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.
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.
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.
Just a quick post today with some photos of an outfit I put together this past weekend. My camera wasn't working properly so I had to use my phone. Not the best quality but ah well.
I admit, I felt a little silly taking selfies in the driveway but that's what you have to do when you don't have anyone to take pictures for you!
One of the few vintage coats I own, this 1950s princess coat is great for cooler weather. I love the longer length. I have a fur collar that can easily be added to dress it up if I want. The bright red hat was a purchase this fall from Mode de Lis during her hat sale. I thought the bright red color would be perfect for a Christmas-y outfit. The veil is in rough shape so at some point I will remove it, not sure if I will replace it or leave the hat plain. Thoughts?
Because I was going with a Christmas theme, I decide to try my Victory Red lipstick from Besame. I'm not totally sold on the color, which in person seam a little more pink on me. And it is bright! If you are looking for a super bright red you might like it but personally I like the Red Velvet better. It also doesn't stain your lips as much as the Victory Red does. It must have something to do with the formula because I don't have that problem with any other colors.
I also wore some red gloves, a plaid scarf that matches my bag and a big shiny rhinestone pin. All thrift store finds from over the years. Under my coat I wore my red and white 1940s pinafore. My red Bakelite earrings came from Brighter Bakelite on Etsy.
The boots I'm wearing are actually overshoes! They are trimmed with fur and are so much fun to wear. Some of you might remember them from this winter post.
That's for now! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that Santa brought you some lovely new vintage to enjoy! Watch for the second half of my 2016 events recap post this week.
I wasn't sure what I was going to post about for today's Sunday Shoe Spectacle post. But then these shoes arrived in the mail this week! How adorable! The color, the cording rosettes!!! So similar to my candy striped pair ......
And sadly, due to a listing error on the part of the seller, I discovered they are too small for my feet. Ugh! Sadness!!!! So, into the shop they go. And after photographing them I thought, why not blog about them along with my striped pair.
Marked Saks Fifth Avenue, Debutante Fashions Keystone Gay Step. 6 N - Listing here
I believe the beautiful blue Saks Fifth Ave boudoir slippers are from the 1940s or possibly early 1950s. They are an absolutely gorgeous shade of royal blue with matching blue silk ribbon cording rosettes! I loves these so much, why don't they fit!?!? I love seeing them side by side with my striped boudoir slippers. How cool is that pom pom ribbon trim? You can see me wearing the striped pair in this post from last fall.
The striped pair are marked "Created by Jerro, New York" and "The Fair, Ft. Worth." They need a good cleaning but I'm not sure how to do that so I've left alone and enjoy wearing them as is.
More close ups of the blue rosettes! By the way, you can save 10% on these by using the code BLOGFAN at check out. :)
Overall the blue slippers are in very good and very wearable shape, though they do have some storage marks. Not really sure how to clean faille fabric but I think they could be cleaned. But if you are wearing these with a long flowing dressing gown, no one is going to notice.
The soles have minor wear which I find normal for shoes that are only worn indoors. And the leather heel caps are almost perfect.
These are rather narrow and are marked 6 N, which should have been a clue to me that they wouldn't work. But the seller stood by their measurements which made them seem like they would fit my feet. Ah well. They will live together with my other pom pom slippers until they have a new home. Maybe yours? ;)
Also, just for fun check out this pair of striped slippers that sold from FabGabs. They are almost identical to mine except for the heel strap. Do you own any vintage boudoir slippers? I would love to see them!
Hello everyone! Today I want to share a quick and easy way to refresh vintage hats, or fascinators, that have been badly stored and are in need to new life. Be sure to look through all the photos and to check out the accompanying video at the end of this post. (Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel.)
Lately I have been going through my vintage sewing and clothing items in an effort to de-stash. While sorting hats these pieces surfaced and I knew I finally needed to do something with them. I've had these vintage hats/facinators in my collection for several years now. They came to me along with some much nicer hats and had been badly stored by the former owner. I've never had much interest in late 1950s or 1960s fashions and because of their poor condition I really didn't know what to do with them. They were too pretty to toss so these sad little things have sat in a hat box unloved for the last couple of years. Until now!
Here are a few pictures of the hats before and after steaming. As you can see they were badly crushed and rather sad looking. These hats are all made from netting and have chiffon flowers and velvet leaves attached to the top, or in the case of the pink one, little velvet ribbons. So cute!
So, what will you need for this hat refresh tutorial?
Supplies
- Vintage hat/veil
- Hat form or tailor's ham
- Iron with LOTS of steam OR a hand held steamer if you have one
- Straight pins (optional)
A few things to keep in mind as you work. STEAM IS HOT!!! I know that
seems obvious, but please be careful! DO NOT touch or press your hot
iron directly on the netting or flowers of your hat. The heat could melt
or otherwise damage your item. Hold your iron several inches ABOVE the
hat and LET THE STEAM DO THE WORK. :)
I practiced this method on the
pink net facinator first as a test as it was the most damaged of the
hats. I wasn't worried about ruining it. Your iron should be set on a middle to high steam setting. Let your iron
heat up while your are placing the hat on your form.
If you don't have a hat form or hat block, a tailor's ham with work just fine
For this tutorial I used a hat form but you can also use a tailor's ham. Start by placing your hat over the form of your choice. Using your fingers, GENTLY pull/stretch the lace/letting. Do not pull too hard because you could cause the material to break.
TIP - To keep your hat from sliding around while you work place a couple straight to help hold it to your form.
Next, hold your iron several inches ABOVE your hat. Gently move the iron back and forth for a few seconds at a time to help the steam work its way into the flower petals and over the lace/letting. Let the steam to the work to relax the material and help fluff up the flower petals. It make take a few minutes so be patient.
If needed, use your fingers to lift up the flower petals then steam again. (DO NOT try and hold the petals with your fingers while steaming or you will get burned!!) Fluff, then steam. Save your fingers! :)
The flowers of the beige hat you see me working on in the video were really flat when I started. I found that several seconds of steam then using my fingers to lift up the petals followed by more steam worked well.
You may also find it helpful to tip your hat form as you work so the steam can really get under the flowers and around the netting.
That's it! What do you think? If you use this tutorial please let me know how it worked for you!
My apologies, the video is a little fuzzy at times. I think it's due
to the lighting in my sewing room. I should note too, the video cut stops a
little abruptly at the end because my camera decided to shut off. Silly
thing. :p
I've wanted to photograph these two dresses together for a while now. I finally had the chance this fall and thankfully the weather cooperated. The dresses look much better outside against our stunning fall backdrop then they would have looked inside. Sadly all that beautiful color is gone now that we are well in to November. The gown with the long train is of course my wedding dress and the other is the one I made to wear to the reception.
This is actually the first time I've pulled these dresses out since packing them away after the wedding. Please forgive the wrinkled fabric as I didn't take the time to steam them.
Normally you want your bias tape to match your project. I used peach bias tape to bind the neck, arms and hem of my wedding gown because that's what I had on hand at the time. Plus I really didn't care that it didn't match, I just wanted the dress done!
My felt flowers are still looking nice! The corsages were costume made by Lucy of 1940s Style for You. Lucy also runs an Etsy shop of the same name. I made all our bouquets using wool felt, floral wire and an array of vintage mother of pearl, plastic and rhinestone buttons. I know I took photos while I was making them but can't seem to find the flash drive that hold them. Pooh! But when I do I'll post a tutorial for sure!
At some point I plan to do some major deconstruction and refitting of my reception dress. I had to resize the pattern which created some fitting issues with the bodice. It was thrown together pretty quickly the week before the wedding and never fit right. I don't like looking at the picture of me wearing it because I can see how wonky it is. Anyone else have projects like that? It would make a great outfit for a fancy News Year's Eve party so it's totally worth spending some time to fix it if I can.
I plan to do the following to my reception dress:
- Detach the skirt and bodice
- Rework the bodice to remove the excess fabric/bulk from neck and bust area. I added way to much ease when I resized the pattern. This should help the neck lay a little smoother. It's also tight under the arms so I need to do something about that.
- Shorten the skirt 2 to 3 inches
- Replace the zipper with one that is less bulky.
And a few last shots of me with my creations. And a peak at how I look on a non vintage day, which I'll be honest is most days during the week. I'm really a jeans and t-shirt (or sweater if it's chilly!) kind of girl, but that's because my work day starts so early and I'm lazy in the mornings!
There, now you're totally sick of seeing wedding dress photos! :)
