Nothing New, Black Tie Edition Part 3: No, I'm not an actual failure

I told you about the dress I rented, and the other things I paid (or didn't pay) for, for my evening out at the Theas. But I left you hanging with this little teaser:

Anything look familiar? I'll give you a hint.

Remember this fabric...?

...and my sewing disaster adventure??

Yes, I did give up on making a pair of jeans, a cocktail dress and a tuxedo vest in time to wear to the dinner. But I didn't give up completely! And the results were fantastic:

Bow Ties

Derek and Sameer at the after party.

Three bow ties of varying styles. Only two are pictured here because no one wore the third one for the event, and at the end of the night I gave it to a man named Bob and then failed to get a picture of him wearing it before we left. It's a long story.

The point is, the bow ties were a hit, even before anyone knew they were made from the project fabric, or that I had made them.




Capelet

Awkward photo by Disneyland Hotel staff at 2am.

A mink capelet for me, with the fabric as lining. This was made from this Butterick Retro pattern from 1952. We (Sameer) went back and forth about how to incorporate our fabric. I wanted something warm as the lining; he liked this high-quality faux mink fur for the collar. When he went to purchase the fur from ISW, the minimum length was 1/2 yard (this was not cheap-o fabric). He bought it, along with some brown velvet for lining. The fur was so nice and soft, and I was able to just barely fit the pattern onto the fabric with the nap, so I went for it with, again, stunning results. I got even more compliments on my capelet than the bow ties and, again, before anyone even knew I had made it myself. They didn't believe me!

Pocket Squares

Tom, Jay, John and Sameer with pocket squares.

Eight pocket squares. Ok, I wanted to make these, and I did supervise, but I ran out of time trying to get these and everything else finished. Sameer came over the night before the Theas and made these while I was working on my capelet. They are not nearly as nice as I wanted them to be - they are all different sizes, some of them aren't even square, and he didn't close the seam on any of them - but no one can tell once they're crammed into a pocket. And it made everyone on the team feel included, and look unified.

 Clutch

Me with clutch at computer desk. I was low on pictures.

This was a fun story to tell that night.

Sameer showed up at my house to pick me up. He poked his head in the door and asked,"How much time do you need?"

I was ready to go, in full attire, but was standing over the ironing board considering my options.

"That depends," I said.
"Can I make a clutch?"

So I whipped this up in about 10 minutes and then we were on our way!

Winning and looking great in matching attire!

And that really is everything I wore/used/made for my (almost) nothing new black tie affair!