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Boo! Happy Halloween, friends! I’m not doing anything special this year–as much as I enjoy dressing up, I seem to always lack a place to go wearing a costume. One year I’ll get my ducks in a row and actually have a little party or something. I don’t even have a pumpkin this year… I’m so pathetic. lol. Instead this weekend I’ve been working on another secret project (I know… I’m full of those right now!), eating tasty things we picked up at the local farmer’s market, a trying to carve out some time to work on some sewing for me. Are you doing anything special for Halloween?
- A fantastic little tutorial on how to draft a Peter Pan collar.
- Is it just me, or is vintage sportswear more fun than the modern (albeit, more practical) styles?
- This post showing off shots from a button shop have me drooling!
- A neat 1951 catalog I spotted on Tumblr recently!
- Speaking of Tumblr, I just discovered one called Daily Bunny this week and am smitten… Too much cuteness!
Have a lovely rest-of-the-weekend!
October 31, 2010 ·
4 lovely thoughts
posted in misc
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This somewhat worn old platter ($1 at a charity thrift shop!) now serves as a place to keep all my “vanity table” items, and also odd bits of jewelry.
Even before I had a place larger than a bedroom to call my own, I always found thrift stores a valuable spot to find so many odds and ends to add color and character to a space. I’m a bit of a magpie in that I pick up a lot of things that catch my eye; I’m not a very focused collector at all! Plus I tend to be drawn to pieces that are a bit less than perfect and are cheap… for some reason those are the ones that always want to come home with me. But I also like them even more if they aren’t just the sort of thing to sit around a “look pretty”–but can serve some other purpose, like being used as a container for other things. A nice marriage of vintage charm and practicality (and budget!). I thought I’d show you a few of my favorites and give you an idea of what I like to keep my eyes open for while thrifting. While giving you a sneak peek around the house! I plan on doing more interior decorating related posts going forward, since I enjoy it so!
It’s holding hats right now, but this estate sale find hat box will eventually be used to hold fabric scraps in my sewing nook.
Old tea cup saucers are really useful–I have a hole stack of them that I bought at 1/2 off day recently. This one holds some fossils from Sailor Husband’s collection.
I think this old crate came with me when I moved here (so it was my mother’s originally), but it now sits in the living room holding all my records.
This pretty china pot has a lid somewhere, but I have used it for ages to hold writing tools and scissors near my sewing nook. It’s a good weight for that, plus it’s pretty and colorful!
One of my favorite containers: this silver-plate bowl I found at Goodwill last year. It now holds our starfish and coral collection! I like to let silver go a bit tarnished; I’m not into the super shiny look.
Another inexpensive Goodwill find: a silver-plate tray. Originally purchased to put Christmas cookies on, this has worked well on the living room table since as a display piece.
What are some of your favorite household decor items to look for? Do you like thrifting/antique shops or discount stores best? Bonus points if you have pictures of favorite finds in your home!
October 29, 2010 ·
21 lovely thoughts
posted in around the house
· tags: around the house, playing house, thrifting + vintage
So here it is: the 2010 Navy Ball gown! I have to be perfectly honest that this dress isn’t quite the head-turner last year’s was, but I still like it and am pretty pleased with the final outcome. Especially considering this dress almost didn’t happen. It went through several different designs in muslin; most of which I wasn’t entirely happy with. The fabric wasn’t my first choice (I fell in love with a peacock blue silk online, but there wasn’t enough yardage available), and typically all the fabrics I liked were way out of my budget. After pretty much abandoning this project entirely and opting to wear a vintage outfit instead, I decided with less than 10 days from the ball that yes, I really did want to make my dress and was willing to give it a shot, even though the odds of it being a complete bust or not being finished in time were high. Yes, I’m aware that I am entirely insane and need my head checked!
inspiration collage. clockwise: 1939 fashion illustration, 1940-41 pattern booklet, Claudette Colbert, Lisbeth Scott.
The original design utilized a pattern I picked up in Augusta, GA this spring, but the bodice just looked too Forbidden Planet, and not in a good or flattering way. I like to look vintage, but not costumy in inappropriately dressed in relation to the event; the first couple of attempts of working with this design (and even modifying it) strayed far too into the costume camp rather than vintage/elegant. So I scrapped that. Then my second design I just wasn’t in love with; it felt forced and too plain, even though it wasn’t that different from what I finally went with. The third and final design was still simple, but I was inspired by designs of the late 1930s/early 1940s with the flowing, full skirt and classic halter and midriff detail. I actually toyed with the idea of doing self-fabric piping trim similar to what Claudette Colbert is sporting in the inspiration collage, but in the end opted to just focus on shirring as the main form of embellishment.
Fabric wise, I have to admit that this cranberry red crepe-satin was a good choice, even though it wasn’t my first. Although it’s a polyester (I’ll try not to hold that against it), it’s a good quality one, and the drape and weight are amazing–and I adore the color. (Next time I need a formal I must remember to start saving early enough to afford the good stuff!) The bodice is from this pattern, and originally looked like the halter on the pattern envelope. However, after a late-night fitting session and playing around with the neckline a bit, I added the long ties to the back of the neckline. The resulting bow softened the look a bit and draped down the back for some interest.
The skirt is a quarter-circle (and then some for extra fullness!) pattern I drafted myself. I added the shirring detail at the center front, which is evocative of a lot of detailing from the late 1930s/early 40s on both day and evening dresses. There are 11 rows of shirring, which yes, took a bit to do since the fabric is a bit of a pain to work with! But it was totally worth it; the way the front drapes is amazing. Because I’m a stickler for balance in design, I echoed the shirring at the bust at the gathered portions, adding 3 rows there. I toyed with adding something sparkly (rhinestones, sequins, beads), but felt that the fabric was shiny enough on it’s own and I was planning on wearing some sparkly accessories.
The final touches were inserting the zipper using my favorite method, and making a self-fabric belt. I didn’t have a buckle for because this was such a last-minute thing. So I pulled out the handy-dandy button tutorial I posted last week and just made a larger version with a sparkly vintage button in the center. Instant “buckle”! (The belt itself is just closed with a hook and eye and then a snap.)
A word about the hair: I was going for a 1940s curly-topped updo, so I set my hair in pincurls the evening before. The result was close to what I had envisioned, although I changed the front a bit (I was originally planning on reverse rolls, but found the overall look a bit too much like I just stepped off a costumed movie set. Considering the venue and event, it wasn’t appropriate.). But you would not believe how many bobby pins I used to keep it all up! lol. The fantastic part was that my hair was still super curly the next day…
Last year’s dress was definitely the “movie star”, while this one was a bit quieter and more subdued. But honestly there were some good things about this: I didn’t spend half the evening making sure a strapless top wasn’t budging in the wrong direction, or watching that the train wasn’t stepped on, and I could actually eat because I wasn’t wearing a tightly fitted bodice! So I guess comfort won out this year. Still felt glamorous, but a bit more practical. Which would be keeping with the era (early WWII) that I was inspired by for this dress, right?
more pictures here!
I know I left a lot of construction details out of this post for the sake of length, so if you have any questions please feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer!
October 26, 2010 ·
119 lovely thoughts
posted in outfits + wardrobe,sewing
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Jaunty sailor styles and contrast collars! I love all the pleated skirts too.
Are you shocked? After weeks of posting images from the 1940s, I actually stopped being such a broken record and scanned something else. Perhaps next week I’ll dig up some 1930s inspiration too… Or just go back to my old (1940s) ways! These scans come from a portion of a catalog that I bought as a teenager; but it has no date–I’m going to guess it dates to between 1910 and 1912 (maybe 1913), judging by the styles. Definitely prior to the start of World War One. The details on dresses from this era never cease to fascinate me. The very feminine styles appeal to my romantic side, while the simpler silhouette (in comparison to the previous decades) is far more practical and moving towards modern fashion lines. Plus I adore the hair styles; I have been trying to wrangle my hair into doing these early 1910s styles for years. It just never looks completely right on me… lol. Still, I can glean a lot of pretty dressmaker details from these–not just hair envy! Hope you enjoy this bunch of images–and tell me: what details do you spot among them?
Lots of lace and bows… The lace insets on the skirt of the center-right dress are particularly pretty.
Just reading the descriptions of these dresses makes me think how perfect they are for summertime… Also note the eyelet sleeves the dress on the far left sports.
The early 1910s seemed to have no end of variations on neckline and collar styles. The most popular seems to have been what we would call a “sailor” style and shawl collars.
I love the oversized buttons on the dress second from the far left! So cute! Also: note many of the contrast panels and binding is bias cut striped fabric. Very eye catching!
So many lovely pieces! I think my favorite is the center-left dress; billed as “dotted swiss with fish net trimming”–gorgeous! I also love the way the buttons are echoed on the bodice, sleeves and hip of the skirt on the same dress.
I think what most stands out about these dresses is that almost all are advertised under the guise of style for value. Some things just don’t change over time, do they? Although in a fit of curiosity I plugged a few of these “amazingly low” prices into an inflation calculator to check how much a dress that sold for about $2.95 in 1912 would be valued at in today’s dollar. It would be a whopping $64.75 roughly! Still, not too bad… considering the amount of trim and lace insertion on these dresses.
Thank you all so much for your lovely comments of late! I’m trying to catch up on replies after this past week, so if you’re waiting for an answer to a question I haven’t forgotten you! I shall be back tomorrow with pictures of this year’s Navy Ball dress!
October 25, 2010 ·
15 lovely thoughts
posted in vintage inspiration,vintage monday
· tags: 1910s, vintage inspiration
