Designer Look for Less: Mark D. Sikes

This year, it's all about the stripes.  Stripes are everywhere!  This dress takes it to a whole other level.  While scrolling through instagram, I noticed that many of the popular fashion bloggers were wearing this dress, so I had to figure out who made it.

As soon as I saw it, I knew it was an absolute must have. The designer of this dress is Mark D. Sikes. You can find it here.  His style is more Americana and coastal California vibes.  The wear of his pieces are easy, breezy, and pulled together. The prices however, are way to far out of my price range. This particular color block maxi is priced at $625. Wow!!! 

The website stated that this dress was made from four different colors of cotton fabric, so for this dress, broadcloth was the perfect way to go. Though this dress was $625, I found that if you catch broadcloth on sale for $1.99 at JoAnns, you can make this dress for around $20. Crazy Right!?

Here are the measurements that you'll need:
(Tip: If you draw out the dress, it will help)

Straps: 5" width by  ________ (longer the better, you'll cut it down and adjust at the end. I cut 22")
Top Band: 2.5" width by _________ (Measurement around upper chest/ 2 + 1" seam allowance)
Blue Color Block: 9.75" by __________ (upper chest measurement x 2)
Orange Color Block: 9.75" by __________ (upper chest measurement x 3)
Pink Color Block: 9.75" by __________ (upper chest measurement x 4)
Red Color Block: 9.75" by __________ (upper chest measurement x 5)

Each of the measurements for your color block are only for one side of your dress; front and back. If your upper chest is 36",  you will need 72" of fabric which equates to 2 yards. You do not need to buy 2 yards for the front and two yards for the back because you only need a 9.75" width for a front piece and a back piece. I hope that makes sense.

Note: If you want to adjust the length of this dress, measure the length you want, divide that number by four and you'll get the width of each color block. Don't forget to add your seam allowance to each block.  The measurements above are for a midi length dress. My height is 5'6".
 

For a step by step tutorial, watch here:

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