I am a bad blogger

I am a bad blogger. Friday night, the hubby and I went out to dinner with our senior pastor and his wife to a fabulous French restaurant. I got out of work early and so had plenty of time to get all dressed up and pretty and my hair looked great. There was loads of delicious food and we all had a great time.

These are not pictures from Friday.

These are pictures of me on Sunday in a new to me vintage coat.

Yes, I am wearing a grey and black dress and a brown coat.

But considering that I had a major pin curl set fail that morning and slept in later than I should have, things turned out ok.

Also, things went well considering that I got a grand total of one picture from Friday's fabulous hair, outfit and food things.

Dessert! :D Somehow, I don't think I'll ever be a food blogger though....

HSF: #2 UFO

It's Historical Sewing Fortnightly time again! This challenge was the UFO challenge. Alas, I had no historical UFOs so I chose one of the other options and made up an "unfinished idea" instead.

I had planned on making a vintage robe this fall and I'd even bought a pattern and fabric. Alas, when the vintage pattern came, it was missing a piece so I had to return it. :( I did have a 1930s style pj top pattern that I'd found free online a while ago so I snapped up a modern pj pattern for the bottoms and decided to finish my vintage lounge wear after all!

The Challenge: UFO (or UFI in my case.)

Fabric: 3 yds flannel backed satin ($5/yd)

Pattern: Butterick 3314 ($2) and Vera Venus Pattern 30s Style Pj Top (free)
Year: 1930s-ish

Notions: bias binding (stash), elastic (stash)

How historically accurate is it? Not really. The pants are modern but I did add some width to make them more 30s wide legged style. The blouse is 30s style but I'm not sure how accurate it is, not having made any 30s pjs before. So, we'll put it in the "inspired" category.
Hours to complete: 3 or so

First worn: January 27 to sleep in
Total cost: $17

Oh, these are so much more glamorous than my usual pjs!

***Edit*** So I slept in them last night and the armholes on the blouse are too small for sleeping! They were ok when I was just lounging around but I think I need to find some smaller bias binding so they'll be just a tad bigger.

30s Wool for Winter

When it is not going to get above 20F all day and you have to be in a building with no central heat, dressing warm is a must!

So out came my 1930s me made skirt and cape set!

It's Eva Dress SE30-1399 that I made last year for the Eva Dress Contest.

Alas, my yellow sweater is too big now since I was only half way through my weight loss when I made it last year. So I paired it with a green sweater and vintage green velvet beret.

I also got some new boots! They have a faux fur lining and are so warm!

I did attempt to wave my hair but I think I took it out before it was dry so it didn't take.

The whole ensemble kept me very cozy!

I love this cape! :D

Looking back to fall

The weather has been miserably cold lately and I've been dreaming of beautiful fall days! So, I dug up some unblogged outfit shots for a fall daydreaming post!

This is an outfit from a 2012 fall wedding. It was gorgeous out!

There is nothing funner than twirling in a circle skirt among the leaves

Beret love!

Outfit: 

Beret: France in Epcot

Jacket and lace cami: New York and Company

Skirt: me made

Shoes: Payless

Come back soon fall!

Makeup Reviews

I finally feel like I've used the new products I got on Black Friday enough to give them a proper review. This bunch if from the Kat von D line.




Enjoy!

Midcentury Modern

For day 2 of the bridal expo, I decided to go vintage! And added some layers because they had the ac waaaayyyyy up.

Tada! Cherry circle skirt, new sweater from Banana Republic and vintage hat!

I love vintage hats!

I'm so in love with this new sweater I scored super cheap at Banana Republic.

We had a great day and I loved getting to wear my circle skirt.

Youtube: Rosie the Riveter for Pixies

I love cute Rosie the Riveter looks. And it's so easy to do this look with a pixie or bobbed hair! This cute version features a cute curly bang area that really makes a statement.

Downtown

This weekend was a big two day bridal expo for me and my husband. We do wedding photography. It was super gorgeous outside (mid-60s) so I was kind of bummed to be inside all day. I did get to wear a pretty me-made dress.

I couldn't resist some shots on the pedestrian overpass between the expo and the parking lot.

I love a good urban setting!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Corset Progress

I've been using the last of my Christmas break to get in some real work on my corset! I'm planning on using this piece as my Historical Sew Fortnightly challenge #3 which isn't till February but I know I'll get busy once school starts!

I got all of the boning channels in! It was a long process especially since I made the channels from the leftover coutil.

It looks so pretty! :D

I did have one issue. I must have messed up the width of the boning channels a bit because I wasn't catching the fold of the fabric so I added another row of stitching 1/8" outside the boning channel. Let's call it "decorative". ;)

I also had another undergarment mishap. I finished my bra but the bottom waist band was too small! And it ended on my ribs so I knew no amount of diet or corseting was going to fix the issue. So I added a small gusset on each side on the under arm seam. It fits now and the fix is mostly hidden.

Bloggers with feline accomplices often note how their kitties always know when expensive fabric is around! I think my birds have the same sixth sense.

They could not resist a large piece of white, freshly washed and ironed piece of coutil! So I bribed them with some fabric scraps. Hopefully, this will keep them away from the finished corset!

Youtube: Pixie Wave

Waves are a great look for the 20s and 30s! Pixies, however, are often too short for pincurl waves or waves done with a curling iron. Here's how to get a great wave look from a pixie cut!



Have longer hair? I find this method works best for me when I have longer hair.

Historical Sew Fortnightly: #1 Centennial

This year I'm participating in Historical Sew Fortnightly, a historical sewing challenge with a new theme every two weeks. The first challenge is to sew something Bi/Tri/Quadri/Quin/Sex/Septi/Octo/Nona/Centennial (i.e. something from a year __13). My project is from 1913.

The Challenge: Centennial

Fabric: cotton striped sheet (free)

Pattern: Past Patterns Pattern #4574: Ladies' Three-Piece Princess Combination Suit: Circa 1913 
I did change the top to have ribbon straps so it's evening gown friendly.


Year: 1913

Notions: 4 yds wide cotton lace ($12), 5 yds narrow cotton lace with ribbon ($15), buttons ($1), polyester ribbon (from stash)

How historically accurate is it? I'd say it's fairly historically accurate. I did use a reprint of a period pattern, but the directions were minimal so I had to guess at a lot of things. I've never seen striped Edwardian underthings and my fabric is heavier than I would have liked but I wanted to use what I had on hand. Overall, I'm happy with the historical accuracy of it. Now if I only knew what order to put on my Edwardian underthings, I'd be good to go. lol.

Hours to complete: Oh, I never really pay much attention to this part but probably 5-6 hours.

First worn: Not yet! I still have to finish my other underthings and then make an outer garment.

Total cost: $28

I had planned on making a 1910s brassier for the bonus challenge but I didn't get it done in time. It's almost finished except for a few more hooks and eyes but I'm out so I'll go ahead and share with you!

The Challenge: Something Simple

Fabric: cotton sheet (free)

Pattern: Historically Dressed free pattern with modifications

Year: 19-teens

Notions: 3yd narrow cotton lace ($10), 1.5 yds wide cotton lace ($4), hooks and eyes ($1.50)

How historically accurate is it? I used a pattern made from an extant garment. I modified for fit and also lowered the back neckline based on a different extant brassier. I'm not entirely sure how they are supposed to fit but I was pretty happy with the support I was getting from the toile.

Hours to complete: 2 hours

First worn: not yet

Total cost: ~$15

So far, I've learned that I love lacy, frilly underwear and that I hate sewing on hooks and eyes. Mine never look pretty! The next challenge is UFO which I'll probably skip because I really don't have any historical UFOs. Not been costuming long enough I guess! But challenge #3 is the undergarment challenge so I'll be working on my 19-teens corset until then!