Paisley Rayon

This dress was really hard to take a photo of because it's pale, and I'm pale, and the house was dark because it was raining outside.

I made the dress from Eva Dress pattern D40-359. I think this is the oldest pattern I've ever made. It's a reproduction of a pattern from 1940.  

The fabric is a 1940s or 50s rayon from Unearthed in Wellington. It has a paisley pattern and then these abstract bow (or maybe flower?) shapes. I'm not normally a fan of synthetics but rayon feels really nice, and it's only a semi-synthetic.

I only just had enough fabric. Even though I had about 4 metres length, like lots of vintage fabrics, the width was really small. It was a total pain in the arse to cut out because it's really slippery. It was kind of hard to sew too. This is why I usually stick to nice, stable, mid weight cottons. So much easier to sew.     

I'm not totally sold on this dress. I love the fabric print and the drape but there's just something about it that I'm not sure about. Maybe it's the colour? Pale colours do not suit me at all. Or maybe it's the shape around the waist? The gathers make it way more droopy than the pattern envelope looks.  I dunno. Maybe it will grow on me.

Straight outta the 1940s

That's what someone told me today, that I looked, "straight out of the 1940s". It pleased me greatly because that's exactly what I was going for. I have a bit of an obsession with 40s ladies suits, but I can't really afford one, so this is my approximation of one. The skirt is a wool circle skirt that I made. The blazer is op shopped and I added an op shopped belt to give it a more 40s shape. The faux fur wrap and gloves are also op shopped.   

 The bag and the shoes I got at Brumby's garage sale. I made the hat using this 40s pdf pattern from Kallie Designs on etsy. I used some sort of mystery wool type fabric from the op shop, and an old button as decoration.

The pattern was really quick and easy. Now, I'm keen to try some of the other hat patterns in the Kallie Designs shop.

I am me, I am me, I am me

I got these bright yellow tights for my birthday, and I love them, but I've been struggling with what to wear with them. I've worn them with black and grey clothing but it just didn't feel like me. I think I've finally found something I like them with. Instead of trying to find colours that go with the yellow, I just put on a whole pile of clashing colours, which is way more 'me'. The dress is one I made. Most of the other stuff I'm wearing is second hand. The belt is just some petersham ribbon tied in a bow.     

And yeah, the title refers to the Willow Smith song. It's been in my head all week, but that's okay because I think she's pretty awesome. Her song is awesome. Her style is awesome. Her hair is awesome. And her parents are awesome for letting her wear what she wants and cut her hair how she wants. 

Tutti Frutti

Sherry recently wrote an interesting post about style rules and it got me thinking about how much I dislike any rules which tell people what they should or should not wear. I'm short (or petite as it's now euphemistically called). "Style rules" usually say that I shouldn't wear bold prints and should dress in one colour from head to toe. Well, I say screw that. I love bold prints and usually wear a rainbow of colours. This dress is pretty typical of the kind of thing I wear every day.  

Aside from being a bold print (which I shouldn't wear), the fabric breaks another style rule. The print has both red and pink in it which are not meant to be worn together.

The shoes worn with this dress probably break some style rules too. I wear my saddle shoes with almost everything, though. I like the way they make fancier dresses look more casual.

I used a mish mash of two Burda patterns for this dress. The skirt is made from the Jenny pencil skirt. The bodice is made from a modified dress pattern that I got from a Burda magazine from the library.

I made a pleated inset for the front waist based on one of my vintage dresses. It's pretty much just a rectangle with three pleats that's sewn into the side seams. 

This was a really quick dress to sew up. I started it the day before I went to away for a few of days. I pretty much finished it that same day. I did the hem and a few other bits of hand sewing while I was away, in between scouring small town op shops and visiting my grandma.