Pink beyond forest and thighs

Pink like the lips around your, maybe
Pink like the skin that’s under, baby
Pink where it’s deepest inside, crazy
Pink beyond forest and thighs
Pink like the secrets you hide, maybe
Pink like the lid of your eye, baby
Pink is where all of it starts, crazy
Pink like the halls of your heart

Morgan and I started planning a vacation to stay in a lighthouse B&B in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan months ago, and the minute I saw pictures of the setting I knew I needed to make a properly dramatic dress to suit. I started with the idea of a wrap dress in some kind of floaty material. When I fell in love with Janelle Monae’s “Pynk” and vowed to live my life surrounded by this color I love, I knew I wanted to make the dress pink.

I wanna fall through the stars
Getting lost in the dark is my favorite part
Let’s count the ways we could make this last forever
Sunny, money, keep it funky
Touch your top and let it down

Inspired by all the lush, labial folds in Monae’s video, I knew I wanted to make something that layered and folded and fluttered around me. Getting just the right shades of gradient pink required dyeing my own fabric, so I picked up not just ten yards of rayon lawn from Dharma Trading Co, but also all the supplies to dye it the most perfect shades of fleshy pink.

The pattern I used is Vogue 9251. I knew the bodice wouldn’t quite work, so I did an FBA, then converted the darted bodice to a princess seam. All in all, I used the size 20 with a 1.5″ FBA, then graded to a 22 at the hips.

My rayon lawn was fairly thin, so I used two layers on the bodice and sleeves and made a three-layered skirt, with the colors gradually getting darker. I love the way it floats and flutters around my legs in the wind, and the peeks of deep pink revealed.

At the lighthouse, Morgan and I set out on a beautiful, sunny morning to take full advantage of the verdant surroundings and dramatic cliff edges. It wasn’t, perhaps, the ideal time for photos, with bright direct sunlight, but Morgan managed to capture the dreamy, ethereal sense we felt out there on the edge of Lake Superior.

With a rose quartz necklace and a flower crown, I felt perfectly at home in the lush green setting of our vacation. The sweetness of the dress shape comes together with the lush sensuality of the drapey pinkness, which deepens as its folds are parted open.

Pink like your tongue going round, baby
Pink like the sun going down, maybe
Pink like the holes in your heart, baby
Pink is my favorite part