Olivia's Someday Dress

My 2 1/2 year old, Olivia, loves books, but there is one book that really seems to inspire her and always gets her asking "Can I do that too, someday?"

(You can buy the book here!)
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/someday-eileen-spinelli/1006566310?ean=9780803729414

Someday is a book with an inspiring message and gorgeous, colorful illustrations, but I always catch myself looking at the clothes the little girl is wearing and wishing Olivia and Regan could have such beautiful outfits to wear when they do cartwheels in the backyard or dig for change in the sofa cushions.

I decided I'd try my best to recreate some of the gorgeous outfits created by Rosie Winstead starting with the outfit the adorable heroine wears when she has tea with the president.
You can see more of Rosie Winstead's work here:
http://www.rosiewinstead.com

I picked up three items at the thrift store to recreate the look: an XL man's dress shirt, a skinny brown belt, and a pair of green cotton capri pants.  I think I was pretty successful, considering I had a 1 and 2 1/2 year-old along and I had to shop quickly before everyone got too bored.

And here is Olivia in her outfit.  I crocheted the collar- mostly because it was easier than cutting and sewing one.  I used the front button plackets of the shirt as the buttons up the back, so I didn't need to sew any buttons or button holes on the dress.  The jacket's buttons are the same buttons that were on the pants when I bought them and I think they work great for the jacket!  I almost considered using the fronts of the pants with the sewn-on pockets and button flaps as the sleeves, but I thought it would make it look too military or casual and I wanted this to be fancy enough to be worn when meeting the president!  It needs a few finishing touches before it's totally done- a little ribbon to hang down at the neck of the dress, some loops to keep the belt in place, but even before it's finished, she loves it.

Here is the hat I created for her while she and her sister took a nap today.  I really wanted to felt a hat, but I couldn't find any wool yarn in the right color, so I went for organic cotton instead and crocheted a newsboy-ish cloche and added the flower, ribbon, and feathers.  She is modeling it for me right after she woke up from her nap.  After I took this photo, I added a second feather which will be in the final photos I take of everything together.

And here it is!  The whole ensemble... :)

There are plenty of other cute outfits in the book... I have already started on a couple more. : )

 One last shot of the outfit with the book to compare it to. :)