The Singing Costumer

     I’m kinda funny about my vintage style dresses. I love them and I sew them, but I don’t actually wear them. I need to change that. But I only wear dresses to church, and I wear choir robes every Sunday. I always feel like it’s a waste to dress up nicely when it’s only going to be covered up. This is, of course, nonsense. I need to be wearing pretty dresses more. I need to make some fall and winter-appropriate dresses. The only vintage style dresses I have are very much spring-only dresses. This needs to be remedied soon. I’ve been dreaming of a 1930s velvet number for a Christmas dress for a couple years. Maybe this is the year?      The fabric came from Joann Fabrics, as usual. It’s a dotted swiss cotton. Purple is my favorite color, and I especially love this particular shade of maroon-ish purple. And of course, florals are classic for springtime. I don’t know how many yards I bought all those years ago, but it was at least 7 yards. My plan is to mak...

YouTube video associated with this blog post Like I said last time, I thought I would go for a very sassy look for this project. Black gives quite a sophisticated look, doesn't it? This project gave me a bit of trouble, I won't lie. For the projects featured on the blog this week and last, I used PDF patterns by Mrs. Depew on Etsy. They are reprints of pattern in old French sewing magazines. While I love them, the lack of well-written detailed instructions might make it difficult for a beginner sewist. There was a Sew-along for both these projects in 2012. I might have bought the patterns way back then. It was hosted by Anna Depew of http://afewthreadsloose.blogspot.com/ and Sarah of http://www.ohhhlulu.com/ . They called it the “ Ooh La La Pin-Up Sew-Along”. So cute. I found these posts to be very helpful in completing these two items. For the body of the bra, I sewed it the same manner as the garter belt. I basted the fashion fabric and the lining fab...

YouTube associated with this blog post: https://youtu.be/e5Vf3-DzxFo For the 1950's, I thought I'd make something a lot more sassy then I usually sew. I've had this pattern for at least 6 or 7 years. It was too advanced for me at the time, but I fell in love with it and I bought it anyway. Mrs. Depew has the most beautiful patterns in her Etsy. She takes vintage patterns, many from French magazines, and makes the, available to all. There are many patterns in her shop I'd love to make. For this project, I used two of them. They are #2002 1950's Garter Belt Corselet ( http://mrsdepew.com/lingerie-patterns/corsets/french-corset-garter-belt.html ) and #2001 French Bra Corselet ( http://mrsdepew.com/lingerie-patterns/brassieres/french-bra-corselet.html ). I will write about the former this week, and the later next week. These patterns are PDF downloads, which is very convenient. These come in only a few sizes and don't include seam allowances. I printed t...

I have had this pretty fabric in my stash for a long time, and I decided 2020 was the year to do something with it. It's a lightweight, almost sheer purple-pink cotton blend with a floral print. Some of the flowers are flocked and soft, too! It looks vintage (it might be), so I thought a vintage Easter dress would be just the thing. This spring, I am especially loving pastel colors and dainty flowers. Of course, these come in fashion every year. But for some reason, I am just obsessed this year. Another new obsession is Splendette reproduction jewelry. They are inspired by Bakelite jewelry of the 1940's and 1950's. They have such a wide range, including bangles in 3 widths, earrings, brooches, and necklaces. They offer each bangle in Maiden, Regular, or Duchess size (small, medium, or large). I own 9 pieces so far and I have an incredibly long wishlist. Here, I am wearing their Drop Hoop earrings and Midi bangle in Amethyst. Sadly , this color was discontinued and th...

YouTube video associated with this blog So, it has come to this. The 1980s. The decade of my birth (though I don't remember any of that decade). The decade of the WORST fashion in the whole 20 th century. Especially for teen girls. Girls, what were you thinking? Perms and side ponytails? Oversize, boxy shirts and shapeless dresses in questionable color choices? But I digress. I found McCall's 3474 at a thrift store, I assume. That's where most of my vintage patterns have come from, so far. The pattern is dated copyright 1987 on the envelope. It includes a camisole or long nightgown, shorts or pants, and a full length long sleeve robe. I do enjoy the glamour and sophistication of the pattern illustration on the cover. It's very classy. I came up with this whole concept of “unmentionables thru the decades” years ago. From the beginning, I knew I wanted to include at least one matching long nightgown and robe set. It's just so stylish, classic...