Dress Parade (Blue)
02 June 2010 | by jen in Sewing, Style, Vintage
I have this habit of buying vintage for a bargain (because pieces are damaged, ill-fitting, etc.) and taking forever to getting around to making repairs and thus wearing said items. But I’ve made the commitment to change this bad habit into a good one and I’m working my way through my to do pile. This is the first post of my vintage dress parade and I’ll detail the fixes and tweaks I’ve made for each one. I’ll try to remember to include “before” shots next time, hee hee.
The above late 1930s or early ’40s dress was quite the steal as it was falling apart in various places, had a motley crew of ugly buttons and was an unflattering mid-calf length. My fixes:
- Changed the buttons to clear glass ones with faceted edges; I figured this would work well both in the light-colored printed (and flocked!) fabric as well as the navy blue organdy. (My camera died before I could get any close up shots.)
- Added bust darts for a better fit.
- Trimmed the flutter sleeves for a little bit more modern look. (I felt like I would fly away before I narrowed them down!)
- Hemmed the skirt by a few inches. Each tier in the skirt was a little bit wider (taller?) than the proceeding one, from waist to hem. Instead of hemming just the bottom tier (and messing up the sequence) or hemming each tier (too much work!), I hemmed the second navy blue tier to match the width of the first one. This way there is still some order/design to the width of the tiers.
- Used the piece I trimmed off the skirt and turned it into a sash (original belt was missing). I can see here that the sash could stand to be shortened (that’s the beauty of taking photos of your projects - you see things you might miss in the mirror!).
- Made other minor repairs like loose seams, wonky tiers, etc.
Next: I love wearing this ’50s dress. I found it soon after seeing (500) Days of Summer and thought it looked like something Zooey’s character might wear. I bought a pale grey-blue crinoline just for this dress. I’m also wearing the same pale blue slip I’m wearing under the dress above. I considered going dark but then you wouldn’t be able to see the print on the sheer fabric very well. Anyway, here’s what I did:
- Removed the sleeves: this dress had half sleeves with quick and dirty hems that were not so great. Since I don’t like fixing/sewing sleeves I just took them off and finished the openings by simply folding under the edges (which doesn’t always work due to the curves but luckily it did in this case).
- Let the waist out: the wearer before me had a tiny waist and had taken it in in several spots around the ruched waist panel.
- Hemmed the skirt. (I will almost always do this!)
- Repaired little holes and opened seams.
- (I thought about pinning on that dark blue rose that I’m holding at the waist along with a ribbon sash but the flower is a bit dark and I think the dress looks nice unadorned.)
Hope you enjoyed this little dress tour!
(By the way, thanks for the Lucy love from the last post - it made her blush!)
What are your thoughts, dears? | ♥ 
02 June 2010 | Karin van D. says:
Gorgeous, both dresses, although I love the last one the most. I can imagine you must feel beautiful in that one, it’s so pretty!
02 June 2010 | Modern Crush says:
Amazing work! You are one talented kitteh mama! Love the print especially on that first one..
xo
02 June 2010 | lsaspacey says:
Wow, those are beautiful but I really love the second one. You are right about the 500 Days of Summer feel too. By the way, are those shoes really that aquamarine blue? Those are fab!
02 June 2010 | Lavender Dreamer says:
What an amazing transformation! It looks beautiful…perfect for you! You look like a movie star! And the color is perfect for the summer! ♥
02 June 2010 | Violette Crumble says:
Love them both! I can’t wait to have time to do such projects myself, although I don’t think my sewing skills are quite at your level.
02 June 2010 | indigorchid says:
That 50s sleeveless dress is *stunning*! It’s always fun to see what changes can be made to update garments, and allow them back into wardrobe rotation. They’re not doing anything good sitting in mending piles, now are they? (oh, did I say that out loud? That was a memo to self, haha! Though I’m slowly working through my own pile, and it feels good.)
02 June 2010 | Andrea says:
Wonderful work, sweetie!
xo!
03 June 2010 | Casey says:
Both these dresses are so, so pretty! You don’t know how much I love this post… I’m also a chronic “sad but repairable” vintage hoarder, and have a few pieces that have been awaiting attention for years. (So bad of me!) Seeing this reminds me I need to dig those things out and see if I can’t start working on them…
♥ Casey
blog | elegantmusings.com
03 June 2010 | inkberryblue says:
Your dresses are absolutely gorgeous!
03 June 2010 | jen says:
thanks everyone! i’m so glad you enjoyed this post and perhaps even found it a little helpful/inspiring…may we all start working on our to do piles!
i have others in the queue just waiting for attention. stay tuned!
xo
03 June 2010 | jen says:
oh, and @lsaspacey:
yes, those mary janes really are that blue. they’re fun, aren’t they? they’re jeffrey campbells from 2/3 years ago.
03 June 2010 | Elizabeth says:
Both are cute, but I love, love that second one on you!! So pretty on your figure.
03 June 2010 | Angelique says:
Wow, those dresses are stunning!! I can’t wait to see more. I always have major wardrobe envy when you post about your clothes
04 June 2010 | Maggie says:
I absolutely adore the full skirt on the second dress. The color is divine and suits beautifully. Both dresses instantly make me think of sitting in a splendorous garden filled with roses, sipping tea and chatting with dear old friends about forgotten memories. Lovely <3
05 June 2010 | Amy says:
I love both dresses! I have a vintage skirt I bought years ago that I need to let out a bit. Maybe this has inspired me to get to it!
06 June 2010 | Amorelle says:
wow. amazing work- these are such beautiful dresses, and they look brand new! i want them both! lovely
http://www.adreamkingdom.blogspot.com
07 June 2010 | Allison Francis says:
Simply amazing is all I can say. I wish I had your talent!
08 June 2010 | Tracey says:
You are so cute in those dresses! I’m not sure that I could fit into anything vintage, nor could I reconstruct anything vintage, but you have done a beautiful job. I would love to twirl around in the second dress…have you?
08 June 2010 | jen says:
gosh, thank you! it’s nice to know that there’s so much vintage-love out there!
tracey - yes, i most certainly have twirled in that dress; it’s hard to resist.
08 June 2010 | cindy says:
i love the beautiful blue floaty dress!