Of all the clothing I have made over the years this strapless madras dress is the one thing I wear the most. It’s a great lightweight plaid dress that is easy to throw on now that the weather is getting warmer. It just screams summer and with the 4th of July right around the corner it’s the perfect dress. Imagine putting this on after a day at the beach and sitting on the deck with a drink and great summer read. If that doesn’t sound like summer relaxation I don’t what does.

Fabric

This fabric is Kaufman Nantucket Patchwork. It comes in a few color variations. Unfortunately I can’t seem to find the exact color I used. I purchased it last summer when I made this strapless casual dress so it might be sold out. I also bought this color that you can buy on Etsy. This Etsy store has a lot of other madras fabric so I’m sure you can find something you like.

Pattern for My Strapless Madras Dress

I purchased the pattern for this here. It’s a basic slip dress pattern that is very easy to make. You’ll see a lot of versions of this in the future because it’s so versatile. The original dress has straps. I modified it by cutting the straps off and inserting elastic in the back. This keeps the dress from slipping down. There is nothing worse than a strapless dress that won’t stay up.

The origin of Madras

I’m sure most people would think that madras fabric came from some tiny town in New England given how popular it is in that part of the US. However, you would be wrong. The fabric was originally produced in the city of Chennai (previously Madras) in India. The East India Company located in Madras traded madras textiles among other things all over Europe and the Caribbean. Madras became popular with the local islanders.

This excerpt by Christy Choi explains how the storied fabric made its way to the US and into the lives of preppy upper crest families of the Northeast.

And it was there, on the sunny shores of the Caribbean, that the cloth became an inseparable part of the prep wardrobe thanks to tourism and Ivy League rugby tournaments in the mid-1930s. Students from East Coast schools like Yale and Princeton would travel to Bermuda to play rugby and “sunbathe, splash in the surf, play in volleyball tournaments and elect a new Miss College Week,” Sports Illustrated reported in 1956. They would also “throng” local stores to “buy devalued-pound bargains in cashmere and Shetland sweaters, madras Bermuda shorts and blazers,” the article added.

Styling a Strapless Madras Dress

Since the dress is very simple I styled my strapless madras dress with some fun platforms I recently bought here, and my red white and blue baguette bag I made. These little bags are very fun and hold all the essentials. Stay tuned the tutorial!

Thanks for reading!