The Trina Dress sent me into a style crisis tailspin. I wanted this dress the moment it hit my Instagram feed, but it completely strays from what I consider to be my personal style.

I don’t like massive kimono sleeves.

Or do I? These are so perfectly dramatic.

Plunging necklines aren’t really my thing.

But the deep V balances the sleeves so well.

This dress is too girly.

But YOU ARE A GIRL. And you know you love this dress.

Do I even have a personal style anymore?!

Luckily, we all have a little something called free will and the power to decide what to wear and when and how to wear it. How novel.

I pulled the trigger with this pattern and set about sewing a muslin—preferably a wearable one—in satin. (Victory had me intrigued with their Trina sample in icy blue.) My next stop was Textile Discount Outlet in Pilsen, where you can find hundreds of bolts of the kind of shiny fabric I normally avoid like the plague.

A deep aubergine satin spoke to me (especially at under $4/yard—this dress requires lots of fabric), and I prayed that there would be enough fabric on what felt like a pretty skimpy bolt. There wasn’t, and I made the ill-fated decision to buy a similar fabric in a different color to make up the difference. The color of the secondary fabric is a cross between a baby pink blush and a very light peach. I have no clue what I was thinking. The color is truly hideous on my olive skin, and the muslin made me look like a circus tent.

Because why the hell not, here’s a Boomerang video of me in my circus tent:

Now I have a very fancy, loud robe to wear around the house. Thanks, muslin. And thanks for making me realize that I should go shorter with my second dress.

Details for the Real Deal Trina

Pattern: Trina by Victory Patterns
Size: 8
Fabric: textured black rayon blend from JoAnn Fabrics
Alterations: added 1.5 inches to the bodice; chopped a few inches off the length
Finishing: serged the seams, but I’d probably go for french seams next time

I’m glad I did a practice run, because I definitely needed the extra 1.5 inches I added to the bodice. The instructions are wonderful, but like the other Victory Patterns dress I sewed, I cannot urge you enough to mark all of the notches, match points, etc. The bodice front overlaps the back at the sides to allow the tie to flow through, and that means that you’ll want your sleeve and bodice placement near perfect.

I finished this dress more than three weeks ago, because I wanted something romantic to wear for mine and Marc’s fifth anniversary dinner. (We went to Parachute. It was amazing.) It’s a wonder the number of construction details I can forget just a few weeks after sewing something. If you have any specific questions about this dress, hit me up in the comments.

Have a fantastic Thanksgiving, friends! (And now begins the unselfish sewing for many of us, eh?)