Life's crazy!

So I had planned a bit more serious of a post for today but it has been a crazy two days. Yesterday, I found some odd charges on my debit card that I had to spend several hours at the bank getting all worked out. Everything should be fine now but it was pretty stressful. And I also found out that two of my friends who I thought were blissfully happy are considering divorce. And I've been feeling quite unmotivated about sewing right now. I've never made as many muslins for one project in my life as I am for the peacock graduation outfit. Blah!

So here's a quick shot of my outfit from today. It's not vintage by any means but I thought you might like to see what I wear on my nonvintage days.

Shirt: New York and Company
Skirt: Banana Republic
Blazer: The Limited
Shoes: Target
Hair flower: Belle Blossoms
Necklace: Banana Republic

But I did have a little surprise at home to cheer me up.

After seeing how amazing Casey's hat came out, I just had to get these two Wearing History patterns. I'm already dreaming of Version 1 of the 30s pattern in a light green with forest green loops in the back and Version 2 of the 40s pattern in navy with self-fabric piping in a fun swirly design. *sigh* What loveliness!

I also got a hair cut yesterday in to a long Middy cut with some length left on the front so I can still do victory rolls and a pony tail. With all of the drama yesterday, I have yet to get pictures.

Anyways, THE WEEKEND STARTS TOMORROW!!!!!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Fashion and Film: Kiss Me Kate

Kiss Me Kate (1953) combines three of my favorite things-musicals, 50s fashion, and Shakespeare! Starring Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, and Ann Miller, this film follows the scuffles of a divorced couple (Grayson and Keel) who are putting on a musical version of 'The Taming of the Shrew' along with a beautiful young dancer (Miller) who, like character she plays, has no trouble attracting male attention. I do love this film, partially because I love Shakespeare! I particularly like 'The Taming of the Shrew' because I starred in a play based on it when I was in middle school. (Fun fact: I acted up through high school.)

Besides some Shakespearean costumes (I find vintage period films intriguing), there are some delightful off stage 50s costumes that are quite dreamy.

Miller and Grayson face off. I just adore Grayson's hat!

Another shot of the black outfit and hat! Plus she's got fur!

I also adored this yellow ensemble. I think it is a dressing gown as she's wearing it in the dressing room, but it'd also make a cute wrap dress. I am in need of a dressing gown or house coat. I love lounging around the house in my robe but it is getting kind of sad looking. :(

I usually pair my pink with brown but this gray and pink ensemble is so lovely! Check out the coordinating hat and purse.

This polka dot and scallop dress is by far my favorite! Love the hat too!

See, it has a scalloped underskirt too!

Collegiate Style: Part 2

My hubby returned home with the camera! Yay! So here is my attempt at collegiate style.

Blouse: Vintage
Skirt: made by me
Shoes: Payless

This sheer pink blouse was one of my first vintage purchases on etsy. Surprisingly it fits everywhere except the neck. Does this mean I have a fat neck?

I did my hair in victory rolls with a french twist in the back. I'm not usually too good with victory rolls, but I've been trying to practice more often. I think they'd go better if I had thicker hair.

Outtake! My hubby decided to be a smart mouth (or photographer in this case) and snap this shot of me before I was ready to go. Please excuse the messy house!

A survey of vintage bangs

Bangs have always for the bold and fashion forward. They make a definite statement that takes some serious commitment. They can take forever to grow out, you know! Bangs can also very strongly show a particular period. So here's a survey of bang styles over the years.


Bangs in the 1920's were a bold way to set yourself firmly in the flapper style. Several film stars adopted a severe bob with blunt straight bangs but wispier bangs were not unheard of either.

Bangs in the 1930's moved away from the blunt style and tended towards the wispy look. They were also often curly.

While the U-shaped Bettie Paige bangs first became popular in the 1940s, curly bangs were also popular. These bangs were fuller than looks from the 1930s. Most often, however, the bang area was a rather long fringe that was styled into the rest of the hair to give a peak-a-boo wave. The Middy haircut had this type of bang.

Bettie Paige bangs continued to be popular in the 1950s. Rolled bangs were an option for those who didn't want bangs every day. Softer bangs a la Audrey Hepburn also began to appear.

Gettin' Organized Giveaway!

Do you ever plan on doing something and just never quite get around to it? Today was a day for catching up on all of those things! There was quite a lot of cleaning that went on, mostly the kind of stuff that doesn't need done every week so I tend to forget.

I have a tiny bathroom and it gets quite cluttered with all of my stuff. So today, I put my handy man pants on and put some nails in the walls for my snoods, scarves and Belle Blossoms.

I've been pondering how to store my Belle Blossoms for a while now. I tied a ribbon between two nails and clipped all of my flowers on to it. Now they are up and out of the way.

I've also had a giveaway planned for a while so here goes! Audrey Hepburn is one of my favorite fashion icons! So, I'm sharing a little Audrey with you today! To win these two great Hepburn films on DVD, leave a comment telling who your favorite film star fashion icon is and why. Want more entries? Share on your blog and leave a link to your post in a comment. The giveaway will be open until 12 pm Eastern Standard Time on April 15th.

I love Audrey because she can pull off so many looks! Long hair, short hair, bangs, dramatic transformations all work for her. She also has such personality in her films. Audrey pulls off simple and fabulous whether she is the lovesick daughter of a chauffeur or the princess of a small European country. Plus she's a brunette! (I'll admit, I'm a bit biased. ;) )

Why you need to make a muslin!

So I've been working on this outfit to wear for graduation (t minus one month and counting!). I decided to do a muslin for the top since I know I have narrow shoulders and since the sleeves aren't separate pieces, I thought there might be some issues fitting it on the fly. Boy, am I glad I did!


I didn't take a picture of me in Muslin #1 during any point in the process because the fit was terrible! It was too tight in the sleeve and at the bust and huge on my chest above the girls. This top was definitely designed for someone in a bullet bra! My girls are not that high and perky! Plus the shoulder issue caused extra poof the shoulder area.

When I took Muslin #1 apart to use as a pattern for Muslin #2, I noticed that the changes caused the fabric not to be flat in the chest area. Hmmm.... I wasn't sure how that would translate when I cut out the pieces, which would be flat. So on one side, I added a horizontal dart to help get that shape and to see how it would turn out.

The side without the dart had some weird poofiness where the top and sleeve joined. While I hate to have to add a dart to the pattern, that side fit much better. I also lowered the vertical darts on that side. That gave me some more wiggle room. Plus, the envelope illustration shows the darts lower with respect to the girls. (Not that that necessarily means anything.)

I'm going to finish the neckline and sleeve cuffs in Muslin #3. I may lower the neckline but I think it will work. The sleeve lengths also ended up weird so I'll make them match up again. And vacuum! Goodness, my floor is dirty!

I wish I was back in the Army...

Today's ensemble is military inspired all the way! I have had the song "I wish I was back in the Army" from White Christmas stuck in my head for the past few days. This is the result. I love this olive army green dress. It's just military enough without being over the top. I just need a really great military hat to pull it all together.

Salute!

Outfit:
Dress: New York and Company
Shoes: DSW

I love the curves this dress gives me.

Today's hairstyle is victory rolls with a page boy look in the back from Lisa Freemont Street's tutorial.

Victory rolls have always given me trouble but having leftover curls from yesterday's pin curl set helped. Though with my issues with symmetry, I think I'd be better off with side part victory rolls.

And speaking of youtube, look out for a new tutorial from yours truly later today.