1920s Frock
So a while back Alena invited me to go to Gatsby on the Isles, partly because we were going to miss the 1920s Lawn Party at the Crane Estate because we were at Tux that weekend with The Guild Of St. Longinus. So I was excited to do a 1920s event, because the Lawn Party looked like such fun last year.
I’ve got a (private) 1920s Pinterest board that’s got like 250 pins on it. I’ve got several outfits that I want to try to recreate, but I especially fell in love with this brown and white striped French frock. Last summer I had found some brown and white striped fabric on fabric.com, but when I went back to buy it, I couldn’t find it again (probably sold out, boo!). I checked a bunch of the online sites, but all I could find for stripes was usually heavy canvas/upholstery weight, not what I wanted for a dress. I finally thought to look for stripes on Spoonflower, and found this fabric, which I bought in a medium weight cotton.
The problem is, I only have the one photo of that dress. I’ve searched Pinterest, I’ve searched the Internet, even the auction site has let me down. Usually when vintage garments go up for auction there’s multiple photos of the garment, the label, any damage or imperfections, detail shots of anything interesting. Nope, not this auction house, they only post one photo. Which means that I’ve been having trouble pattern drafting. Oh, I’ve got the body and the color blocks all worked out. That only took two pattern drafts (and two muslin fittings) to get worked out. But I’ve been having problems with the sleeves. Seriously, the sleeves were the worst part, because I could not tell from the photograph what the sleeves looked like, where the armscye hit, or anything about how the darned things attached to the body of the dress. I usually work with adjusting an existing pattern, but I haven’t got anything that’s the right shape, so I’m trying to draft sleeves (and the armscye) from scratch. And failing miserably. I’ve been through FOUR different drafts of the sleeves, and I still can’t get them the way I want them.
I was starting to think that if I got too aggravated I should go with Plan B, just so I didn’t completely ruin my mood. Because I was getting frustrated with myself, which leads to Cranky Julie.
And then, today at noon, I tried on my T-strap pumps so I could break them in a little walking around the house. And they didn’t fit. *sighs* My damned ankles are too damned fat, the straps won’t fit around them. I mean, I probably could have buckled them, but it would have been on the last hole, and it would have been tight. I am so going on a goddamned diet starting Monday, because SO HELP ME GOD I will wear these damned cute shoes!
So we went with Plan B (I always try to have a backup plan). I ran up to Lane Bryant and bought a floaty summer dress that I’ve been eyeing anyways. And I’m going to wear the shoes that I bought for Marc and Brittany’s 1930s wedding, because they’re close enough. At least I’ve got a cool new picnic basket and picnic blanket out of this whole escapade. I dug out the hunk of picnic ants fabric that’s been in my stash for years and sewed it to some plastic backed tablecloth fabric that I bought earlier this week. And I found a nice wicker shopping basket on Amazon that’s just the perfect size (a little bigger than a handbag, but not so huge that I think I’m going to regret schlepping it around all day). And I have an adorable new hat to wear.
So it should still be fun. I can be fashionable next year, once I’ve had more time futz with this pattern.
I’ve got a (private) 1920s Pinterest board that’s got like 250 pins on it. I’ve got several outfits that I want to try to recreate, but I especially fell in love with this brown and white striped French frock. Last summer I had found some brown and white striped fabric on fabric.com, but when I went back to buy it, I couldn’t find it again (probably sold out, boo!). I checked a bunch of the online sites, but all I could find for stripes was usually heavy canvas/upholstery weight, not what I wanted for a dress. I finally thought to look for stripes on Spoonflower, and found this fabric, which I bought in a medium weight cotton.
The problem is, I only have the one photo of that dress. I’ve searched Pinterest, I’ve searched the Internet, even the auction site has let me down. Usually when vintage garments go up for auction there’s multiple photos of the garment, the label, any damage or imperfections, detail shots of anything interesting. Nope, not this auction house, they only post one photo. Which means that I’ve been having trouble pattern drafting. Oh, I’ve got the body and the color blocks all worked out. That only took two pattern drafts (and two muslin fittings) to get worked out. But I’ve been having problems with the sleeves. Seriously, the sleeves were the worst part, because I could not tell from the photograph what the sleeves looked like, where the armscye hit, or anything about how the darned things attached to the body of the dress. I usually work with adjusting an existing pattern, but I haven’t got anything that’s the right shape, so I’m trying to draft sleeves (and the armscye) from scratch. And failing miserably. I’ve been through FOUR different drafts of the sleeves, and I still can’t get them the way I want them.
I was starting to think that if I got too aggravated I should go with Plan B, just so I didn’t completely ruin my mood. Because I was getting frustrated with myself, which leads to Cranky Julie.
And then, today at noon, I tried on my T-strap pumps so I could break them in a little walking around the house. And they didn’t fit. *sighs* My damned ankles are too damned fat, the straps won’t fit around them. I mean, I probably could have buckled them, but it would have been on the last hole, and it would have been tight. I am so going on a goddamned diet starting Monday, because SO HELP ME GOD I will wear these damned cute shoes!
So we went with Plan B (I always try to have a backup plan). I ran up to Lane Bryant and bought a floaty summer dress that I’ve been eyeing anyways. And I’m going to wear the shoes that I bought for Marc and Brittany’s 1930s wedding, because they’re close enough. At least I’ve got a cool new picnic basket and picnic blanket out of this whole escapade. I dug out the hunk of picnic ants fabric that’s been in my stash for years and sewed it to some plastic backed tablecloth fabric that I bought earlier this week. And I found a nice wicker shopping basket on Amazon that’s just the perfect size (a little bigger than a handbag, but not so huge that I think I’m going to regret schlepping it around all day). And I have an adorable new hat to wear.
So it should still be fun. I can be fashionable next year, once I’ve had more time futz with this pattern.