1958 dirndl skirt

I was having one of those "I have nothing cute to wear" days today, so I decided to make a new skirt to go with a sweater that I got for Christmas.  I dug out this 1958 Simplicity playsuit pattern and some vintage plaid that I bought at an estate sale, and a few hours later... ta-da!  I have cute skirtage!  Woohoo!

This was by far one of the easiest garments that I have ever made.  There isn't even a zipper or hooks - just one button and the opening is cleverly hidden in the pleats.  I usually don't wear skirts that are this full, but this thing was so fast and stress-free to make that I'm a complete dirndl convert now!

vintage finds

I stumbled across 3 great vintage dresses in my size while wandering through an antique shop yesterday.  At only $25 apiece, I thought they were quite an amazing find!  I need to get a few minor spots out, but other than that they are in great shape.  Wanna see what I got?

I need to make a proper slip for this one since it is so sheer! It's hard to see in the picture, but the fabric has dainty brown scribbles all over it - very suitable for an artist, I thought!  I probably won't wear this dress with my oxfords unless I'm doing a reenactment event, but I just wanted to see how it would look with "sensible" 40's shoes.  I think it would be cuter with ballet flats though.

I almost didn't get this one since crazy zebra stripes aren't really my thing, but now I'm so glad I did!  I think it looks much cuter on me that it did in the hanger.  I think this dress will get the most wear of any of them since the style is so timeless.

This one has the most amazing detailing with pintucks covering the top and sleeves and a few down the skirt.  It makes me wanna go swing dancing!!

1790's gown recap

I posted a new page on my website about my 1790's zone gown this week. Now I just need to get the rest of the photos uploaded to flickr...

Estate Sale finds

I stopped by an estate sale after work today, and while I didn't come home with the amazing haul that I found last month, it was still pretty decent. I got about 10 yards of heavy linen and silk/linen blend for under a buck a yard. I have no idea what I'll use it for, but you can never have too much linen! Plus I founds some vintage blue and tan small-scale plaid that is begging to be a retro shirt for the boy. I picked up few more sewing patterns from the late 50's-70's as well. I usually turn up my nose at anything post-1960, but all the fabulous projects on sewretro have me looking at this era in a completely different light lately. They might not be that useful for costuming stuff, but those simple shapes make some really cool modern garments when done up in fun fabrics, and I'm feeling the urge to do more stuff like that lately. Plus, I LUV me some A-line skirts!

I also picked up a $16 black mink fur collar (probably to recycle somehow) and a few little boy items. The children's garments are in pretty bad condition, but I'm going to see if I can make patterns from them and do repros for E. My favorite is this peacoat. Isn't it adorable?!? For those of you who know anything about vintage children's clothing, when do you think it would date from? The construction and buttons and fabrics look exactly like the Edwardian items in my collection, but those little military style boy's outfits were popular forever, so I just don't know. What do you think?