Movie 'college' dresses

I wasn't supposed to buy any new fabric, having accumulated a lifetime's supply in my sewing room, but I couldn't let this beautiful stuff pass by. 

It was called Movie College print but I'm pretty sure they meant collage.

I thought I'd make one dress but ended up having enough for two! How terrible! Not!

First dress.

 

I used this New Look pattern for both bodices. For the first dress, I used the bodice from view D. I just used a long rectangle for the skirt and gathered it onto the bodice. It's a really easy, cheaty way to make a skirt.

 

I love how the print sits across the bust. I actually didn't plan that.

Then I used this gorgeous pattern I found in an op-shop to make a jacket to wear with it. 

 

 

The pattern of the jacket is boxy and hip-length, so I cropped it at the waist, and added a couple of wide darts at the back to make it more fitted. I also lowered the neckline by a couple of inches.

Dress number two.

For this I used the bodice from view B. I can't remember where I got the pencil skirt pattern from but it's pretty basic anyway.

I made the skirt in brown, as black was too harsh. The black in the 'college' print is actually faded to brown, so the brown skirt works better.

Oh, this? I'm just practicing my over-the-shoulder-and-over-the-glasses gaze. You know.

xx

Christmas dress 2014

So I'm a teensy bit late getting back into blogging this year, but better late than never... or whatever.

Every year I make a Christmas dress. It doesn't have to be made of Christmas fabric specifically but I like it to have Christmas colours at least. Last year's effort was white with red and green, which is Christmassy enough for me.

This is a standard bodice/circle skirt pattern I use a lot. It fits well and it's very easy to make. I lined this one in a fairly stiff satin to make the skirt puff out. The outer fabric is a poly/cotton.

The first time I wore it I got a tiny little bit of chilli oil on the front, but it's so small it's not terribly noticeable. 

Oh! And I have a new tattoo. I had my lower left arm completed in December. Three roses and a spidey on a web. 

And of course, what would a Christmas dress be without my Christmas earrings? They are little dancing mice.

The end of my year was fairly low-key. I work in retail now and it was absolutely mental in the lead-up to Christmas Day! I can now gift wrap absolutely anything like a pro. I also never want to hear the words 'gift wrap' ever again until next Christmas. Afterwards, I sat down a lot.

New Year's consisted of a burger and a beer with my boyfriend, which was perfect.

New Year's resolutions?

~* more yoga (at least 4-5 times a week) *~

~* learn more recipes and cook more *~

~* try something new each month to be healthy *~

That last one can translate to anything - Sugar-Free Month, Walk More Month, 

Don't Injure Yourself This Month, etc.

Black, white, beads, stripes

 

 The pattern: McCalls 6646 (bodice only. The skirt was improvised by me)

 The fabric: Striped polished cotton - 40's? 50's? Who can tell me?

The location - My new kitchen!

 I op-shopped this polished cotton years ago and have been holding on to it wondering what to do with it. I wanted to use it for something special because it is just so wonderful. Finally I got sick of it wasting away in my fabric stash and decided to just use it. Surely anything I made with it would end up looking fabulous?

 It has a lovely little floral print which I wanted to bring out with perhaps some red shoulder straps or blue bows at the front. I couldn't decide so I went with the red ribbon sash.

It's removable and and it works. I'm pretty sure some red, or blue, shoes would look nice too.

Here it is without the ribbon.

Hey look! Matching nails. That works, too.

I feel like I look uncomfortable in these pictures (I was actually having fun!). 

Or maybe I look heavier. Do I have more of a chin?

I don't know. Maybe it's just these photos. *bangs head on desk*

The backdrop here is a bead curtain hanging in my new kitchen, in the doorway which leads to the laundry. I have always wanted a bead curtain.

Oh, oh! And I FIXED MY HAIR. Ding dong, the green hair is GONE. I really didn't want to try purple again and have the green come back to haunt me, so I just went with good old black.

The shaved side is still pink. It's a bit brighter now. I'm going to grow it out, but I'll keep dyeing it pink as it grows.

But back to my dress. I should mention how I made the skirt.

I cut the cotton into several 22" lengths, which I then stitched together to make one long piece. I gathered one long edge and stitched this to the waist of the bodice. This makes a skirt which is quite full but not floaty like a circle skirt (ie more wind-resistant). I'm starting to really love skirts like this because they can be made as gathered (or not) as one prefers.

Twirl, twirl.

The end.

Playing dress-ups, and other trivial matters

 

You can never be too old to put on a fluffy dress and dance around like a nong.

I found this petticoat in an opshop in the bridal section. I always look at bridal/evening dresses as they often yield an abundance of fabric to be turned into something else. I knew this petticoat would be perfect to wear under my circle skirts.

I chopped off the bottom layer of net and it was the perfect length.

 

It's a bit scraggly but I think I'll leave it.

On a completely trivial note, my hair is really annoying me lately. I bleach it and then dye it, but it doesn't seem to be holding the dye very well and is turning out all dull and grey. I don't want grey hair (yet). I want purple hair. So I'm thinking I might just cover it up. It's a pain in the bum to maintain; even when I'm not bleaching and colouring the regrowth, the stuff that's already coloured needs a touch up every 2-3 weeks. 

I'm thinking of covering it up with a blue-black and using some silvery/white colour for the shaved side (yes, I just said I don't want grey hair. Silver is different). 

I'm wearing a blue clip-in fringe piece in these photos to cover up some of the grey.

My blogging and commenting on others blogs has been random of late. I've had a lot on my mind, health-wise, home-wise. I'm about to take a week's break to see family interstate, some of whom I haven't seen in years. Seven days of reading, cups of tea, wood fires and sewing. Aahhhhh. 

(Oh, and family, who I love. Ahaha)

xx

Beverly Hills, West Germany and communal change rooms

I have been sewing lately, but everything is delayed due to my own mistaken belief that being industrious suits me (it actually just inspires procrastination on a greater level than usual). So here are some opshop and vintage finds I've, er, found lately.

Green leopard print dress

It actually is green. I'm planning on winterising this as there is no way I could wear this or any backless dress in summer.

Shawl and gloves. I found these in a stall at the Bendigo Pottery.

The gloves on the left are actually teal, and on the right, emerald green.

Yesterday I picked up some truly amazing items at the RetroStar warehouse sale (seriously, if you're in Melbourne, you should go to these sales). These sales can be wonderful, and I'd like to offer the following advice:

* prepare to spend several hours browsing

* wear clothing easy to take on/off in a communal change room

* whilst changing in said communal change room, do not stand with 5 of your friends directly in front of all the mirrors to change and compare clothes. The mirrors are for everyone. The change room is large. Pick a spot and learn to share.

First, the slightly less exciting items - two casual dresses which can be easily winterised or worn as is in summer. For some reason, brown florals greatly appeal to me. They make me thing of wood nymphs and sprites in autumn (ok, I guess I know the reason why they appeal to me!)

I can only button this dress as far as the waist, so I might add a modesty panel to the front or just throw on a camisole underneath. Or long sleeved tops in winter.

One sleeve badly needs an iron!

And now, the good stuff.

I bought this purely because it's fun. It looks to me like something an aging starlet would wear, swooning in bed and pining over her lost 25 year old toy boy (he preferred the attentions of Roderigo, the muscular and eternally shirtless pool boy).

   

The pink velvet curtains haven't been drawn back for days, the room stuffy yet cool. Empty gin bottles litter the floor and two lap dogs are alternately cooed and wept over, pink bows in their hair, which they shed all over the satin quilt cover.

 

I decided to have a look for the name online, in case it still exists. I found out Lucie Ann of Beverly Hills was actually quite popular amongst the starlets. The below paragraph is taken from Dollhouse Bettie

"Lucie Ann Lingerie was founded by designer Lucie Ann Onderwyzer in Hollywood in 1949. Born in Belgium, she brought a European woman's passion for beautiful lingerie with her to the United States. Her designs are known for their femininity and glamour,  capturing the dazzling opulence of 50s Hollywood. She created babydolls, slips, pajamas, bed jackets, peignoirs and lounge wear but she is most famous for her exquisite nightgowns, often fashioned from yards and yards of colorful nylon tricot and adored with fancy details like marabou trim, rhinestones, ribbons and pom-poms. 

"The luxurious designs made her a favorite to the stars with clientele that included Elizabeth Taylor, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Loretta Young. In the 70s she was hired to design all the peignoir sets for Eva Gabor's title character Lisa in the television show Green Acres. Onderwyzer's creativity was highly regarded and she  was presented with the 1966 Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion."

So I'm going to believe this gown did in fact belong to an aging starlet, swooning in bed. It's kind of hard to look at this thing without wanting to swan about in it.

Swoon!

Pine!

Right, enough of that...

The other amazing find is this red dress

The tag proclaims it to be made in West Germany but nothing to indicate when. It could easily be a costume. The button holes seem way too large for these buttons so the buttons may not be original. It also has a side zip.

This sad little bow may also be a late addition. It's only pinned on with a safety pin.

Finally, I re-purpled my hair and learned how exactly how many times I can bleach it before it starts to sizzle off. Fortunately I was only left with a patch of short fuzz, not an actual bald spot. 

Oops.

I shall return with actual sewing soon.