April 23, 2018

Brown Gingham 1940s Dress


This is one of those dresses that *really* didn't turn out how I planned. I based it off a Pinterest photo from the 1940s of this really cute dress with a wide bias cut waistband and pleated skirt...which you can tell it didn't really end up with;)



The biggest problem was that I didn't have enough fabric--I had 1 1/4 yards of 45" fabric, which, for the record, isn't enough to make a 1940s dress with a bias cut waistband and a pleated skirt. I had the cut the skirt a-line, and then when I tried to add the waistband....haha...it really didn't work. So, I ditched that idea, and just added the skirt to the blouse and...that didn't really work either. There were several problems, such as the skirt being too tight, and me forgetting to face the top, so the buttons were all strange, and the fact that I didn't have enough fabric to make a decent belt...just saying. I didn't do anything to fix the dress, just hated it while it hung in the closet, until I pulled it out last week and put this sweater on top and fell in love with it. 


I think the deal is I love the fabric and the skirt but not the dress so the sweater covers up all the dress except for the skirt which turned out okay...so it works:)




The dress buttons down the front with fabric covered buttons made to match the belt. When I was making this, I couldn't decide if there should be a brown collar, a white collar, or no collar. Each time I wore it I chose a different one and it was pretty funny when people were saying, "wait I thought that dress had a brown collar..." haha. 


I also added this little bias cut pocket which is too small to hold really anything, but it's really cute and I love the interplay of the grain lines here. The sleeves are also cut on the bias, but you can't see them here. 


Wearing my favorite ever shoes again, my RV Peggy Spectators:) 




My hat and necklace are both vintage: the hat is from the 1940s, but I don't know when the necklace is from. 


What I really love about this outfit is how it doesn't *quite* match: I mean, brown and black and navy and white and cream and turquoise? But all those colors interplay into something quite pleasing, and it feels like a *real* outfit from the 1940s that a lady would just put on to go to town, not 100% caring if it really matched or not. 




It also is a very elegant-feeling, yet comfortable outfit, something I really like:) 


Do you think that ferry is going to be around anytime soon? 

Thanks for reading! 

Photos by my sister:) 

April 21, 2018

1940s Cranberry Dress




So, I have this thing with the 1940s right now...you could call it a love, or an infatuation...or a complete obsession...but whatever you want to call it, it consists of looking at 1940s Pinterest results and dreaming over everything, wearing 1940s fashion whenever it's warm enough, and day dreaming constantly about the decade.


I made this dress about a year and a half ago, and I've worn it quite a lot, it's one of my favorites, but I've never gotten out to take pictures of it until just today.

      

It's made of some sort of cotton/poly blend in a cranberry red color, not the best fabric type, but the lovely color makes up for it, and I don't really care as long as it's cute:) I used Simplicity 1587 for the base, but I added different sleeves and changed up the skirt. I wasn't the biggest fan of the gathers on the front of the skirt, and I wanted long sleeves for a winter dress, and I'm super happy with the results! 


I love the neckline detailing on this dress, and I'm sure I'll be using this pattern again in the near future. I'd like to try it in a more drapey fabric next time. This fabric works okay, but I feel like it kinda sticks out in strange places...not exactly what I'm going for. 


The back has a keyhole closure that was perfect for one of these cool vintage buttons in my collection, and I even had enough for the sleeves as well! They make me happy:)


As for my accessories...I always feel like a lot of my historical stuff looks pretty plain, but for some reason, when it comes to 1940s, I have no problem finding things to accessorize with! My coat and scarf are both modern, but have a good vintage look to them, and I love them both so they work, even if that scarf print isn't exactly accurate. 

My hat is one of my favorite things I ever bought...it's a vintage 1940s beret with pearls I found in an antique shop, and it's been a favorite ever since! It seems like it matches pretty much every 1940s outfit I have, so you'll be seeing it a lot on here I'm sure. 



My shoes are my wonderful "Peggy" Spectator Heels from Royal Vintage: I love them so much! Well actually, I just love shoes too much, but these are especially great. They're so cute, and comfortable, and match everything! 


Me, wishing that boat going past on the river was mine. 


And one more picture, just because I love how this one turned out: 



Thanks for reading! 

Photos by my sister:)