Dressmaker Occasion Dress Guide

Townsfolk in Dressmaker do not ask for “a pretty dress.” They ask for something they can wear to a library, a garden party, a fundraiser, an evening ball, the opera, or just everyday errands. The occasion is the brief. Fabric, cut, and notions only work if they serve that brief. This page turns those six social settings into shopping lists you can run from the till to the mannequin without guessing.

Read it beside the fabric types ranks and the accessories drawer. Client personality still matters — the customer guide covers taste, budget, and sabotage jokes — but occasion is the first filter. A playful client at the opera still needs night cloth. A stern client at a garden party still needs daylight cloth.

Prototype 0.5.5 already uses this calendar language. The Steam game planned for 21 September 2026 stretches it across about 35 hours of story commissions, not counting off-the-rack window dresses. Learning the six occasions now means launch week is sewing, not research.

Everyday

Everyday tickets are the shop’s bread. Think errands, market days, and “I just need a dress.”

• Fabrics: Cotton S, linen A in warm weather, wool B if the town is cold. Silk C, velvet D.
• Cut: Grain. Stable skirts, modest ease, no dramatic trains.
• Notions: Plain buttons. One small bow at most. Skip lace cascades.
• Sketchbook: Simple color blocking. Save appliqué for a pocket or collar, not a full motif wall.

Everyday is where you practice the cutting and sewing loop on cheap bolts. Do not “practice velvet” on these tickets; you will overdress the client and empty the register.

Library and work

Library and work share a need for competence. Sleeves that move, skirts that do not snag, matte or dense cloth that does not flash under lamps.

• Fabrics: Cotton S for most offices and stacks. Wool S for winter professional tags. Linen B if the workplace is airy. Silk C. Velvet D.
• Cut: Grain, structured bodice, walking length. Bias hems look like you sent them to a gala.
• Notions: Functional buttons. Pearls only if the workplace is ceremonial. No garden bows.
• Color: Ink, cream, forest, rust. Neon prints fight the room.

If the ticket mentions a desk, a collection, or a lecture, dress the job, not the afterparty. A wool dress with a perfect grain line will outscore a silk slip that “looks expensive” in the wrong building.

Garden party

Garden parties are daylight, lawn, and movement. Cloth should look like it can survive grass and conversation.

• Fabrics: Linen S, cotton A, silk B only as a light bias piece. Wool C, velvet D.
• Cut: Grain for most skirts; a little ease. Short or tea length beats a ball hem that collects dew.
• Notions: Bows S. Soft appliqué A. Lace only as a thin hem, and only if the prototype lace tools behave.
• Sketchbook: Florals, pastels, contrast piping you can actually sew straight.

Garden clients forgive playful extras and punish heavy pile. If you are torn between linen and silk, pick linen unless the invite is a champagne afternoon that already leans formal. Confirm personality on the customer guide before you add a second bow.

Fundraiser

Fundraisers sit between work and night. A noon charity lunch wants wool or silk restraint. A black-tie dinner wants sheen.

• Day fundraiser: Wool A, cotton B, silk A if the budget is high, linen B, velvet C.
• Night fundraiser: Silk S, velvet A, wool B, cotton C.
• Cut: Grain for day jackets and sheaths. Bias for evening skirts.
• Notions: Pearl buttons A. Modest lace B at night. Skip picnic bows.

Read the time of day on the ticket twice. Players lose fundraisers by sending velvet to a daytime podium or cotton to a candlelit hall. When the brief is ambiguous, silk is the safer prestige family than velvet.

Evening ball

Balls are why velvet exists in the shop. They are also where over-decorating hides a bad sew.

• Fabrics: Velvet S, silk S, wool B for conservative guests, cotton C, linen D.
• Cut: Bias on flowing skirts, grain on bodices that must hold jewels. Preview the mannequin from the back; trains tell on you.
• Notions: Pearls S. Lace A if pins stay honest. One sculptural bow B. Appliqué only if it is tiny and heraldic.
• Budget: If coins are short, silk on a clean pattern beats scraped velvet with crooked seams.

Ball tickets pay for time. Slow the machine, use the speed limiter, and run the quality checklist before you add a single extra ribbon. The room will see hang and sheen before it counts bows.

Opera

Opera is night plus performance. Guests want to be seen in low light.

• Fabrics: Velvet S, silk S, wool C, cotton D, linen F unless you are sabotaging.
• Cut: Dramatic but wearable. Bias drape on silk; structured pile on velvet. Avoid garden lengths.
• Notions: Pearls and careful lace. Skip cheerful picnic bows. Appliqué rarely survives opera lighting unless it is metallic and small.
• Color: Jewel tones, black, ivory. Pastel linen prints belong on the lawn, not in the box.

If lace glitches in Prototype 0.5.5, deliver a clean velvet or silk hang instead of a broken trim trail. The occasion still reads. A floating lace path does not.

A sample week at the till

Monday librarian: cotton, grain, two buttons, no lace. Tuesday garden: linen, one bow, light appliqué from the sketchbook. Wednesday night fundraiser: silk, pearls, optional thin lace. Friday ball: velvet or silk, slow sew, pearls, stop. Saturday opera: the same night logic with even less “cute.” Sunday everyday: cotton again, because the shop needs coins for the next velvet.

That week is the whole game in miniature. The Fabrics Hub exists so you can jump from this calendar to the bolt list without rereading the lore. When Steam adds more pieces and 450-plus fabrics, keep asking the same question: which of the six rooms is this dress walking into? If you can answer, the rank tables on fabric types and the drawer on accessories will usually agree with the mannequin.