Orange You Glad It's Summer?

I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but orange has become my unofficial color for summer 2014.

Maybe it's the move to Florida but when I saw this orange fruit filled skirt at Pin Up Girl Clothing, I had to have it.

Especially since I already had this orange blouse in the works for my playsuit! Speaking of playsuits, I've been bad and not gotten any proper photos of mine yet. I'm sure some of you ladies are in the same predicament, so we'll do the wrap up/link sharing party on July 7th. This way, we all have a few more days to get photos, write blogs and post to Flickr!

Ok, back to this outfit! I've seen this skirt styled a lot with dark green which does look nice but I wanted a brighter color palette for summer!

It's finally hot now. Not too hot for me, just a nice comfortable cozy sort of warm. (Which, of course, means everyone else is sweating buckets.)

I didn't have any orange or green gloves to match (and it's almost impossible to find vintage white gloves that are still actually white) so I went with yellow. There is quite a bit of yellow in some of these oranges plus I got to wear one of my favorite yellow hats.

I'm sure I'll be wearing this outfit loads this summer because even my hubby loves it! Apparently, it's not as "old lady" as I usually like.

The blouse is Butterick 7641 c. 1958 which I have made before but in the short sleeved version.

I was a bit nervous that this view would be a bra strap showing version, but my fears were all for naught since they stay safely hidden! :D

What fruits do you love to wear in the summer?

A Casual Ensemble

Somehow, I never have difficulty photographing pretty dresses but casual basics never seem to make it to the blog. This week, I set out to show off some of the casual basics that I've made.

The blouse is Butterick 7641 c. 1958. And the shorts are Wearing History WWII Overalls in the shorts version.

This blouse is another incarnation of my friend's curtains. I love this color so much! And with the vintage mother of pearl style buttons, it fits with my unofficial theme for this summer's sewing-a touch of western.

It's been so great to have shorts again! There are just some activities that don't go well with skirts.

I love the cute little tab detail!

And here you can see a peak of my pocket lining! I used the same fabric as I did with my overalls. It just makes them that much more fun!

I'm definitely making a pants version of this pattern for this winter but I think they'll need belt loops. I keep wanting to throw a belt on with these shorts. There's something I like about high waisted pants and belts. Maybe it's the *hey look at the smallest part of me* vibe it gives off.

Do you find it hard to blog about those basic pieces even if they do get into your regular wardrobe rotation?

What Real People Wore

It's quite easy to get wrapped up in the frilly party dresses and high fashion couture of the past and to forget what real people wore in their everyday lives. Today's outfit is not the most flashy or exciting but I feel it makes a great everyday outfit!

Last week I rotated my wardrobe and packed away most of my winter pieces so I went for layers on this chilly morning.

Outfit:

Blouse: me made

Cardigan: Ann Taylor

Skirt: 40s vintage

Hat and brooch: vintage

Can you believe that until recently, I had not one single basic white blouse?

Fabric: white rayon

Pattern: Du Barry 5909

Year: 1940s

Notions: 4 vintage buttons

First Worn: April 2012

Wear again: Yes! I imagine this will get a lot of wear!

I also added a vintage pin to my outfit! I really want to start wearing brooches more often but I have difficulty knowing how to wear them.

And of course, a hat is a must!

My husband got some new camera equipment recently and he decided to snap a few shots of me helping clean up at church after lunch.

 

 

I've really come to the realization lately that in order to really wear vintage all the time, I need more practical garments. Ordinary people didn't wear fancy or frufru all the time. They had to run errands and clean house and do all of the other day to day things that we do.

This outfit was quite practical and still cute!

A Quick Fix

Sometimes, when you are in the midst of a long, complicated project, you just need a quick pick me up project to get your creativity going again. After so much historical sewing this year, I needed just such a project.

Fabric: 1 yd green gingham probably poly/cotton blend ($?)
Pattern: Butterick 7328
Year: 1950s
Notions: Buttons ($6)
First worn: March '12
Wear again? Yes! It's still a bit chilly for this blouse, but it's going to be great for this summer! :D

 It was pretty chilly so I topped it with a cardigan and my Freddie's of Pinewood capris. It really was too chilly for them to but I was so ready for summer!

Plus my hair was so cute! It deserved a nice outfit.

Are you ready for summer? Or are you more content to just ease on into spring?

Dressing Downton: Edith's and Sybil's How did that get there? Blouse

My latest Dressing Downton project has been to reproduce this lovely blouse worn by Sybil:

And Edith:

   

I used a lovely watercolor print for the main fabric and a lavender fabric for the cuff and collar detail.

I took my styling cue from Edith and paired it with a high waisted black pencil skirt. This was partially because it was a bit short to wear with pants but also because the shape was horribly unflattering when untucked.

Can you say boxy? So not flattering on my body shape. Tucking in is a must!

I drafted this from Colette Pattern's Sorbetto and Butterick 5559 (sleeves). I also drafted the contrast pieces. I saved myself from any facing/hemming by sewing the contrast on right side of contrast to wrong side of fabric and then flipping it to the outside. I pressed the seam allowance on the other edge of the contrast so all I had to do was press the sewn seam and slip stitch the floppy edge down. Easy and pretty.

I suspect this blouse would have been more flattering with underarm gussets so there wouldn't be so much fabric hanging around. I think I'll end up taking in the sides of the blouse near the waist to give a more flattering shape. It won't be as true to the original but that's ok with me.

50s Back Button Blouse

This blouse was also completed during my sewing mania! My 30s outfit was worn on Sunday and I wore this on Tuesday. Oh, the crazy weather continues. 

I snagged this lovely 50s blouse pattern on etsy last fall and even started grading it up. So I jumped on the chance last weekend to finish up the drafting and whip it up.

The Facts
⁃ Fabric: navy blue cotton with white polka dots (free)
⁃ Pattern: Butterick 9274 view B
⁃ Year: 1950s
⁃ Notions: one snap, 4 buttons ($3)
⁃ Time to complete: 2 hours
⁃ First worn: March 2012
⁃ Wear again? Yes, The darts ended up a bit awkwardly placed but you can hardly tell on this dark fabric. I always intended this to be a wearable muslin so I'm considering this a success. It was very fast and I'm envisioning loads more of these in my spring/summer wardrobe.
⁃ Total price: $3

I was a bit nervous about the neckline because I usually hate things that are so high necked but it turned out really nice. And my bra straps don't poke out!

It buttons up the back. I love it! I picked large white buttons to pull in the polka dot theme. I styled it with Colette Pattern's Beignet and a belt from Cassie Stephens.

The whole ensemble turned out very patriotic which was great since Ohio had voting yesterday with all of the other super Tuesday states and I voted.

Making a blouse can be 'Smooth Sailing'

I finished the Wearing History Smooth Sailing blouse yesterday! Woot! And I wore it today for the first day of school. I thought the whole apple bit was appropriate. Plus it was gray and dreary and I needed something to perk myself up.

Here it is. I did have to wear a cami underneath as my fabric was a bit see-through and the shirt's meant to be worn with high waisted pants, not modern hip-huggers.

I did have a couple issues post-button drama. I had to take the shoulders in because the sleeve started an inch or so down my arm. It looked really wonky, especially since the sleeve was poofy. The arm band was also tight on my arm, so I had to let it out a bit. But, other than that, it was quite a stress-free process.

Buttons and pockets and tucks, oh my!

I love the pockets! Just darling!

I decided to not use any more rick rack. I think it would have been a bit much. Next, I'm going to tackle the pants! (Which I am planning on doing a couple muslins for!)