A 1950s dress

The wool that I initially had gotten for the riding habit ended up being a lycra blend, so I didn't want to use it for 18th century.  Now I probably have enough wool blend for the rest of my life.

One of my favorite vintage dresses is a plaid 1950s dress that I got in mint condition with the tags still on it, and I feel irresponsible for wearing it instead of preserving it for posterity.  So - I made a similar dress so I could wear it without guilt.

These are not very good quality, sorry!

Just the Basics:

Year: 1950s, I presume

Pattern:  My bodice block

Notions:  Wool blend from fashionfabrics.com, zipper from the costume shop

Time: About a week even.

Verdict?: I should have lined it because it's a little bit itchy, but I can always wear a camisole under it.  One of the arms is not placed well in the armscythe, so it pitches the back forward; the zipper is also, true to my form, not very well set in.  But it is very cute and does its job well!  I hope to one day put some more trim on it, I think it looks a little plain.  Maybe some thin black velvet to head the tucks and eyelets on the neck and sleeves, like the original.

I've recently gotten my hands on some of B&T's new printed fabric (they're absolutely lovely folks! wow!) as well as some silk organza, which is going to be a few new caps and ruffles.  So that ought to give you all a pretty good idea of what's coming down the pike!  I hope you all have a lovely new years.

Fast-Forwarding

This is a wee bit later than my usual time frame!

I got this 1950s pattern on vacation with friends (I got a few more, too, but this was by far the simplest!)  I decided to make the gored skirt with fabric I got from my AP Art teacher last year, some sort of wool-like poly blend.  Unfortunately, the pattern called for 2.5 yards and I had.... 1.25
And thusly an 8 gored skirt became a 4 gored skirt!

 I actually really love this skirt.  It isn't quite so blindingly neon in person, but it's still bright enough to add some personality to an outfit, modern or otherwise.
The blouse, alas, is not my own creation (it's Lauren Moffatt) and the shoes are Campbell's that I got eons ago.  The hairdo is the post-getting-pushed-into-the-boy's-pool look (so fetch!)

It's all machine done except for the hem, which I had to take out and redo by hand.  It was my first time setting in a zipper, what a conceptual nightmare, ugh.  It also closes at the top with a fun little red-white-and-blue button.

The older projects are coming along well.  The stays are troublesome, and I'm almost done with my camp dress.  I have a CW event this weekend so stay tuned for more about that!

Selfie! With fun psd filters.

On the eve of embarking

Well... Tomorrow I finally hit the road to get to the place I've been preparing to go to for a year.  It's been a wild scramble on my part, ironing, sewing and buttonholing, reading up and saving up.  And with luck it'll all come to fruition next week!
I've seen the preview videos of Southern Belle, and as a northern Illi girl (heck, we have Abe Lincoln on our license plates) I can't say that I'm particularly endeared to the underlying racist/misogynistic undertones that the documentary implies the Rectory has.  I suppose that I'll just have to bear that in mind when I go... Yes, Lincoln was racist (but he still did more than 99% of the population to end the horrors of slavery) and yes, free blacks did own slaves (almost always for the purpose of manumission or reuniting families,) and the list continues.  Just got to keep that in mind and keep my mouth shut.
I've been doing a bit of research, on my part, as to the revisionist nature of the 'southern belle' image.  Even the very wealthiest plantation women didn't sit around drinking tea - they, by most accounts, ended up being the plantation manager in their husband's frequent absences.  It was hard work, and many women were miserable and lonely.  And above all, southern women showed a remarkable LACK of the so-called 'virtues' - they spoke their mind, took control and did other such 'unbecoming' things that the instructors were telling the students not to do.
But maybe I'm just overthinking this, you know.  I watched half of GWTW on a 9 hour layover and it sickened me (and bored me near to tears,) but there are those that want to reenact that sort of life, that gentility that never existed.  And hey, who am I to tell the kid at Disneyland that Mickey Mouse is just some guy in a suit?  So I'll have their tea and eat their crumpets and do their bowing (I'm gonna have calves of steel by the end of the week) and try not to think too deeply about the 1890s revisionist lense.
Gnar.
In the interem, HAPPY 4TH!

 Ian found this vintage linen 40s dress and got it with me in mind.  And it fits like a glove!  Paired it with very farby stockings, flats, my straw boater and my pin from Fashion, Impressionism and Modernity (which I went to with C! Twice! And if you look on page 13 of the catolog you'll see my name mentioned in the credits! :D)

Have a happy Independence day and don't put your eye out with a sparkler!
P.S: expect the mother of all picture posts once I get back..