Vintage Bonanza - Part 1 April 26, 2008

My mother came for a visit last week, and she brought two suitcases of patterns that belonged to my grandmother Della Vestcyk.  What a treasure trove!  Most of them will end up on Ebay, although I did keep a handful.  So for the next few days I’ll share with you the ones I kept, and when my mother begins to  list them on Ebay I’ll make an announcement here on Sewing Divas.  All of them are in bust sizes 34-36-38. 

The collection spans the 1930’s to the 70’s and in addition to the Big 4 there are several smaller pattern companies, some I’ve seen before like Marian Martin and Parade, and others I’ve never heard of, such as Modes Royale and The Book of Fashion. 

Modes Royale No. 438 - 1947

This style was my mother’s high school graduation gown. Modes Royale appears to have been a semi-custom pattern company, and notice the price on the envelope is $2.00 - a huge sum of money for a pattern when most of them were only $.25 apiece.  The envelope is really large, about the size of today’s Vogue Designer patterns.  I doubt I’ll ever sew this one, but I had to have it because it was made for my mother, by my grandmother.

Simplicity 2617 - Early 1950’s

I really love both of these; the details are so different.  The one on the left is just about my ideal summer dress, I think it would look great in seersucker or madras plaid, and the style on the right would look great in red or pumpkin wool crepe for the fall and winter.

The Book of Fashion No. 2817 - Early 1950’s

This jacket reminds me of Vogue 7908, a modern Claire Shaeffer pattern.  The side hip buttons are very cool and the jacket and blouse version would also look great and very modern with wide leg pants.

Vogue 6995 - 1950

This one has a copyright date, which is missing from most of the collection.  I love this so much I’m tempted to see if Vogue would be interested in adding it to the Vintage Vogue collection.  This is one of those styles that is timeless and universally flattering to just about everyone.  In addition to being a lovely summer dress, the bodice could also be made in white and the skirt in black for a faux skirt & blouse look.  Add the jacket in the same fabric as the skirt and you have a very Chanel-like look from her 1953 comeback collection.

The Lost Acessory March 30, 2008

 

Hats.

Georgene’s post made me think of them, because I adore that cute little trilby on the right.  When I was younger, I loved nothing more than playing with my grandmother’s collection of hats on a rainy afternoon, and every time I see a vintage pattern I long for the chance to wear one. 

What happened to our relationship with hats?

My theory as to why woman no longer wear them boils down to this:  we no longer wear hairstyles that accommodate a hat, that is, a style smooth at the back of the head with curls around the face.  Bangs do not work with hats (ask me how I know this.) These days our hairstyle is our “head ornament” and I think our increasingly casual lives jsut don’t give us that many opportunities to wear them, and so we don’t know how to wear them anymore.  These days when I see a woman in a hat she is just SO selfconscious and aware of what’s on her head.  It reminds of me seeing my Episcopal dad in a Yarmulke at my cousin’s Bar Mitzvah.

So where can we wear hats these days? Well…

Church. Our African-American sisters in particular really know  how to rock this and I salute them for keeping the flame burning, but for the most part hats at church are a thing of the past where I live.

The Kentucky Derby.  Not an event I’m likely to attend in the near future.

Weddings.  Well, many of them are evening events now, and hats are kind of a daytime thing if you ask me.

Meeting Queen Elizabeth or the Pope.  Same as the Kentucky Derby.

Not a long list.  Plus, a hat is meant to seen, and since most of us drive everywhere, where would we wear hats on a daily basis?  The mall?  Costco? I can’t envision it.

BUT

Great hats do exist….. like here….and here…and here.  First Lady of France Carla Bruni needs to work on her hat wardrobe a bit; it’s hard to believe she looks more matronly than the Queen, who is twice her age and still wore a better hat.  Carla should be channeling Jackie Kennedy.

Maybe when my daughters get married I’ll have a chance to wear one.  Hopefully they will have day weddings.

 Sigh

Vintage Trenchcoat March 16, 2008

My dear daughter’s high school is holding another fashion show this year. The kids are big fans of Project Runway. This is the 3rd year they are putting it on, and fundraising with the proceeds. Since DD was away at Oxbow in the Fall, she didn’t get started until January. She was told that there had to be minimum 8 outfits to participate, not 3 like she did last year. Panicked, we decided that the only way to get thru the project was to use commercial patterns, as last year all of her patterns were created for each of her 3 garments. Since her sewing skills are limited I promised to be her samplemaker when I could. I promised myself not to influence. It’s her designs and fabric choices, I have just been expediting. It’s been crazy since January as we try to move forward on her 8 ensembles.
We combed the pattern boxes to try to match her sketches to existing patterns, and shopped the stash for 97% of the fabrics she picked. Other than buying a few buttons and trims, she managed to find everything in the studio here. That’s the advantage of having a stash the size of Rhode Island. As she told her designing friends at school “My mom collects fabric like other people collect action figures”.
The show is next week, but I thought you might like a preview of one of the styles. It’s based on this pattern from 1935.

Check out the back We didnt use the exact pattern, as the center of the back pattern had been cut away. The fabric is older than DD, an ignoble poly taffeta that loves to pucker. I have to say that I have never attempted to make anything like it. A high peaked double breasted lapel? Never! But it did come out OK, and I credit the excellent though sparse instruction included in the pattern.
I will post pics from the show after next week. We are all excited to see how it all comes together, with elbow gloves and a big hat off of eBay and belts and jewelry from local thrift shops. Here’s the envelope back for your delectation.

Separated at Birth February 21, 2008

Our good friend from Barcelona, Paco Peralta, sent me this photo of the Balenciaga dress that inspired my vintage cashmere coat.

The Ghost of Christmas Past December 25, 2007

My mother sent me these vintage needle booklets for Christmas - aren’t they wonderful?  She said in her note that she found them at a “second hand sale” and as soon as I opened them I felt an immediate and powerful connection to the sewist who used them.

My favorite tools are always the ones I make myself.  I made the needle book below a few years ago when I was going through a bit of OCD while trying to embroider a proper bullion rose.  

The “cover” is filled with two pieces of plastic canvas zigzagged round the edges, then trimmed.  I added flannel pages and stitched a center “binding” between the pieces of plastic canvas.   I have a collection of vintage needles I that like to use for embroidery and hand sewing, so I store them in this booklet.

 

I have this fantasy that the woman who made the vintage needle books was just as pleased as I was when she finished hers.  The fronts and back are two colors of wool felt, and the pages are white flannel.  The butterfly is missing one antenna, but the simple silk floss embellishment is still bright.  The flower basket is embellished with posies stitched from french knots and lazy daisy stitches for leaves.  The handle of the basket folds down to show the needles.  Based on the shapes and colors I’d say both date from the late 1930’s to mid 1940’s.  I love the imagery from this era because it reminds me of my grandmother and my great aunts.

I doubt I’ll take the needles out - I’d rather leave them just as they are, as they were, the last time the unkown maker touched them.   A sewing moment frozen in time; a tangible link to the past and a respite from modern life.

Adrian Pattern May 9, 2006

by Diva Gigi 

I received my Adrian pattern envelope with instructions last night. There were actually three pattern pieces in the envelope - pieces C, D and G. The pieces for the bodice, skirt and sleeve are missing. Here you can see the shapes of the pattern pieces for this dress:

As you can see this dress would be quite easy to replicate. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the instructions. This design is much easier to put together than the illustration suggests. The skirt front is pleated first. Then the lower edges of piece G (front inset) are pressed under before the piece is topstitched onto the skirt front. Once the bodice and skirt have been joined, the midriff bands are simply topstitched onto the dress. It would be easy and fun to incorporate this idea into a modern dress design. Also, note the three elbow darts on the sleeve. The seam allowances are 1/2″ with a generous 2″ hem.

Graduation Dress - Part 1 May 8, 2006

by Diva Gigi 

Now that I’m finished with my son’s prom shirt it’s time to move on to my dress for graduation. I have exactly 8 days. I will be using this vintage 1974 Simplicity pattern, view 1. I thought I’d want long sleeves but it’s been soooo darn hot that I’m considering sleeveless even though it’s not my best look. I’ll be whipping up a quick muslin so I’ll decide then.

Here are the two fabrics I am considering. Both are wonderful rayon/lycra jerseys from www.textilestudiopatterns.com. They are both very pretty so I’m having a hard time making up my mind. Maybe I should look in the stash to see what else I have in there.

Buy It Now May 4, 2006

By Diva Gigi 

Buy It Now is great! I just scored this, um, “pattern” on Ebay. As I was doing my daily search for new items I ran across this Adrian pattern. The auction was for the envelope and instructions only - the pattern itself is missing. Since 1) I have never, ever, ever seen an Adrian pattern before, 2) it’s not a style that would flatter my thick waist and 3) it’s not even close to my size I decided to BIN just for the joy of being able to look at it. That’s a whole lotta joy for $10, don’t you think?