Dressing Downton: Corsets

Interested in sewing a corset for your Dressing Downton projects? Check out Bridges on the Body's 1911 Corset Sew Along. I wasn't planning on sewing a corset but I may just have to now!

Lady Edith's Closet: Black Floral Blouse

My first project is the lovely back floral blouse Edith wears when the Duke visits.



It is a lovely blouse-y shirt with raglan sleeves, a cute collar trimmed in black and two rows of buttons down the center. Instead of darts, the blouse is shaped with gathers at the seam across the chest. I choose this screen shot because of the mirror. There's just a peak of the back of the blouse in the reflection. Unfortunately, the picture quality of this screen shot didn't come out that great but you can see the rounded shape of the collar in the back.



Here it is in action. The sleeves are bracelet length and also appear to be trimmed with the same black trim as the collar. I think the trim is velvet. The buttons also look velvet to me. Regardless, something matte will be set off nicely against the shiney fabric.

Edith pairs it with a long black skirt, a belt and black shoes.

This is my fabric choice for this blouse. I got it at Jo-Anns.

Dressing Downton: The Plan

If you missed the first post about Dressing Downton, check it out here and get caught up! Hopefully, you have all had time to digest the big picture and now we can get on to all of the details.

Now, I have a lot of free time coming up over the next few weeks (yay Christmas break!) but most of you don't have that luxury. So, I think a start date of January 1, 2o12 is much more reasonable for most people. Between now and then go ahead and start planning what you'd like to work on. (Feel free to upload some inspiration to the flickr group.) I know I'll be saving my Christmas money for some pricier bits I'll need for my projects! (And I'm getting a new sewing machine! :D ) Feel free to get started sewing earlier if you want to.

I'll also be working on the outfit libraries (and watching gobs of Downton Abbey) so stay tuned for those. Let me know if there is a particular piece you'd like to see profiled here and I'll bump it towards the top of the list.

And to get your inspiration flowing, here's my plan:

(I uploaded this one really big so you can click on it to see better!)

1. Edith's flower show dress- Love it! I've already picked up this pattern for it and have been perusing lace options for the neckline and sleeve cuffs.

2. Cora's flower show coat-I've been drooling over this coat for about a year now. I picked up a Simplicity costume pattern for it (needs some drafting though...). I've not made a coat before so this is sort of my "ambitious" project.

3. Mary's lace blouse from Season 2- I tried to keep season 2 out of my plan since I hadn't seen any of the pieces in action yet, but this lovely lace blouse is just to perfect! I've been eyeing this pattern for this piece.

4. Sybil's pink blouse- Not sure what pattern I'll start with for this but I love it.

5. Mary's mourning blouse- I've already drafted a pattern for the lovely black and white top Mary wears in S1.Ep1. Just waiting for the new machine to arrive so I can use the proper feet.

6. Mary's ruffle collar blouse- This blouse was also an early favorite. I love separates! And the collar is so dreamy!

7. Mary's garden party dress- Lace + stripes = fabulousness! And the lilac color is just dreamy. I've also been looking for lace for this dress too. Getting all of the stripes to lay right is going to be the key to recreating this look.

8. The girls' Duke visit outfits- I have to have all of these pieces in my wardrobe! I've already got fabric and have been drafting Edith's top. Mary's top I'm planning on doing from the same Folkwear pattern as her lace blouse. And Sybil's dress is just too cute with all of the embroidery and button details.

Currently all of my projects are Straight from the Show with some possible wearable muslins as Raid their Closet pieces but I'm sure there'll be some fluidity in my plans (especially as season 2 airs!). I'm also taking a trip to Disney World in early May so I'll probably start working on some of the summerier pieces earlier than I had originally planned.

A night out on the town

My husband and I went out tonight to see Traces and it was AMAZING! The things these people can do with their bodies will blow your mind! Anyways, on to the important stuff, like what I wore.

Outfit:
Cardigan: The Limited
Skirt: vintage dead stock
Shoes: Modcloth
Hair flower: Belle Blossoms
Necklace: Banana Republic

I love this skirt. So much fun! :) I don't wear it out much because I'm afraid all of the fuzz that outlines the flowers will rub off on my butt. :(

I wore the fabulous kitty shoes from Modcloth. They are super comfy. I think they are sold out right now but, seriously, a must for any cat lover.

And this is the ridiculously amazingly real rose from Belle Blossoms. Do you see those veins on the petals? This thing even feels like a real flower. Pretty much the only thing it doesn't do is smell like a rose. And this is one of the regular flowers available on the site so you can get one even if you're not in the BOM club. (Although I think she's out of red at the moment....)

Thanks for hanging on during exams with me! I have one more next Thursday and then I'm home free for four weeks. Woot! I'll be back next week with more vintage goodness and some more Dressing Downton posts! Have a lovely weekend all!

A Signature Look

Today I've been pondering the idea of a signature look. I don't have one and I don't know if I need/want one. There are many bloggers who have signature looks-something about them that is instantly noticeable and recognizable. Lisa Freemont Street has her red hair. Super Kawaii Mamma has the iconic white stripe in her hair. Vixen Vintage has a cute curly hair do that she wears very often. Q's Daydream and Rhinestones and Telephones have their adorable bobs.

I problem is that I have style ADD, hair ADD, sewing ADD. I like too many things! While I don't think I'll ever stabilize my fashion enough to settle on a decade, I have lately been thinking about finding a signature look for my hair. I want something I can do with my hair on a day to day basis that looks nice and is super easy to do. And I really hate when my hair just hangs there on my head. I have a naturally high forehead and I feel that my flat, straight hair makes it look even bigger and more rectangular shaped. I do like bangs but not enough to commit long term to them (I think.... actually, the bang issue really set off this whole thought process. *sigh* to fringe or not to fringe?)

So, what I want to know is do you have a signature look (hair, wardrobe or makeup related)? Have you in the past? Do you want one? Do you enjoy more freedom (or get bored like me)?

Saturdays

Today was one of those days that starts off terrible. We had to go the the BMV today since I don't have a driver's license (or permit for that matter) and my military id expires next week. We scouted out a branch that was open on Saturdays and woke up early to be there right when it opened at 8 am so we could be in and out. Well, it was in and out, but that's because every BMV in the county decided to randomly be closed this Saturday for no apparent reason....

While driving home, we drove by our local market and decided to stop in. And that's pretty much where the terrible part stopped. :) I didn't have my camera but I snapped some shots with my iPhone.

I picked up a poinsettia plant and one of these cute pine bouquets.

Simple effective advertising.

I so wish I hadn't had breakfast before we came because this place makes crepes! Nom nom nom.

We made a repeat purchase at this cheese stand. One flavor we picked up was pumpkin. Nom nom nom again.

And they were all festive too!

I adored the tags on these aprons!

We also wandered around downtown and I couldn't resist taking a picture of this sign! Sounds like my kind of place!

I was all cute for getting my id picture taken. Yay for new teal tights!

The poinsettias and pine bouquet got me all in a decorating mood so decorating ensued when we got home.

And we got a tree today. Now the entire apartment smells like pine!

We also stopped by a Goodwill where I found this jacket.

I'm not sure if it's an old jacket or just has an old style tag. It does have care instructions so that places it at the earliest from the 60s. There were 5 or 6 jackets from this same company but the hubby reminded me that I didn't need 5 or 6 trenches.....

The faux fur lining zips off so it can be a trench too!

The lining under the trench is a great plaid!

I also picked up a roomy grey wool jacket. It's times like this that I love that my mother-in-law works at a dry cleaner so I can get stuff dry cleaned without worrying that it will be ruined.

I also found a great pencil skirt and it's old.

The tag says union made garment so I'm thinking 40s. It's a tad tight but loosing 5 lbs (or buying some spanxs) should fix that problem.

This is kind of a long post but hopefully it will tide you over during my finals madness! Hope all of your Saturdays were just as lovely as mine!

Dressing Downton Sew-Along

Hello blog! It feels like I have been gone so long! School has gotten to that part of the semester where it's craziness. I was going to keep this project under wraps until after finals were over, but I think I need some more excitement to get me through it. So, without further ado, I present Dressing Downton.

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Dressing Downton

If you've been following my blog for even a little bit, you probably have some inkling of my Downton Abbey obsession. (If not, do see here, here, and here.) With gorgeous costumes, a fabulous plot and a fabulous old English house that serves as a backdrop, what's not to love? I don't think I'd even heard of of Edwardian anything before this show but now I'm head over heals.

I've been wanting start sewing Edwardian garments for a while now and have been spending entirely too much time trolling the net for pictures of the costumes from Downton Abbey. Surprisingly, there are some beauties that I've not been able to find at all! Out of these two desires, the idea for Dressing Downton was born.

Dressing Downton has two goals. The first is to sew up all of those beautiful costumes! Secondly, I want to create a library of all of the outfits from the show so there's a resource for all of us who want to replicate them. And I'm inviting all of you to join in!

Here's how you can participate.

1) Grab one of these snazy buttons to put on your blog.

<a border="0" href="http://star-spangledheart.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6036/6336376624_cd5918f190_m.jpg" /></a>

<a border="0" href="http://star-spangledheart.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6230/6335619857_bf5c33b3c8_m.jpg" /></a>

<a border="0" href="http://star-spangledheart.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6092/6335619593_16ed7d0c35_m.jpg" /></a>

2) Sew your own Downton Abbey inspired projects. Feel free to be as historically accurate or not as you'd like. I'm going to focus on replicating pieces from the show but adapting them to work in everyday life. I've come up with three basic categories for sewing projects.

• Straight from the Show- Your best attempt at replicating pieces from the show.
• Raid their Closet- Create a piece that you think could easily be found in the closet of a character from Downton Abbey but just didn't make it on camera.
  
• Get Inspired- Have a more modern style? Feel free to get inspired by a character, a textile or anything else from the show and make a more modern piece.

3) Provide pictures to help build the costume library. I have a whole stash of pictures on my computer already but I'll definitely be needing your help finding some and taking screen shots.

4) Join the flickr group even if you just want to be a spectator.

Here's a sneak peak of my upcoming projects.

These are some of the pieces that are on the top of my to sew list! Also check out my two Downton Abbey inspired color palettes here and here.

I plan on using Colette Pattern's Sorbetto as a basic blouse base but I also picked up these two Sense and Sensibility patterns which arrived in the mail today!

Feel free to email me with any questions! If you'd like to participate, let me know and I can add you to the blog list!