Gowns of the Past - My History as a Couturier

When I was younger, I used to go to a formal affair every year. This was also around the time I was in school studying fashion design, so I would make a new dress for myself for the events. Now that I'm doing a grand purge of all my belongings I've come across all those dresses again and have decided to get rid of them. Some of them were really beautiful and I thought I'd share them with you here.

This one of the first ones I made. It's white silk taffeta and it's trimmed at the bust and back waist with artificial flowers of every color and description.

This one is a big wedding cake of a dress. The bodice is pastel plaid silk taffeta and the skirt is a huge 6 layers of different colored pink netting and tulle. It was not easy to maneuver in, but was stunning to look at!

This one is quite dramatic. It was made as an homage to Charles James, who I was quite taken with at the time. It's made of red silk taffeta and features a midnight blue tulle skirt. I love the asymmetrical bodice and taffeta drape at the waist. It's trimmed with rich red roses.

This one was made from a vintage 1960's pattern and features a bell shaped silhouette. It's made of a really lovely pink and gold lamé fabric with a floral print - lots of metal in that lame, it's very heavy.

This one, though not a gown, was my final project at FIT. It's a wedding suit with very curvy 50's styling to the waist and hips. The top of the jacket stands away from the body and is filled in with peach and pale yellow roses - giving the effect of the bride being the centerpiece of her own bridal bouquet.

I hope this little trip down my memory lane was fun. If you're interested in any of these little numbers they're all available this week on eBay. Have a look!

Sartorial Splendor for the Mile High City

Hi People! You may remember my mentioning that I'll be going to Denver to do a demonstration for the Denver Public Library - a Tassel and Pompon-a-Thon. I'm really looking forward to it! Tickets go on sale tomorrow, for those of you who are in the area. Be sure and join me!

For the trip, I want to make myself a new suit. It's important to always look your best! I found a fun vintage hat a while back on Etsy and when it came I was inspired by it to put this outfit together.

The hat has a very peculiar texture to it. Here's a close up of it:

It reminded me of silk noil. Noil is a fabric that was popular in the 70's and 80's. It's made of the ends and scraps of silk fiber left over from making other types of silk and has a rough, nubbly texture and in the natural color, it has some flecks of brown in it.

It's a very nice weight for a suit and has a casual quality while still looking smart. I decided to use noil for my suit. Now this choice is "forward thinking" for the 1960's style I have selected to make to go with the hat, noil wasn't used regularly until the mid 70's, but that's fine. I've always been a trailblazer... I had some trouble finding silk noil in the market today. It's fallen out of fashion, I'm afraid. None of my favorite stores in the garment district stocked it in the colors I wanted. So, I turned to the internet. I eventually found it at a silk importer called Thai Silks. They have a wide variety of silk fabrics, and a nice collection of noils. They also have a 1/2 yard minimum, and their prices are very competitive. If you're looking for silk, it's a good source. (This is a genuine review of the company. I paid for my fabric purchase there)

The style I decided to make is a smart, boxy 60's suit. The jacket will be cut with a kimono sleeve. I looked for this pattern for quite a while. A kimono sleeve is cut in one with the body of the jacket, and I wanted a pattern that was fitted to the body with princess seams and an underarm seam. I eventually found it on eBay. I was lucky enough to find a pattern with the trimming detail I was looking for, so I didn't have to create it myself. The jacket will be cut in the natural color and trimmed with contrast piping in one of the colors. The sleeveless blouse will be made of the other color and trimmed in the natural. The skirt will be a simple straight skirt in the same natural as the jacket.

My first step is to make a muslin of the jacket, to make sure the pattern fits me well. Then I can cut and sew the fashion fabric. I'll be sure and check in with you to show you my progress in the coming weeks, and you'll see the final effect at my appearance in Denver - in person if you're in town, if not then in the subsequent video we shoot out there!

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Fashion A La Mode - Modes Royale Patterns

There's a lot of joy for me in the art and craft of sewing. I've been indulging in it quite a bit lately and have been buying not only vintage fabric, but vintage patterns as well. I've come across a brand that I hadn't heard of before, and it's become a mini-obsession. The brand is Modes Royale.

What's so wonderful about these patterns is the attention to detail. The styles frequently features 3 or 4 dressmaker details on one dress alone. Flaps, bound buttonhole slots through which scarves are threaded, peplums, odd shaped pockets, the creativity boggles the mind! I've been looking on eBay and Etsy for examples of them and recently came across some of the pattern books from the late 60's.

By that time, the brand had become somewhat more subdued than in it's heyday of the 40's and 50's, but there are a few fun styles in the catalogs that I thought I'd share with you.

One of my favorite styles is the shift. It just looks good on me, so I tend to make a lot of them. These two feature details that are common for the brand - slot seams and a flange on a side closing

Another shift with a dramatic keyhole back and attached scarf.

Here's a fun halter with a pert little collar.

I love this chic tunic with the low belt.

This little dropped waist number has port hole pockets!

I love a chic shirtwaist and this one has very nice lines.

Modes Royale patterns can be found on auction sites and if you're lucky in thrift shops. The more outrageous ones can be quite sought after by collectors and can fetch a pretty penny. If you're an experienced pattern maker, you can use the illustrations as inspiration for your own garments. If you're interested, MyFrockShop.com has a PDF file of several of the catalogs from the 40's and 50's. It's great resource material for the flashier garments of the period.

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Fab Finds in Fabrics - Vintage Prints

I've been having some luck as of late with vintage fabric finds. I came across a few fun fabrics at a thrift shop a while back and it inspired me to look on eBay and Etsy for more. Here are a few of the standouts:

This one is an Etsy purchase. It's such a sunny tiger print, isn't it? It's a synthetic knit and it's going to be a hostess dress when it grows up.

This sophisticated print features dancers - sort of a 50's Follies Bergère on beige. It was one of the thrift shop finds that started my current obsession. I don't have any plans for it yet. This one is a drapey rayon crepe.

Heavy linen is the substrata for this painterly plaid. It's such a pretty print and the colors are just delightful. It's an Etsy find. I'll be making this up into a simple shift dress.

Another Etsy find is this polyester crepe de chine with a 70's chevron print on it. This will be a shirt dress one day. It's very Vera, isn't it?

This is another one of the thrift shop purchases that launched this ship. It's a sheer print that reminds me of suns. This will be a summer shirt for me this year.

I've always been fond of printed crepe linings in jackets and coats. That's what this mod polyester floral crepe will be eventually. It's from eBay.

All this fabric acquisition has taxed my storage space a bit, so I'm destashing, as they say, on Etsy right now. Have a look at the vintage fabrics and patterns I have up for sale.

Forget the Carpet, Does the Dress Match the Drapes?

Last week I featured a craft project from 1001 Decorating Ideas - the magazine from the 60's featuring Conso trimmings. As I was leafing through them looking for projects I came across some of the fashions they created. They're a little... Well, judge for yourself:

Swathed in mushroom ribbon, this chic model is just the thing for a casual lunch. Is that Maude Adams behind those enormous sunglasses?

Hit the courts in this snappy tennis outfit lovingly trimmed with tassel fringe in blue and green - note the matching racket cover and sock pompons...

What better way to greet your guests for alfresco dining than in this yellow brunch coat? What hostess doesn't want to match her pillows?

...Or her drapes? This middle eastern inspired hostess caftan is made of the same fabric and trimmings as her draperies. Just the thing for the woman who never knows what to wear.

For those nights when you have to play Juliet, what could be better than this stunning white Empire gown?

And where for art though Romeo? Right here! Note the matching trim on the shades. I have to say, I love the creativity involved here. Can you imagine the joy these stylists must have felt going into a room completely stocked with every kind of trim imaginable and being told to use as much of it as humanly possible in every project? Sometimes restraint is a good thing...