Mad About Plaid!

Yipes! It's been so long since I have been able to post, but I actually have a non-baby related reason this time: our nine year-old modem finally crashed, so we took the opportunity to switch from DSL to cable. Of course, we had to wait forever for the cable company to come out, so we were without internet for about three weeks (the horror!) Luckily, I had been working on this post before we lost all connection to the outside world.

Here is a dress that I finished some time ago. I had a terrible time getting a good picture of it; I don't know if it was because of its dark color or if the conditions were just wrong every time, but I tried on four separate occasions, and these pictures were the best out of about fifty. I had to lighten them considerably in order to show the details, so just try to ignore how washed out the background (and my face!) looks.

I made it with navy and plaid cotton using this pattern from the Vintage Pattern Lending Library. If you haven't already been to this site, you should head over there and do some browsing; they have some really beautiful patterns at very reasonable prices.


I LOVE this pattern so much that I just want to make it over and over, and this is actually the second time that I have made it. The first time was immediately after I had my baby; it was for his christening. I made his christening outfit as well and had almost no time to make my own dress. This pattern came together very quickly and easily for me, which was a lifesaver at the time. I made it again for two reasons. One, I was about thirty pounds heavier and *ahem* much bustier when I made it the first time, and it was just too big to take in. Two, I was so rushed when I originally made it that I didn't have time to worry about plaid matching, putting the zipper in correctly, etc. Basically, it was just not made well. So, I salvaged the sleeves and some of the fabric and used them to make this dress, and then I destroyed the rest of the poorly-sewn evidence :)

I made a few alterations from the pattern instructions this time around. The original dress unbuttons to the waist with the yoke being completely sewn down. Instead of using the facing piece provided for the bodice, I completely lined the inside with plaid and made it open down to the point of the yoke. I did this because I really wanted to add some extra buttons there for aesthetic purposes anyway, so I figured that they may as well be functional. Also, I had a bit of trouble getting in and out of the first dress, so this helped with that as well.

Here is a close-up of the sleeve and some more covered buttons. You know I do love my covered buttons.


And of the bodice. I love that the tie can be styled in many different ways.

You may also notice that I am sporting a new hairstyle (sort of). I have been on a mad Poirot re-watching spree, and I fell in love with Gerda's hairstyle in "The Hollow". Here are some pictures of her hair (my very first attempt at screen captures!):


My hair looked similar to that already, except that I added one more wave at the jaw to cover the ear. I also did a center part instead of the side part that I had previously always done. Also, the truth is that I only ever did waves on one side, as the other side was always covered by my hat; the rest I had always just put up in rollers. I really love it; although it doesn't look very different from the (left) side, it looks dramatically different overall. What do you think?

Tattoos?!

First of all, I want to say how much I appreciate all of your wonderful comments on my last post. I apologize for taking so long to respond to those of you who asked me questions; it seems that life (or as I call him, Henry) sometimes conspires to keep me away from the computer for a while! I want you to know, though, that I always read every one of your comments; I appreciate them so much! It's nice to get compliments from strangers on the street as well, but even when they are very positive, you can see them thinking, "Neat-but how strange!" This leads me into my subject today. A funny thing recently happened to me at the doctor's office. One of the receptionists approached me and commented on how she liked my look. This happens frequently, and it always makes me feel warm and fuzzy! People often ask me questions as well, which I am always happy to answer. However, this time, the questioning culminated in "Can I see your tattoos?!" I wasn't in a hospital gown; I was fully clothed in a sleeveless dress, so I'm not sure where she thought my tattoos were, or if she expected me to hike up my dress to show them to her.

I want to point out that I have no problem with tattoos, in the vintage community or otherwise; I think that they can be a beautiful way for people to express themselves and their individuality and creativity. It's just not something that I am interested in having for myself. I've read some posts from bloggers in which they have been made to feel "less vintage" because they did have tattoos, which I think is sad; the vintage community is extremely varied, and that's what makes it great! Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think that complete authenticity is every vintage lover's goal, and I don't think that it needs to be. As we know, people certainly did have tattoos in the '30s and before (just for fun, there are some pictures below), but the average housewife, which is the image with which I most closely associate myself, most likely did not; if she did have one, she certainly wouldn't have been talking about (or showing!) it in public! :)

I get all sorts of questions, but this was a new situation for me; because of the way that I was dressed, the receptionist seemed genuinely surprised to hear that I did not have any tattoos. She also told me that she had attended a "1920s style party" where everyone had "Bettie Page waves", so her knowledge of vintage was obviously pretty limited. I try hard not to be a vintage snob, because I learn something new every day, but my annoyance wasn't about her lack of knowledge; it was about her lack of courtesy, or maybe tact. I told myself that she must know a person who wears vintage and has tattoos, and so that is the image of vintage with which she is familiar. Even considering this, I think that her asking to see them was impolite. It's like the question that I sometimes get: "Why are you dressed like that?" Even if it is asked in a friendly manner, which is usually is, I just think that there are much more polite ways to ask.

I realize that when you dress or act outside of the norm, you must be prepared for some stares, questions, outright gawking, etc., all of which I am quite accustomed to and normally view with slight amusement. However, I think that certain questions, such as ones pertaining to undergarments, possible hidden tattoos, etc, are simply not polite questions for a stranger to be asking anyone. Now, if I had a visible tattoo, I would probably have been happy to show it to her. In the same vein, I get slightly annoyed when someone asks me if my hair is a wig, which happens on a semi-regular basis, and when someone takes my picture without asking me. I think that most of the people who have approached me in this manner would never have said the same things to the "average" person on the street.

As much as we try to avoid it, we all infer things about people based on the way they are dressed. I know that I am guilty of it. I'm not sure what I expect people to infer about me...actually, I can think of a few adjectives that I would love to have attributed to me: creative, ladylike, old-fashioned, elegant, etc. :) I'm just not sure that there is anything about my look that screams "Ask me about my tattoos!!"

I hope that no one is offended by this post; its purpose is definitely not to criticize tattoos or anything else; I'd certainly be the last person to attempt to make anyone conform to any certain standard of dress! I'd like to hear your opinions; do you think that dressing outside of the norm invites people to behave towards you in a way that they would not behave towards others? What sorts of questions do you get, and do you think that people sometimes feel that they can cross certain lines with you because of the way you are dressed?

Sorry for the long post; I just had to vent a little, and I wanted to hear some other opinions. I have another outfit post coming up in a few days!

Another Outfit Post!

Well, maybe one post per week was a bit too ambitious for me... Anyway, I do have a newly completed dress to share! It is made from some cheap cotton fabric from my stash ($1.00 per yard-thank you, Wal-Mart!) The fabric is beautiful, though; soft and thin, sort of gauzy, not at all stiff or cheap-feeling. It drapes and moves beautifully!

On a side note: my husband took all of these pictures and "didn't notice" that my collar was folded up in the back on one side...! They turned out so well otherwise (and I was having such a good hair day! hee hee) that I didn't really want to retake them, so just try to ignore the fold! Here is the dress:


Once again, I made it to match a beautiful pair of crocheted gloves that I got from ebay. At my local fabric store, I found the perfect striped accent fabric to match the colors in the gloves. The buttons are vintage, although I have no idea what era they are from. They looked deco enough to me, and they matched perfectly, so I used them!

I made it using this vintage pattern:


I took about 14 inches total out of the circumference of the hem; it was a bit too A-line for my taste. I also added 2 inches to the length. When it was finished, I topstitched all of the seams with light brown thread. I did it with a lighter color because I wanted the beautiful seaming to show; I love the way the yoke and the pleats look on this dress, and they weren't really visible on the dark fabric.

Don't you just love these sunglasses?! I don't own very much actual vintage; aside from my vintage collar collection (which I must show you someday!), I have a few pairs of shoes, some gloves, and one dress. I just don't really trust myself (or my two year-old) with irreplaceable things that are 80 years old. But I saw these '30s beauties on ebay last year and just couldn't resist them!


This dress is sort of a wearable muslin; I had always planned to wear it, but I also used it as practice for the fabric that I had really intended for this pattern. I've just finished cutting it out, and I can't wait to get started on it. I suppose that this one should really be called a "first try"; I just hope that the next one turns out as well as this one did!


Here is the way the collar looks from the back. I tried very hard to match the stripes, both in the back and in the front, and I was pleased with the result. I am not very good at pattern-matching, so the fact that it came so close made me very happy!

Altered Knits: Sailor Dress

Well, I am shooting for one post per week, so I'm only a little bit behind! Once again, welcome to all of my new followers; I'm so glad that you've joined my blog, and I'm very thankful for all of your lovely comments on my last post!

This is my favorite knit project so far! I love to look at all of those beautiful '30s knitted and crocheted dresses, but since I don't know how to make either, I had resigned myself to the idea that winning the lottery (or *ahem* finally learning to knit!) would be the only way that I would get my hands on one of these lovelies. But then I remembered: Hey, they made knitted and crocheted dresses in the '70s and '80s too! I found this great knitted dress on etsy:

Not exactly sure what I was going to do with it, I removed the turquoise trim and starfish embroidery, but there were some marks underneath that I could not get out. So, I turned it around so that the marks would be in the back, and after looking at MANY images of '30s knit dresses, I finally came up with the solution: a sailor collar! I have read some great posts about the popularity of sailor collars in the 1930s; here is one with a wealth of information (and a lot of beautiful pictures!) from Charlotte at Tuppence Ha'Penny. I've been wanting to make a sailor dress for so long, and this was the perfect opportunity, since I needed to cover the marks from the embroidery! Here is the result:

Here is the back. The collar is made from the same cut-up sweater as the hat that I am wearing in the photo below, which I blogged about making in this post. Luckily, it was a rather large sweater, and I used it to make the belt as well!

The striped knit is from yet another sweater redo (to be photographed later)! These were actually the scraps from that project, and I was able to make the bow and 4 covered buttons; two for the belt, and two to add onto these beautiful crocheted gauntlet gloves that I got on etsy.


Hopefully you can see the jewelry in this picture. It is a Navy sweetheart pin and earrings set, which belonged to my grandmother. She and my grandfather were married in 1943 when he was serving in the Navy. A little bit later than my chosen era, but I don't care; I think they're perfect!

The hat is another alteration, on which I used the same basic technique as my last one. It was a basic men's fedora with a small brim, the kind that they sell everywhere lately, brand new from Wal-Mart. It basically looked like this:


I wanted a white straw hat and couldn't find one at the thrift store, so I had to shell out for a new one. It was still under ten dollars, though! I separated the crown from the brim, cut about three inches off of the height of the crown, wet it and rounded it out, and sewed some tucks down the length to make it smaller and to add interest. This time, though, instead of putting a wire in the brim to change its shape, I wet it as well, and shaped it by weighing parts of it down with books. I wanted to make it look like the brim in this picture, and also as far away from a fedora as possible.


I am very happy with the way that it turned out.


I stood on a rock for this one (you wouldn't think that grass would grow so well in 100+ degree weather, but you'd be wrong!) so you could see my great navy leather/mesh oxfords! I switched out the original navy laces with white for this dress; the white "laces" are actually made from white cord. Trying to make them look like those beautiful vintage laces, I wrapped them with scotch tape about a half-inch from the ends and then unraveled them.

I sort of look like a giant in these pictures; since we don't have a tripod, my husband was experimenting with other objects on which to set the camera...this one was obviously a little bit too low!

All Buttoned Up

Wow, thank you all for your wonderful comments on my last post; I am truly overwhelmed! And welcome to all of my new followers; I usually do like to welcome people by name, but as the number of followers to my little blog has basically doubled in the last two weeks, I will just have to extend a heartfelt, "Welcome, all!"

And now, on to what I've been working on. Well, one of the things that I've been working on; I am one of those people who has a huge pile of garments in various stages of completion. It's terrible, I know, but I just can't seem to stop myself! I made this dress with some beautiful burgundy crepe (okay, crepe-like fabric; I have no idea what it is made out of...but it was $1.00 per yard!) accented with a satin floral.



I made it specifically to match these beautiful gloves, which I got from ebay. The burgundy trim around the top of one of the gloves was missing, and there were a few other issues with them; of course, even though I have no knowledge of knitting, crocheting, or tatting (I think the trim was tatted, but I'm not too familiar with it), I was SURE that I could fix them. Someday, this over-confidence in my crafting abilities will be my downfall, but I've been lucky so far! I basically just tied a series of tiny knots with embroidery thread, trying to make it look as similar as possible to the existing trim on the other glove.



I made the dress using this pattern, with a few alterations, of course!



I made it with detachable long sleeves, because anytime I have an opportunity to make something wearable year-round, I'm all over it! Since it has been 100+ degrees here lately, you'll just have to wait until it cools off a little bit to see the sleeves! I also wanted to incorporate the scarf into the dress a bit more. Since this is one of those dresses in which one side of buttons is simply sewn on (no buttonholes), I sewed the scarf under the buttons, draped it around the back, and brought it back through the dress, letting it hang at the side.



Here's the back. I let the scarf drape down and then tacked it in place on the shoulders.



I don't have a huge collection of vintage buttons, so the ones that I used on this dress were chosen solely for the fact that I had twelve of them. They started out a lovely shade of yellow-green, and I spray-painted them cream to match the scarf. Since they are metal, I hoped that it would work; I cleaned them, painted them, and sealed them. So far, so good...no chips!

These are the same shoes from my last post, but in brown; I love them so much that I am basically just alternating between the two pairs! And, of course, my new favorite hat.



I really like the way that it turned out, especially the way the scarf mimics a cap sleeve on one side. What do you think?

P.S. If you liked that altered sweater from my last post, you will love what is coming up next!!

Knits, Part One

I'm always so jealous when I see those lovely 1930s knits that I have, so far, not been able to get my hands on. Baroness Von Vintage seems to have an unending collection of beautiful vintage knits, including this one, which makes me especially covetous. I'm also ridiculously envious of those who know how to knit and can make themselves reproduction garments from vintage patterns. Here is a wonderful sweater recently knitted by Jennie of "The Life and Times of a Vintage Obsessive", and here is another one expertly made by Tickety Boo Tupney. I would love to learn how to knit and crochet, but even "Knitting For Dummies" is apparently too advanced for me! Since I haven't been able to learn yet, I have been putting my sewing skills to good use by altering. I have found that '80s knits are often good candidates for this, as many of the style features are similar to '30s knits: pointelle and crochet accents, chevrons, colorblock, leg o'mutton sleeves, etc. The fit is usually way off, though, as everything was so blousy during that time (how well I remember it). Here is a sweater that I recently altered:



Here's how it started out. I originally removed the sleeves intending to move up the shoulders a few inches, but once I had them off, I really liked the way they looked on their own. Of course, I made another sweater using the sleeves, as they were the feature that prompted me to purchase the original in the first place. It's just too darn hot to get any pictures of that one now!



The jabot is made from the ends of some old crochet gloves. The fingers and palm sections were filled with holes, but the ends were still intact, so I just cut them off, sewed them together, and wove them through the holes in the top of the sweater.



I took it in by about 6 inches around. I also shortened it by cutting off the waistband, trimming off about 5 inches, and sewing the waistband back on. I don't have a serger, so I use the zigzag stitch on my sewing machine to alter knits. The gloves are vintage from ebay, and I blogged about making the skirt here. The shoes are brand new; I have them in brown, too. Sorry they're not very visible; it's been so hot here that my husband has not been in the mood to mow the lawn as often as he should!



This is my new favorite hat. I found the original at Goodwill for $2.00. It was huge; my husband tried it on, and it was even too big for his large head. Of course, I forgot to take a picture of it before I started cutting it up, but here is one that I took after I cut the crown off.



It was originally a fedora of sorts; you can see how the crown was shaped. After I cut off the crown, I shaved about two inches off of the bottom. I then got it wet and shaped it so that it would be more rounded on the top. After it had dried, I sewed two tucks lengthwise across the top of the crown. Since the hat was so big to begin with, I was able to put three pleats in the brim. I then sewed the crown and brim back together, trimmed it with some vintage ribbon and a vintage mother-of-pearl buckle, and finished it off with grosgrain ribbon on the inside.



I love it so much! When I wore it to the Farmer's Market, an elderly man approached me and said, "My mother had a hat just like that in 1934." How great is that?!



I've got many more altered knits to show, so stay tuned!

I'm Back, And A Blog Award!!

Well, as terrible as I am about blogging regularly (has it really been a month?!), I am even worse when it comes to reading and commenting on my favorite blogs. It seems that I was given a Liebster Blog award, which is for blogs with fewer than 300 followers, by Lauren Hairston a few months ago, and I've just discovered it! Check out her blog; one of my favorite regular features is her "Dinner and a Movie" posts, in which she summarizes and reviews a classic movie, and then cooks up a yummy-looking dish to accompany it! Thanks so much for the award, Lauren, and I'm sorry that it took me so long to acknowledge it! I have also been tagged by her to list 10 of my favorite things, so here we go:

1. Favorite food: Although handfuls of Almond M&Ms are what get me through the day with my sanity intact (taking care of a two year-old is stressful, okay?!), I'd say that my favorite food is Thai food, specifically Pad Thai.

2. Favorite Movie: I have so many, mostly because I think that comparing films from different genres is like comparing apples to oranges, so I have a favorite from each! I'll just list a few: favorite classic movie: "Bringing Up Baby"; favorite musical: "1776"; favorite romantic comedy: "French Kiss". My all-time favorite is probably "Far and Away". Any movie that has the words "epic romance" in the trailer is on my list.

3. Favorite TV show: My favorite TV show is a little-known Canadian-made western from the early '90s called "Lonesome Dove: The Series". It's based on the Larry McMurtry characters but not on the books, and was canceled after only two seasons. The first season (my favorite) is a little cheesy and Hallmark-channelish, and the second season is much more gritty; it's like an early version of "Deadwood", but without all of the profanity. My favorite character is Col. Clay Mosby, a transplanted Virginian scarred by the war, who is played by a pre-"Will&Grace" Eric McCormack. Here's a clip from YouTube (he's the one kneeling behind the bar). You can also spot Olivia Hussey (Romeo and Juliet) being used as a human shield:




4. Favorite Architectural Style: Craftsman. Luckily, I live in my dream house! This is the only picture that I can find of the inside right now, and it's from Christmas (ignore the baby).




5. Favorite Book: Jane Eyre. I also have a secret fondness for trashy romance novels (only the historical ones; that makes them historical fiction, right?! Let's say yes).

6. Favorite. Post. Ever. This Easter one from Debi of my Happy Sewing Place. This might be the funniest thing that I have ever seen.

7. Favorite Author: Oscar Wilde

8. Favorite Singer: Annette Hanshaw. Also Sebastian Bach (Skid Row). I mean, he was on Broadway too, so I don't need to be embarrassed about this one, right?!

9. Favorite Flower: Hydrangea

10. Favorite Song: "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins. Any song that could be classified as a "power ballad" will definitely be on one of my mix tapes. Oh yes, I still listen to my mix tapes.


So, now that you know more about me than you ever wanted to know, I will pass this award on to some other bloggers! There are so many great blogs out there with fewer than 300 followers; way too many to list here. At first, I tried to omit the blogs to which I have given an award previously, but in the process of going over them again, I decided that I just couldn't do it; all of these blogs are great!

The Deco Devotee
Sailing Over a Cardboard Sea
The Life and Times of a Vintage Obsessive
The Vintage Knitter
The Ziegfeld Boudoir
My Pretty Baby Cried She Was A Bird
The Swing of Things
Tickety Boo Tupney
Porcelina's World
Vintage in a Modern World
A Passion for Vintage Textiles
The Butterfly Balcony


Thanks again for the award, Lauren! And thanks to all of you for your lovely comments on my (infrequent) posts! I have so many things to show, but I just can't seem to get any good photos of them. I've borrowed my mother's good camera, so if the temperature outside would just fall below 95 degrees, I should be able to get something to show you!

Also, welcome to my newest followers: Dakota, The Vintage Knitter, Katia, Spinnakersu, Living Vintage, Linda, Chelsea, Carol, WanderlustPixieDust, Evie Graham, TwilaTee, Jess, Andrea, Lauren, Charlotte, Lisa, Diary of a Vintage Modiste, Anne Toft, GreenPea, Black Opal, K Boulton, Teresa Liao, Temporary Cat, and Chris Simich. Whew!!


Edited to add: I just noticed that I have given this award to a few blogs that Lauren had already passed it along to. Gah!! Please don't feel that you have to acknowledge it twice (or at all, if awards aren't your thing!); sorry about that, Lauren! This is what happens when you take three weeks to write a post; you stay up really late one night determined to finally get it finished, and you make a lot of mistakes! Maybe I'll just stick to outfit posts from now on...