toni dress pattern and try a version of that.
Love your blog.
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Rivergum said:
Isn’t that funny, I have also hacked the Lily linen dress and made a gazillion versions, but never ended up with anything resembling the Toni. Our imagination does take us in all sorts of unexpected directions and a good thing that is too. Your Moebius idea for the cowl is great, I must try. Is there anywhere I can see your dresses?
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Vancouver Barbara said:
Sorry, I don’t have a blog. My iPhone won’t send pix for some reason but if I ever get it sorted, I will send some to you.
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Harriet Snow said:
Hi Rivergum! The moment you mentioned (in your post) you were planning to hack a dress pattern to recreate the frock in the link, my hippocampus kicked in with “Yep, that Tina Givens pattern!” By which I mean this:
http://www.sewtinagivens.com/_p/prd1/4424150381/product/iris-dress-7057
Seems I was wrong, but there are very suspicious resemblances, no?
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Rivergum said:
Of course! I have seen the dress but not made the connection, goes to show I’m a bit slow on the uptake at times. Still, fashion can only exist because people imitate what others wear and there is no copyright on clothes! Looks like you have found another option for those wanting to have a go at making this dress for themselves.
Regarding the cowl, however, I think the jersey used in the Iris dress is too drapey. If using something like that I would interface to make it stiffer, otherwise you will be fiddling to get the cowl to sit nicely all day long, especially around the neck.
Thanks for drawing my attention to this pattern, I will add it to the body of the post for the convenience of other readers, as not everyone looks through all the comments.
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pinry said:
Very inspiring! Love the elegance and simplicity of Michele’s (and your) dresses. It would be great to see a modelled photo of yours. There is a Tina Givens pattern, iris, that is very like these dresses too, but I’m tempted to wing another version based on vogue 1410.
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Rivergum said:
Yes, someone else mentioned the Iris too, and I added a paragraph to my blog entry for those who are interested but don’t read all the comments. Vogue 1410 is a new idea, I had not thought of that, but of course it has the same shape. Without the under bust elastic it would be very similar.
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plaintain1 said:
Yes, I love this dress. The other week, I was with my tailor and trying to figure out a design for the bigger woman but having seeing this, I will take this to my tailor and use the Ghanaian/Nigerian fabric. Let’s see how it will turn out. Thanks!
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Rivergum said:
Glad to enable you, in the nicest possible way! 🙂
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saramcintire said:
OMG!! My wish has one true in finding someone who figured out the Michelle Oka Doner dress. Thank you so much.
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Rivergum said:
Glad to be of help. Good luck with your own version!
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