Such A Neapolitan Lady

 
Do you remember Neapolitan ice cream? One-third vanilla, one-third strawberry, one-third chocolate?* I think the chocolate generally disappears first.

 
 
This dress makes me think of Neapolitan ice cream.
 
It’s an old dress from a few seasons back, but you haven’t seen it before. I offer it up today in the name of science!
 
The science of alterations

The proportions had to be observed
 
 
 
This dress was too long when I bought it. Generally, I don’t think at all about the cost of shortening a dress (or pants) because I am short and many of my clothes require that type of alteration.
 
This dress presented a challenge, however. As you can probably imagine, part of its charm is the proportion of white:pink:gold. If I had shortened it from the bottom, most of the gold would have disappeared.

 
 
There is a lesson here.
 
Is everyone thinking?
 
Still thinking?
 
I asked Fatima to shorten the overall length by taking moving the seam between the pink and gold; she took a few inches from both color fields.
 
Et voila; the proportions were preserved

 
 
 
The dress came with this ribbon belt. It’s pale pink (not a perfect match to the dress, which I like) with a purple band sewn on top of it. The ends are finished with a butter-soft purple leather. It looks simple, is actually a sophisticated design.
Deceptively naive

Sometimes these come undone
 
 
 
The neckline closes with two gold hook-and-eye closures, adding a little more visual interest.

 
Come closer and take note of the double bow. I threaded the belt through the openings at the waist, but it did occur to me that one could forgo those slits and simply wrap the belt twice around the waist and tie it in a tight bow or square knot.
Languid bow

 
 
Finishing things off, a few accessories: a very old Coach spectator bag (purchased in 1990), a black watch band, and a milky white moonstone bracelet.
The bag, the watch, and the bracelet

 
 
Have a fantastic weekend!
 
 
 
Dress: Roksanda; Shoes: Tory Burch; Bracelet: Dina Mackney; Bag: Coach
The chocolate always goes first

 
* Do Neapolitans call it Milanese ice cream? Do Italians call it Austrian ice cream?

9 thoughts on “Such A Neapolitan Lady”

  1. I’d try to spoon all three flavors at once. Lovely dress, I can’t believe we haven’t seen it until now. I particularly like the way the belt threads through the slits.

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  2. The dress is very pretty and I like the assessories. I also like strawberries in ice cream and Neapolitan.
    The vintage Coach bag is charming. I have a number of them languishing in storage. If the company were to produce an insertable with pockets I would love to use some of them again. The new Coach bags have too much metal attached to them.

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  3. The vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate proportions are just perfect on the dress! Fatima has a great eye. The belt with the bag make for lovely matching sprinkles. Did you try kitten heels with the dress as well?

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  4. That was a good idea about how to shorten the skirt. It’s not always easy to keep the proportions right when you’re altering things. I often have the sleeves of jackets taken up and it kills me when they take the placket off. I bought a jacket with a placket and button but by the time it’s been shortened that’s lost. It’s enough that when I try something on I won’t buy it if the alteration will destroy some detail.

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