Inspirations.

  Yesterday I was looking through the channels and one of my favorite movies was playing ....

 

         
        That's right! Pleasantville! I have loved this movie ever since it first came out in 1998 and it never gets old for me to watch. It is a great blend of comedy and drama while it shows how life really was portrayed in the 1950's! Women did the housework, men went to work, children were to be seen and not heard, and people seemed to pretend like inapropriate behavior didn't happen. What do I love about this movie most of all? The fashion of course!! When I really sat down and thought about it this was my first exposure to vintage fashion and I have been in love with it ever since. The sweater sets, shirt dresses, accessories, and (eventually) the colors were all beautiful to me! Here are a few of my favorites from the film.

Loving these sweater sets!

How adorable is Reese in this top?

This shot is beautiful from her florally dress to her plaid umbrella!

Perfection!

This is quite possibly my favorite shot in the whole film. This closeup of her bright pink bubble gum and perfect pin-curled hair is just gorgeous!

        I realized that this movie is one of my biggest inspirations for vintage sewing. I have wanted to wear those great dresses and skirts ever since! I am just sad that it took me so long to really start sewing. If I had started at 11 I can just imagine the things I would be able to make by now! I think I can safely say that this movie piqued my interest in 1998 and has held it ever since! What is your earliest memory of inspiration? Was it a movie? An Ad?

       With that being said I have started another project! I have started printing and piecing together my "1958 Ladies Party Dress" That you can find here Ladies 1958 Party Dress I have seen quite a few versions of this dress floating around out there but my favorite image of it is this version   At Edelweiss Patterns' Blog. Her cupcake dress is so beautiful and inspiring that I just have to try it out. So far printing and putting the pattern together has gone alright and I think it will be incredibly easy to work with :) I have chosen to work with a light heather grey polka dot cotton and a baby pink broadcloth for (possibly) a removable collar and belt/cumberbund.

                                               

           I am hoping to get started on sewing it tomorrow depending on how warm it gets here. I have a great space upstairs for my crafting but the air does not work as well up there so it gets a little toasty if it gets higher than 85 outside! Hopefully it will resemble something like this when it is done and not a total mess!

This woman is so seriously talented! Check her out at  Edelweiss Patterns

      As always! Thanks for reading. Stay cool, Stay sassy, and stay classy! 

Success! Finally!!

Holy cow!!!
Making a good version of this dress has taken me a billion years. Between fitting problems, life, and just making silly mistakes it has taken me about a month to finally create a wearable, well-fitting version that I am happy with :)

check it out!

I used the same Retro-Butterick as seen in my post below and a fun polka-dotted cotton I picked up at Hancock's Fabric on sale. You have absolutely no idea how nerve-wracking it was cutting into this pretty fabric knowing that it was a good possibility I was about to have a complete disaster on my "crafty" hands!That being said, I still had a lot of fitting issues due to my body shape even after making my initial muslin bodice. I thought that I had the fit just right but having lost some weight since my last post it simply did not occur to me to re-measure myself. This didn't cause a huge amount of issues but it caused the waist and armholes of my adjusted pattern to be too big. So once I got the bodice sewed together and tried on I realized it was way too baggie in some areas. To fix most of the problem I simply took the side seams in by about an inch :)

I also had to make a few adjustments to the neckline because when I initially sewed it the scoop neck was far too baggy and just not figure flattering for me. I cut a small curved section out, added a few tucked stitches and Voila! it is now a sweetheart neckline. The fit of the bodice overall still isn't quite perfect but it is definitely wearable :)

                                                                   

I used the "invisible" stitch along the hemline, neckline, and armholes. It was time consuming but so worth it when looking at my final product. (I know..I know..I should have lined and used facings but I feel like that just would have made this light summer dress too bulky!) I am also rather proud of this zipper I put it. I managed to almost not screw it up. :)




This is one of those projects that I definitely struggled with quite a bit! But after a few candy bars, some Firefly, and determination 8 hours later I had this retro-inspired finished dress that I couldn't be more proud of!

So just remember: Stay focused, have fun, take a few deep breaths and get creative!!