DIY Giambattista Valli Dress


Since last spring I have been obsessed with a dress from Giambattista Valli.
OBSESSED.

Then this fall, George Clooney’s new bride, Amal Alamuddin, wore it on her wedding weekend.
Seeing this dress in the headlines made me want to recreate an inspired look of this magnificent garment!

Ummmm…… and hello?
What’s not to love about her look?

The floral, lace, and asymmetrical hem combined with wedded bliss and sunnies makes this such a glamorous option!
Don’tcha think?

Although this is not an exact replica, couture is not made in a week my darlings,
this tutorial is a great place to start for those wanting to recreate this look!

ALSO…… I have four littles, wearing a skirt that short was out of the question and I get so uncomfortable showing so much leg! xoxo

DIY Lace, Long-Sleeved Giambattista Valli dress

DIY Giambattista Valli Dress

So for this look, I used Vogue pattern 8766, the only alteration I made to this pattern was the hem of the skirt.

Now, as much as I LOVED the roundness of Amal’s skirt, I also didn’t like it.
Why you ask?

Did you know I have 4 kids?
In the real world, that’s like a million.
The roundness felt a little too maternity like-ish for my mother of four figure, pregnancy complex at it’s best folks!
So I went with a more A-line look.

Using skirt pieces from Vogue pattern 8766, follow instructions in the pictures below.

Then sew the dress according to pattern instructions.
I LOVE this pattern and have made it once before, here.

It’s simple and fast to put together.

Finally. add the flowers… lots of flowers.
I already owned a floral multicolored lace, and I cut out close to 100 flowers and hand appliqued on to the dress.
If you cannot find a similar lace, try

  • laces of a few different colors,
  • small artificial flowers,
  • or cut out flowers from different color felts that can be found in the craft section of any Joann’s or Michael’s store.

I was hand sewing those suckers for days.

DAYS.

annnnnnnd GUESS WHAT?  I may add more. LOTS.

Overall, I love the dress and I love Giambattista Valli.
He such a great designer and his couture collections are gorgeously insane!

Now if only I had money to afford one of his genius works of art…

But I don’t, so I try to make it work.

I am pleased with the final look,
dress pattern with the skirt alterations are AMAZING if I do say so myself,
can you imagine how awesome it would be in a different color and fabric choices?

I get all giddy thinking of it, so stay tuned for that!

Until then, thanks for stopping by and reading my little blog!
Hope you have a glamorous weekend and if you have time, make this DIY Giambattista Valli Dress for yourself!

xo/Riva

DIY Giambattista Valli Dress DIY Giambattista Valli Dress DIY Giambattista Valli Dress, Vogue Patterns DIY Amal Clooney Dress DIY Giambattista Valli Dress

 

58 Comments

Add yours
  1. 1
    Ada

    Riva you are always gorgeous, smashing and unique. You are beautiful inside out and I had no idea you were a mom of 4. Your body is smoking, lovely lady. All of your DIY’s are awesome but this is THE BEST by far. This Floral Dress came out looking gorgeous. WOW!! You look divine.

    Welcome by and check out my blog sometime. I’d love to have you. Thanks beautiful and Happy Sunday!

    <3 Ada.

    • 2
      Riva

      Awwwwwww, thank you, Ada!! 🙂 You know just what to say to make this Sunday morning a good one! I appreciate your comment and support! Thanks for the love!! xoxoxox 🙂

  2. 6
    Theresa @DearCreatives

    I admired that dress too. I could never pull it off but, you look amazing in it and I love that you created this yourself! Now, my daughter’s could wear something like this! Thanks for sharing at the party! Pinned. I might just have to attempt that pattern sometime for something special & someone special 😉

    • 21
      Riva

      Haha! EXACTLY. 🙂 Additionally, thanks for your comment, you are so nice, and whoa, I love your site! Can you imagine all the runway goodies everyone (me) could make visiting your site?
      We should be best friends. 😉 xo

  3. 26
    Ashley

    You are AMAZINGLY Talented. WOW. If I could sew, I would do just what you do! How inspiring that you are able to re create the looks you love. I am in awe.

    That dress fits you like a glove, it is gorgeous. Glad I found you today on the Living In Color link up. I will for sure follow you.

    xoxo
    Ashley
    http://www.arrayofstyle.com
    Stop BY Sometime

    • 43
      Riva

      Hey Thanks Rebecca! I, too have been obsessing over that dress since last spring, then Amal wears it, and I just HAD to remake a version of it! LOL Thanks so much for the kind words!! Riva xoxo

  4. 51
    Ashley S

    I cannot believe you made this dress yourself. My jaw dropped when I saw it because it’s absolutely gorgeous. I actually like it even more than the original! You did an amazing job. I’m a new follower of you through Bloglovin and would really appreciate if you checked out my site as well! Thanks, have a wonderful weekend.

    http://ashcatz.blogspot.com

  5. 55
    Shaz

    I have loved the Giambattista Valli haute couture spring 2014 dress since first seeing Amal wearing it. But I love your version much better – the length is more flattering and the lace is stunning.

    You are an amazing seamstress. Thank you so much for being inspiring!

    Shaz.

  6. 57
    Patricia

    Hi Riva! I just came across your blog and happened to have bought this McCall’s Pattern last week. I’ll sew a wedding party dress out of it. I abolutely love what you did with the skirt (and will definitely change it)! How were you able to keep the lace hem? If I follow the pattern’s instructions, it’s not possible. Could you give me clues? Thanks!! Patricia (Québec, Canada)

    • 58
      Riva

      Ooooooooh! Great question, Patricia! So glad you noticed! 🙂 The selvage edge of the fabric had that great scalloped edge, so I cut it off, trimmed off excess and frays, and literally stitched the scalloped edge right on top of the hem of the dress with my sewing machine. Press the hem and your done! Does that make any sense? If not, I will make a tutorial for you! 🙂 Thanks for the question and good eye! xoxo

+ Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.