Date Night

My hubby and I try to do date night at least once a week. Sometimes we go for a movie or a picnic on the beach or just a night in playing board and card games. This week, we went out to a new to us restaurant so I had the occasion to get dolled up.

I'm still loving my 1940s capsule wardrobe and have been wearing pieces from it quite regularly. This dress is my nice dress for spring and summer and I just love the great shade of green!

 I made it from Sense and Sensibility Swing Dress. It was quite a success story for me because I originally made this pattern way, way back in winter/spring 2011 and it didn't go over so well.

This one fits so much better but it still has limited range of motion in the arms so I like to wear it for everyday. And it gapes a bit at the neckline so I have to wear a cami under it. Alas, if I sewed it together where I wanted it to stay, I couldn't get my head through the head hole.

Anyways, back to the outfit. I accessorized with my Erstwilder cockatoo brooch. Then I pulled colors from it for the rest of my accessories-yellow gloves, black snood and white shoes.

I've been wearing snoods a lot lately. They are perfect for high humidity days when my hair just won't cooperate. I'd been out all afternoon, first at an outdoor event and then swimming to cool off after being outdoors. So my poor hair was just about done for the day.

All I can say is yay for air conditioning. It makes life so much better! Add that to the list of reasons why I'm glad I didn't live in the past before ac was prevalent.

 All in all, this outfit was perfect for a great night out finished off with an amazing bread pudding that I was going to photograph and share with you, but I completely forgot when it arrived. And the poor dessert didn't last too long after that.

Bread pudding is one of those odd desserts that I always have to get if I see it on the menu somewhere. That and creme brulee. Nom nom nom nom.

 What's your favorite dessert that is impossible to pass up?

Blue Green

I've been wearing the same outfits over and over again lately so sometimes it is hard to decide what to show you on the blog. I've got good selection of easy basics that are perfect for the heat right now that I keep pulling out.

 The weather here in Florida is way more predictable than it ever was in Ohio. I don't even need to check the forecast anymore. It's been around 90 with a chance of rain in the afternoon/evening with no sign of change for quite a while.

I'm so not used to that! When it's 60 and cloudy and then 80 and sunny and then 75 and rainy etc it's so easy to vary your wardrobe because every day needs something different.

Oh, well. This is the sort of thing that can lead to wardrobe creativity. And I've been working on it.

For this outfit, I wore a blue swiss dot blouse. I love this blouse because the dots are too cute! And it's very light weight but opaque so I don't need a cami underneath it like I would with a white one.

And on the bottom, I'm wearing a 40s skirt in a green cotton/linen blend. It's rather wrinkly but I'd much rather be wrinkly and comfy in a natural fiber than wrinkle free and boiling in synthetics.

Since I went so basic with my clothes, I decided that I needed a hat to spice things up. Hats are perfect for spicing up a basic outfit. I've decided I really need to start wearing my hats again, even if it's just to the grocery store (which is what I did today).

My hair is in another one of those awkward grow out stages. It's too short for a gibson roll or low bun and it's much too humid for curls everyday so I've been wearing lots of snoods. Snoods and hat's weren't really meant to be worn together but sometimes you can make it work!

I've also been trying to wear more of my cute shoes since I don't have so many footwear restrictions as I did in Ohio but alas many of my cute shoes have flat, slick bottoms which I'm finding makes driving more difficult so I've been wearing these white shoes a lot.

Speaking of shoes and feet and things on the ground, the grass here is very different from the grass in Ohio. It's a crab grass and very tall and springy. So that's why my shoes are always hidden in the grass. The landscapers where actually mowing yesterday and it's still quite tall!

 Don't forget to leave a question for me on my Q&A video post!

Asking for Questions

I want to do a Q&A video which means, of course, that I need questions! So please let me know what you want to know!

Lips as red as rose

Do you ever have one of those projects that just fights you? Well, one happened to me recently. The dress you are about to see actually has appeared on this blog before but in a slightly different version.

I had grand visions of a fabulous 50s shirtwaist dress when I first spied this lovely rose print cotton swiss dot. It's part of Gertie's fabric line. So some yardage came home with me and I started plotting.

Originally, I opted for the bodice from Simplicity 2851 but I swapped out the late 40s skirt for a pleated fuller 50s style one. I loved the sweet collar and easy cut on sleeves.

But the waist came out too big. I did have this great wide red belt that I could have used to make it work but I do like flexibility in my wardrobe. Plus I didn't like the lack of mobility from the cut on sleeves. And then I messed up the position of the button holes so they weren't centered properly.

Thankfully, I had over a yard of extra fabric left and I could squeeze out a new bodice. My next try was Butterick 8078 which I'd made twice before. (1) (2)

It's got a great collar design! And then all I had to do was convert the 3/4 length sleeve into a short sleeve. And that's where things went wrong again. I tried a narrow shoulder adjustment and it didn't work out. Whoops!

I fretted for a few days and then just decided to scrap the sleeves and make it a sleeveless dress. I live in Florida now and sleeveless dresses are perfect for summer.

I'm so happy to have been able to use some of these cute vintage glitter buttons. So pretty! I wanted something pretty enough for this dress but that wouldn't compete with the fabric. These were the winners. Plus I have four more that I'll be saving for future project.

I also copied the opening style from a vintage dress. The skirt closes in the center front but it's hidden in the pleats. The pleats over lap enough so that the opening stays closed.

To play up the great vintage buttons, I accessorized with a vintage crystal necklace that belonged to my husband's grandmother. I love sparkly things!

So even though this was a trial and error project, I'm so happy that I pushed through and finished it. Yay for pretty new dresses!

Pins and Pin Curls

Recently, I got the urge to do a pin curl set. I haven't really done much pin curling since moving to Florida because between the wind and the humidity, curls don't really last that long. But this week, I was ready to try again.

And it turned out pretty good! I did a few things to help including a few extra hair products to help my curls stay in. I also hit my hair with the blow dryer to help dry my hair a bit before pin curling. High humidity lengthens the drying time so starting with drier hair insured that I wouldn't wake up with damp pin curls.

Admittedly, I didn't spend a lot of time outside. I can't imagine they would have lasted at an outdoor event but I did do chores around the house, go out for a lunch date with the hubby and run some errands before getting time to take outfit photos.

 Now that I know that my hair can do some pin curls, I may experiment with a better cut for them. My hair is not remotely the correct shape. It's a bob with almost no layers so the curls don't lay as prettily as they could.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

I have been growing it out to be able to do more up dos so I've been avoiding the salon. We'll see. I may try and hold out a bit longer.

I wore a comfy vintage day dress for a day of running around but since it was date day also, I dressed it up with some fun accessories. Of course, I'm wearing my trusty faux pearls but also a pair of Sparkle Lux earrings and an Erstwilder brooch.

                                                                                                                                                                 
I've admired Erstwilder brooches for a long time so I snagged a few in a recent Pin Up Girl Clothing sale since they've recently started carrying them. Erstwilder is an Australian company and not being able to find a lot of stockists in the US is one of the reasons it took me so long to buy one.

They are super cute! Most of their designs are animals like this sea horse although they do have some other designs. I also love that they use a lot of australian animals and flowers in their designs. Who doesn't love some Aussie critters?                

To tie in with the pink seahorse, I picked a pretty pink Red Apple Lipstick and a pair of pink Sparkle Lux earrings. The key to adding new colors to an outfit with accessories is wearing multiple accessories in the same color.

I had a ton of fun putting this outfit together. You can expect to see a bunch more Erstwilder pretties on the blog with the future. I've worn them quite a bit later but those outfits didn't make it on to the blog.

 Of course, it's hard not to love an outfit with a twirly skirt!

Where to Buy 1950s Clothing

More shopping options for you this week! This time we're looking at 1950s reproduction companies.



Queen of Heartz: https://www.queenofheartz.com/
Pin Up Girl Clothing: http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com/
Bernie Dexter: http://berniedexter.com/
Freddies of Pinewood: http://www.freddiesofpinewood.co.uk/

When Sewing and Acronyms Meet

Rochelle of Lucky Lucille is hosting a summer sew along! It's the Vintage Inspired Four Piece Mini Capsule Wardrobe challenge or VIFPMCW for short. The idea is to create set of mix and match pieces for summer-two tops and two bottoms. I was on the fence about joining in but then I spied the most fabulous fabric at JoAnns and now I'm in.

A lovely tropical print shirting and some coordinating red shirting. Yummy!

I'm planning on making a skirt from Butterick 6309 and also a blouse from this fabric but not sure what pattern for that one.

I'll be making a blouse from Simplicity 3144 in this red shirting. For my second pair of bottoms, I'll be using my red capris that I already have.

In other sewing news, I also picked up some yummy yellow eyelet and some white cotton to line it but I haven't decided what to sew with it! A 40s day dress? A 50s shirt waist dress? A 40s summer suit? A 50s two piece dress? Let me know what you think. I have about 4 yds.

The Melody of Summer

I love my Norma Jean blouse but I didn't really have a lot in my wardrobe that matched it outside of denim shorts/pants. That is until I made this great green skirt that is! Must have more basics!

 I know that I originally planned on making shorts from this green linen cotton but I really have not been wanting to wear shorts lately. Or make muslins and refit my shorts patterns. So a skirt it was.

I used Wearing History's Sailor Playsuit skirt pattern. It's pretty easy to remove the button placket. The center front is clearly marked on the pattern. You just need to add a seam allowance to that line or put the center front on the fold. I opted for a seam down the front of my skirt just for a better fabric layout.

I do already have a green skirt almost this exact shade but it has an anchor motif on it. I love a good novelty bit especially since it's nautical but not sure I can handle nautical and music novelty prints together.

And this color green matches the green music notes perfectly! I guess I could have gone with pink too but I'm not too much of a pink person.

And I decided to try something a bit different with my hair this time. I did a bunch of dry pin curls for the front section and threw the rest of it back in a snood.

It does take a bit of practice and trial and error to figure out the pin curl placement. Placement isn't as easy as for victory rolls where you have one on each side. I also have thin, short hair so there's not  much volume.

If you have longer or thicker hair, your curls will be bigger. Also, your snood will be fuller. Ah, the pain of having a flat, empty snood!

This outfit was so comfy if a bit wrinkly. That's linen and cotton for you. The Normal Jean blouse did much better in the wrinkle department. I also love that it's long enough that I don't have to worry about it untucking all day long.

You can still get this blouse on the Wearing History website. (And Pssst! It's on sale right now!) And Lauren is also offering this print on a yummy rayon challis for all of you seamstresses out there. It's not the same fabric the blouse is made out of but rayon is just fabulous for so many 40s looks!

 I'm so happy now that I can wear this blouse all the time this summer!