All My Dresses: Finale!

The end. That's it. All done. No more dresses.
The other day I walked by a shop window with a cute blue chiffon dress that had little polka dots on it and walked in to look at it, them immediately realized I have enough dresses, and turned around before I touched it. I had enough dresses to get me through March to June with no repeats. That means NO NEW dresses. Does home-made count??? I don't think so. OK. No BUYING any dresses is the new pledge (sewing them is fine :)
What's your pledge for the day?

All vintage, all thrifted, except bottom center: Prabal Garung for Target.

All My Dresses: part 10

Part 10. Wow. Next week should wrap it up. I can see the end of the (hem)line... I just have to get through one more week of dresses. It's been a skirt-drought that I can't wait to end. :)  In other news I finished my sprint triathlon (my last tri was 5 years ago) in 1:09 and got 15th in my division. Kicked the most ass on the bike course. Yeah! I love riding my bike! My garden is producing some fine vegetables, so garden fresh cooking/recipes will be posted throughout summer. And I'm nearly finished with this Butterick Retro dress in red chiffon with white polka dots: pics coming soon.

red hash mark dress from Modcloth; gray cotton plaid vintage dress from Goodwill; pink flowered summer dress from F21; purple jersey shift Made By Me; rose dress Made by Me; black halter from Goodwill.

All my Dresses:part 9

Another week, another 6 dresses. I was just about done and then I opened a vintage hard-side suitcase I keep in the bottom of the closet with vintage clothes I rarely wear... and don't you just know it? There were a handful of dresses in there just waiting to be pressed and worn. So the project rolls on...
Have a great weekend. I'll be racing in a triathlon this Sunday so no dressing up for me. I have to take a break once in a while :)

Gray shift Made By Me, with paper bead necklace, also MBM. Button print dress, MBM; black dress thrifted; white dress with blue flowers MBM; vintage green dress thrifted; black polka dot dress thrifted.

Also, I got a haircut; you may have noticed.

All my dresses: part 6

What?!?! This project is still going???
Yes, I'm afraid so. It's like running a marathon. You just have to keep chugging along until you get to the end. Once you start and you've committed to finishing, well, then you just keep going. :)   Lesson for life? YES. Just keep going.

I finally wore my spats! I've had them for years and was just waiting for the right item to pair them with. Since booties are in this year, these make any pumps into button-up booties. I love them and they are real 1920's spats from Box Cloth Company of Chicago.  Makes me want some bathtub gin! I guess I better get myself out to see the new Gatsby ASAP! Have a great weekend.

Red & white vintage dress thrifted; sage green peplum dress Mady By Me; white cotton dress from Target, orange vintage dress thrifted and altered; pink and gray dress from ModCloth; SPATS! thrifted; button ring Made By Me

Peplum dress from Butterick 5520, fyi.

All of my dresses: part 4

Week 4 and still going strong. Lots of dresses to go...but I think this exercise is a good test. If you aren't willing to wear the stuff in your closet, get rid of it! So far, so good. I'm finding it all useful and most of it fits well. (I did find a few things too big so I donated them. And also one dress that I can never ever press the wrinkles out of. aaarrrggghh. Good-bye.)  On the coral dress, you may recognize that bow on the belt... it's one of the shoe clips I made a few weeks ago!! WooHoo- multi-use crafts!
Have a great weekend.
xoxoxo
Trista

Coral silk dress by I.N.C, striped dress and dot cardi from ModCloth; brown vintage dress, blue dot dress, and beige flower dress thrifted; black tank dress from Macy's.

My latest button ring. Coming soon to my Etsy...

All My Dresses, part 1

It just came to me one day. In a recent conversation about dresses and shopping and sewing, that I have a closet FULL of dresses, that I do not wear enough, and could wear them for months without duplication. So that set me on a closet exploration. How many do I have and can I wear them all and post them all? It turns out there are about 50 dresses in my closet (this does not count any skirts or matching separates) and my plan is to wear them all this spring. If something doesn't fit, I should probably let it go. That'll be a struggle.

Blue Esprit cotton print dress from Goodwill; black and white "film strip" dress from ModCloth, pink cardi from H&M; turquoise peplum dress from ModCloth; pink vintage dress with white birds from a Paris thrift store with vintage belt and head scarf too. The last one is Made By Me from Butterick 5520.  (One pic with cardigan, and one w/o so you can see the contrast raglan shoulder). This is a great easy pattern. I recommend it and I will use it again. I made one long sleeved peplum dress with it as well in sage; I will post it in the upcoming weeks.

Happy Closet Cleaning!

Givenchy Vintage: Made by Me Rose Dress

The famed Givenchy 1956 evening dress pattern (my most coveted vintage pattern and a valuable antique). Finally done. OMG! I love this pattern. It calls for a long bow tail in the back which I skipped this time around. I just figured I wouldn't really wear that. This silk (a gift from Nancy) was perfect for this dress. The back is airy and open, the bodice has a comfortable fit (a bit loose, but room to stretch my shoulders). And I love the rhinestone buttons down the back. Happy day. Dress fabulous, feel fabulous.

Made by me: 1940's Blouse

Oops, I did it again.

I disappeared for 2 weeks. Life is busy. It happens.

I finally finished this great blouse. The 70 year old pattern (!!!) was very delicate and I was a bit scared I'd rip it to pieces but I think it's gonna survive, and I hope to make at least one more top from it. I just love the style. It's well fitted, has pretty details (like gathering at the neck, a nice square shoulder, and buttons down the back). I'm sure I'll be able to pair it with other items. But when I was sewing it, I had this teal skirt in mind. I'll have to let my imagination roam wild...
:)

Have a great weekend. I'm trying some new recipes this weekend. I'll have a report for you next week.
xoxoxoxo

Made by Me: 1960's shift

I finally finished this dress... and have already begun on a vintage top made from the same fabric. I like the eyelets in the fabric and the blue and teal flowers. But I think a heavier fabric with a lining would hang better because of the weight. But I live in warm SoCal so I use very light fabrics for most everything. And re-claimed and re-purposed is my favorite kind of fabric!

I got this pattern and fabric for a dollar at an estate sale.

 

I LOVE my nude patent wedges! They are perfect for summer, and go with just about everything.

Happy sewing!!!!
xoxoxo

Made by Me: Blue Bug Dress

I'm still working my way thru my about boxes of vintage patterns and fabrics. Here is my newest dress. 1960's cute-comfort. Go-go empire waist, silly print knit. What I love about making my own stuff is there is nothing else like it. Having something one-of-a-kind is thrilling. It's like being the world-champion of something. Being the only one out of billions to have this special thing. I think we all want to feel like that sometimes. And we can. Just make yourself something special.

Blue satin ribbon for "belt". Most likely will make something more solid for the future.

And I made this ring too...

Thrifted vintage T-straps

Made By Me: Blue jacket

New jacket. Blue Jacket. Vintage pattern, number 2 jacket. Another challenging project. Getting the right fit and getting everything to lay right is the hard part. I also added a small collar which was not in the pattern. I don't "love" it. It's alright. It's my own fault for making two light-weight, unlined jackets (a gray one from a few months ago). I think if I line them and use a heavier fabric, I'll have better results. Jackets need some weight.  But will I wear it? It's so warm out here in SoCal; I like to keep the fabrics light...
I have one more jacket project lined up... I'll keep you posted...
Have a great weekend.
Happy styling.

Vintage buttons - i LOVE them. I made a ring to match. :)

Made by me: Remix

Nude Chiffon top, pastel teal skirt... So spring... I feel like an Easter Egg.
Both made by me, from vintage patterns purchased cheap via Craigslist.
Up-cycle!!!!! Get on board!!!!!
Have a great week!

Made by Me: pastel teal vintage skirt

I was so inspired by a background actor's skirt in a MadMen season 3 episode (lawn mower party), I just had to make one like it. Even the extras look amazing on that show - Janie Bryant is a genius. I love wearing skirts and making them. Very versatile and I enjoy making interesting combinations.

Dressing = Collage...

This is one of those great "coordinates" patterns from the late 60's/early 70's -- They are fantastic for making lots of different complementary items. And the patterns are pretty simple. I'll use it for other pieces as well.

Vintage/thrifted belt; ModCloth shoes from Miss L-Fire - love them! Made-by-me top See pattern here...

Projects: Vintage patterns

I spent that last two weekends preparing some patterns for sewing. I like to lay out a bunch of projects and cut the fabric, then I'm all set for a few months. I have 6 items ready to sew, and they will take some time to work through. A skirt is easy to do in a weekend, but some jackets and dresses I have planned will take a bit longer. What I'm most excited about in looking at this collection of planned projects is the good use I'm getting out of my growing vintage pattern collection. And I'm still really just scratching the surface.
All these are 1944 to 1969. AMAZING!!!!!
I can't wait to make them and show them to you all. be ready to get inspired, friends!

Have a great weekend-- Happy Crafting!!!
xoxoxo

Friday Light

It's Friday and I've been swamped at work all week and decided to dress casual. Jeans! (a rarity for me as you all know).
I'm beat. I'm so glad it's a long weekend. Enjoy President's Day everyone.

(Express jeans, H&M net sweater with gold thread -- Love It -- and vintage button earrings from Cara Lyndon -- also LOVE them, as I am a big collector of vintage and buttons. Miss L-fire shoes from ModCloth -- LOVE LOVE them.)

What did you wear today?

Late 1960's Blouse

I liked the look so much of this pattern, but in the end... meh. The shirt is OK. It's not great. For one, the fabric is too soft, and the fit is too baggy. It's a bit sad when you make something and you just don't LOVE it. You made it and so you feel you have to wear it, but... some garments just don't come out great. Not everything works out in the end. Don't believe all those Hollywood endings! The look is supposed to be kinda Mary-Tyler-Moore, but it's more... David-Byrne-big-suit???

I do like this cowl-neck collar though.

50's Housewife dress: part 2

It's finished!


And I absolutely love it. The pattern is just great and I hope to use it again to make another dress or 2 in different fabrics. Challenges? Honestly, this project wasn't troubling, but it just took a lot of time to get it all done right. (So many pleats and buttonholes!)

Inspiration.

Pattern: Advance 2953 1960 (yes, it's 50+ year old pattern.)