The time has come. I am finally making my Colette Wren Dress. This dress immediately went on my “to-sew” list when it was announced. The style matched what the Wardrobe Architect was telling me about my personal clothing preferences. But it quickly got buried in an ever-growing pile of sewing wishes and life circumstances.
Now that I am ready to sew Version 1, I have one final question to answer:
Do I make this dress with or without sleeves?
The Case for a Sleeveless Wren
- The first version I fell in love with was sleeveless. This image —-> is what sold me on the dress.
- The seafoam/mint green color of the fabric is better suited to warmer seasons and it is never fun to be stuck in a long sleeve dress on a warm day. A sleeveless dress could be layered more easily with my large collection of cardigans.
- Long sleeves means more fabric and with this being a solid color, I worry too much green could get boring. The long-sleeves versions of Wren I like most tend to be made with patterned fabric.
- Making a sleeveless version will leave me with more remnant fabric for another project, like maybe an Astoria Shirt?
- I will finish the dress a couple hours sooner.
The Case for a Wren with Sleeves
- I am making this dress in the fall and I want to wear it now.
- In a work environment, I think long and 3/4 sleeves give knit dresses a bit more professional modesty. At least enough to balance a deep v-neck and fitted silouette.
- I love Sari’s long sleeve wool-jersey dress in this picture —–> but does it only work because it is a darker blue that makes you think cooler weather? This photo is what convinced me to get the sleeve bonus patterns.
- Because my lower half is visually a bit heavier than my upper body, having sleeves balances the amount of fabric below the waist.
- I already own a lot of sleeveless dresses and I am eager for a challenge.
Bonus sleeves! by Colette
I’m still torn.
Thankfully, it is easy to make the sleeveless version before I need to cut out any long sleeves. I’ll get your thoughts on Instagram later this week.
Which version of Wren would you sew?
The Fabric Alchemist 
You’re right about the flexibility of a sleeveless dress. I also agree about mint being a kinda warm weather color. That said, I’m also in the mode of wanting long sleeve things. All of your points for sleeves are also salient, though they seem to be more from the brain and the sleeveless version points are from the heart. Altogether, I think you might be happier with the sleeveless version. You can always keep an eye out for fabric in a color or pattern that fits this season, particularly if you find your first version wears really well.
I really appreciate your observation about the head vs heart reasons for each type of dress. I hadn’t recognized that until you pointed it out.
You’re welcome. Sometimes, we all need that outside perspective. 🙂