Sold But Not Forgotten - Du Barry 2413B

I haven't blogged in some time, so today I'm writing up a quick post on a past sewing project to help get back into the swing of things.

This dress is easily one of my top ten favorites of all the reproduction pieces I've made to sell so far. This super cute 1930s/40s reproduction cotton print was a lucky find at my local fabric shop. (I was also able to find it in a purple colorway as well!) A few of you may remember the first time I used Du Barry 2413B, waaaaay back when I first started sewing 30s/40s clothing for myself. It's a great pattern and one I can see myself sewing a few more times!

It's a fairly basic pattern but it has some great details too. I love the option of the little V-shaped pockets! They make the perfect accent for a war-era dress. While the skirt does have some tiny pin tucks, they are kind of lost in this particular print. I think in a solid fabric they would stand out a bit more.

Here are a few in progress shots on the dress. Another thing I like about this dress are the little pouf sleeves and gathering at the shoulders.

Playing with some trim for the pockets! I ended up using this cotton eyelet. It helped break up the bright red print just bit. I added some dark colored vintage buttons from the stash too for the same reason.

Here are a few photos of the finished dress. I'm very happy with how this one turned out.

My friend Christiana bought the dress and she looks amazing in it! She even wore it for a photo session with A Timeless Collection. Here are a few images from that shoot, shown with permission.

Photo by A Timeless Collection

Photo by A Timeless Collection

Interested in purchasing a reproduction dress or blouse from me? Have a look at my Etsy shop.

Summary of the Pattern
Fabric: Late 1930s/early 1940s reproduction cotton print
Pattern: Du Barry 2413B
Year: About 1938/39
Notions: Buttons, thread, cotton lace trim
Time to Complete: Start to finish, I'd say about a week. It's an easy pattern to complete in a weekend if you have the time to sit and sew.
How historically accurate is it? Pretty darn close! The pattern is original vintage and the fabric is a historically accurate print. The buttons and lace trim, though vintage, are likely 1950s or 1960s.
Any tricky parts to the pattern? I've made this pattern once before and it goes together pretty easily.
Did you change anything? I chose not to add a side zipper. Instead of adding a collar I just turned but the front edges to form mini lapels.

Playing Catch Up - What's been happening

I'm finally sitting down to write real blog post. I have so much to share! I had not really realized how busy things have been until this week when I actually found myself with some much needed down time.

Most of January was spent finishing up some long neglected projects in the UFO pile, and I'm pleased to report I've made it through about half of the pile. The items that are left will need to be reevaluated so I can reside what's really worth finishing and what can be reused for other projects or just tossed. I'm at the point where I really want to clean and organize the sewing room and the UFO pile is a great place to start.

Here's a look at what I've finished!

Reproduction 1940s pinafores - Available here on Etsy

At the end of February I attended the Northeast Reenactors Fair and set up a booth for Emily's Vintage Visions along side Joani from A Timeless Collection. I had heard good things about the fair in the past but never had the change to go. This was a new experience for me as I've only done a handful of displays and vendor shows. Overall it was a successful weekend but I think I'll plan my set up a little differently next time. The Reenactors Fair was a great opportunity to meet and visit with people. One of the highlights was actually getting to do a live FB video at the end of Saturday with Joani, even if the video was sideways! Ooops!

Photo credit - A Timeless Collection

The first weekend of March was the GBVS's White Lightning Ball. Another fun event and one I look forward to each year. I was super excited (but also really nervous!) to debut the 1920s style head pieces I have been working on. They are made from vintage, and in some cases antique, trims and feathers in my stash. The two silver head pieces with the feather sold right away! I couldn't believe it!

Thanks to A Timeless Collection for this photo of hubby and I at the @Greater Boston Vintage Society's White Lightning Ball this past Saturday. He is wearing a 40s vintage sweater and pants fromOverAttired Vintage Fashion. My late 1920s/early 1930s dress is from @We, McGee Vintage

Over the last couple of weeks I picked up a sewing project I first started well over a year ago, a new 1770s gown!!! I can't begin to tell you how good it feels to dive head first back into historical sewing!! It's really my zen sewing, and yes, I'm doing all by hand. I'm using the Fashionable Gown pattern from Sign of the Golden Scissors. I've posted a few pictures on my Instagram account as well as on Facebook. There will be a proper blog post, or two, on the gown. So far I'v been good about taking construction pictures.

December Vintage Style

Just a quick post today! I'm joining Flashback Summer's Vintage December Style challenge. Lots of us have been sharing our outfits on Instagram this month. If you want to join in or just follow along, be sure to check out the tag #decembervintagestyle.

#vintagedecemberstyle with Flashback Summer

I haven't done much sewing this year, so all but one of these outfits are from last year. Still, I'm hoping to go through the closet and see what I can come up with for some new festive attire.

First up is the 1920s silk velvet dress that I wore earlier this month for the GBVS Winter Formal. Ivory and gold makes a nice combination for the Christmas season. You can read more about this outfit in my last blog post.

This 1940s evening dress is one I made back in 2013 for the very first GBVS Winter Formal. It's made from a most obnoxious shade of mustard crepe using Simplicity 1469. The dress is trimmed with modern sequins and jet beaded trim from the Victorian era.

Read more about making this dress

Here is what I wore last year when I was trimming our Christmas tree. I love the versatility of pinafores! This particular pinafore also works great for a Memorial Day or Fourth of July outfit!

And last but not least, a little 1950s for you! I don't often wear 50s but once in awhile I come across a piece that I really love. This coat is one of those pieces. The princess cut is flattering and super fun to wear over fuller skirts and dresses. More photos of this outfit in this post.

MAAM WWII Weekend 2017 - Pt 2

As promised here is my second post about the Mid Atlantic Air Museum's WWII weekend. This time I thought I would share some fun photos from around our camp. To give you an idea of just how big this event is, have a quick peek at this map of the site.

Part of the US Navy "air station" on Wake Island

Communications bunker on Wake Island

Here is most of our group!

Here are a few shot by Emileigh of Flashback Summer who joined me that weekend.

Our kitchen for the weekend. Three square meals each day, thanks cooke!

Breakfast time!!

I love this one, the guys were having too much fun reading the ads in this 1940s Life Magazine!

Here are a few shots from the French Village. I wish I had taken more but was having so much fun visiting with friends I only took a few.

Watching the vintage planes during the air show portion on the weekend is always a highlight!

That's all for now! Hope you enjoy! :) Be sure to check out Flashback Summer's post for more photos.

More From the Ladies Home Journal, February 1943

I would like to share a few more images from my February 1943 copy of Ladies Home Journal. (For fashion-related images from the magazine see this post.) Vintage magazines are so much fun to read through. The images I picked for today are all health and beauty related. Three of my favorite 1940s movie stars have ads in this magazine. Hedy Lamarr, Rita Hayworth and Rosalind Russell. I've always wondered if they star who advertised products actually used them on a regular basis. What do you think?

It seems ladies in the 1940s worried about their weight too, just like many of us today.

How about this ad for nail polish? I find little things like this helpful when choosing make-up and nail colors for an authentic look.  I also appreciate that, given it's 1943 and WWII is in full swing, the ad features a female shop worker. Just because you're working in a factory doesn't mean you can't have pretty nails! Or so the ad would lead us to believe. ;)

Even this lovely lady, recently engaged, has her nails painted!

Ladies Home Journal February 1943

Is it February already? January seemed to fly by as I'm sure this month will too. I'm enjoying winter but around this time I really start to crave warmer days and spring colors. One of the things I like to do to fight the winter blues is to have some fresh flowers in the house, either in potted plants for flowers from the grocery store.

Today I'd like to share some images from my February 1943 copy of Ladies Home Journal. Over the weekend I pulled out my stack of vintage magazines and started flipping through them. Seriously, I have enough content to blog about for the next two years!

Among the many advertisements in this magazine was this one for fighting colds. Seems appropriate for this time of year. There were also several ads for makeup and skin care but I'll share those for another post.

It's interesting to see how much focus is put on encouraging people to "do your bit" for the war effort.  What a cute attic apartment. I'd live there now! Also I'd like to point out that we are currently painting one of the rooms in our house this color. But we picking the color long before I saw this picture. I do like the yellow and green combination so I'll be sure to work that into the room somehow.

And let's not forget the impact of the war had on fashions. Here are several pages dedicated to sprucing up the wardrobe you already have! I love that the colors on these pages are so fresh after all these years!

Do you have a favorite image from this post? What kind of content from vintage magazines are you most interesting in seeing in the future? Fashion, food, ads, health and beauty products, other kinds of articles? I'd like to keep this requests in mind as I go through my magazines.