This year for the 4th of July, I decided to veer away from the cliched red, white and blue colors.  I'd purchased this great floral cotton pique from JoAnns and had been planning to make a peplm top and the timing was just perfect this week.

The cut-in shoulder style has kind of become my signature sleeveless look.  So I went with a similar style to my white scallop dress.  

I altered the design by combining the overlay/top bodice piece to the front panel in order to create a single piece.

And I used the peplum from Simplicity 1650.  I used the entire pattern previously.  See here.

I really love the back.  However, I find that a design like this is not conventional bra-friendly.  I wore a strapless one to make it work.  And I basically followed the instructions for the original pattern.

I knew I wanted to pair this top with a white bottom.  And since it's full-blown summertime, why not a pair of short?  I picked Vogue 9008.  It's a simple pattern that sews up in literally an hour.  It's not fussy at all.  You basically have the front, back and waistband pattern pieces.  These shorts were not drafted with pockets.  They were just the ticket regarding a pair of simplistic shorts that could be made up in a stretch denim white fabric. 

For a 4th of July ensemble, I pretty much thumbed my nose at and defied tradition and did my own thing.  And it paid off!