The Air Force men and women here in Korea work really long, hard hours and it’s not easy on them or their significant others. So when we have a night out, it’s important for everyone to relax, smile, share a laugh, talk to friends, and have a good time! When everyone gets together at the officer’s club bar, we often wear party suits. A party suit is simply a fun costume that seems to lighten the mood and set the atmosphere. The pilots wear party jumpsuits and green shoes if they have them. The wives wear party dresses and wigs if they have one.
Johnnie and I in our party suits – the wig is such a fun accessory!
The wives’ party dress has great embroidery on the back!
Instead of having the traditional party dress made, I finally had a reason to finish a project that I started a year ago. I took apart one of Johnnie’s old flight suits (it came with me in many pieces to Korea) and remade it into a dress to wear as a party suit. I can sew decently but this was the most complicated project I’ve ever done. I’m amazed and thrilled that it came out as well as it did!
I got some fun patches to put on it!
The pilots’ party suits are a cross between a flight suit and an Elvis jumpsuit. They have a large collar, bell bottoms, and lots of embroidery.
My favorite part of the the pilots’ party suits is the elaborate embroidery they have done on the back. Johnnie just got his suit made so his back is currently empty – we’re trying to think of something as good as these 🙂
And my favorite… but no offense to guys I know who are not pilots 🙂
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“I get by with a little help from my friends.”
~The Beatles
I would love any tips or a tutorial on how to make a flight dress! My husband’s flight suit is much bigger than I am and any advice on making one would be appreciated! Yours looks AMAZING!
Thank you! I actually have photos of the process that I took while making this dress for another spouse, unfortunately I haven’t made it into a post yet. If your husband’s suit fits decently across the shoulders, that makes it so much easier! I had to adjust everything for mine. I used a seam-ripper to carefully remove both sleeves, the sleeve cuffs, the waist band and velcro, and a pocket zipper for the slit. I even had to remove the back bottom part because I had to move the waist up so much. After it was all in pieces, I took in the sides, turned the legs into a skirt, and then sewed everything else back on in its new adjusted place. It was trial and error and trying it on a hundred times during the process but it wasn’t incredibly difficult. Good luck!
Where can I get one to replace my Vietnam era outfit that I foolishly threw away. I assume you had tailor in Korea make these. Thanks….appreciate any info you can share.