Vintage Mini-Post: 1957

I'm going to try to be a little better at posting my "vintage" sewing here as well as the costumes; at least they're posts, however brief and less-interesting than proper costumes they might be! (I tend to "dress vintage" in everyday life so this type of sewing doesn't seem as interesting to me as, say, an 1860s ballgown might be. Still, it is sewing, and generally takes much less time than costume! So, might as well post about it, right?)

And I put "vintage" in quotes because I wear very little real vintage; that is, clothing actually made in the 40s/50s/etc. I know the community tends to use the term interchangeably, but it bugs my inner pedant ("my dresses aren't actually vintage, I made that one last week!"). Calling them anything else is cumbersome, though, so on to the vintage, with or without quotes!

This one is from a Vintage Vogue pattern, V8789, view A. The fabric is a lightweight linen/cotton blend, printed with flowers and stripes. The ground color tends toward both blue and green, depending on the lighting! The pattern includes a piece for a gathered belt-sash-thing that I forgot I wanted to make (until the day I went to wear it, oops), but I happen to have several sashes on hand, being a costumer and all, so dark brown taffeta worked on this occasion!

I was very pleased with this pattern; it makes up a pretty, full-skirted '50s dress with very little trouble. I was displeased to see that the bodice darts didn't come together in exact diagonals like they did on the envelope drawing...but it being an envelope drawing, I'll cut it some slack.

I did find that with the bodice being all cut on the bias (for stripey fun!) with self-facings for the neck cut in one with the bodice, one side of the neckline in front stretched out a little more than the other. Not terribly obvious, just annoying to me. If I make the dress with this bodice again, I may interface just that area with a bit of silk organza cut on the straight...especially if I use fabric with linen in it!

I wore the dress this past weekend to a free concert in the Grand Court of Macy's in Center City, Philadelphia. The Wanamaker Organ is the largest fully-functioning organ in the world, over a hundred years old, and a truly glorious instrument - so I thought she deserved the respect of my wearing of a pretty, new dress! ;)

(The 7-story Court in which she lives isn't too shabby, either...I always feel like I should be well-dressed while shopping there!)

I think this dress will definitely go into regular rotation in my summer wardrobe; it's definitely at its best with a full-volume petticoat, but it's so lightweight and comfy I foresee wearing it with just a slip on very hot days! Not nearly as stylin', but hey. Sometimes I want to be more comfortable than cute. ;) Not for Wanamaker Organ concerts though!