Hello there! Hows your weekend going?
My version of Simplicity 3833 for Rosie Wednesday's shift dress sew along is complete! I did take some progress photos, but I lost them whilst I was switching to my new phone so I don't have them to share! They could always be buried in a folder in my computer somewhere...
Anyway! I took a little trip to the city today and had some luck at both the record and vintage stores so I thought I'd share with you what I got.
There's a really neat store called C's Flashback which is my favourite second hand clothing store to visit. Their prices are really reasonable too which is good for me.
They import a lot of their stuff from the US, so you end up with some really interesting stuff. When I was about 17 I got myself a Boy Scouts of America shirt from there with all the merit badges still on it. I still have it but it's far too small to wear now.
C's also had some really gorgeous 60s evening gowns there today, but I walked away with this smart 70s polyester shirt dress.
It's weirdly proportioned though. Really small hips and a very large bust area. I tend to find a lot of vintage clothes in my size have this sort of issue. Perhaps women had different proportions then?
Anyway, the good thing about this dress is that it has a whole 2.5cm of ease! Normally you would sew a dress with 1.5cm of ease, so I plan to unpick the seams and refit it for my own measurements
I think the dress is handmade too, so perhaps the seamstress just liked to sew generous seams? But I like they the have bound the raw edges with some sort of mesh fabric - a neat little idea! Kind of like a Hong Kong seam but with mesh instead of bias.
And I also managed to finally find a record that I've been after for awhile - Donovan's 'Sunshine Superman'. I always seem to miss out on this one, so it was good to finally get it. And I also picked up the greatest hits of Electric Light Orchestra. Totally different to my other musical choices!
I really love ELO. I hope I'm not the only one!
Whats a band that you love that's a little off kilter to your normal tastes?
See you tomorrow with photos of the new shift dress!
Cat xoxo
That shop sounds wonderful, and that's such a lovely dress! It's funny you should say that about the hips as it's a problem I often find with vintage clothing. I have a couple of handmade vintage dresses and they all have very generous seams, perhaps it was just the way of doing things back then? Although as you say it does make it easier to alter items.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the record buys, it feels wonderful to finally lay your hands on something you've been on the lookout for! I certainly don't mind a bit of ELO from time to time :) My musical tastes as a whole seem to be a little off kilter though, I easily jump from listening to The Monkees one minute and Nine Inch Nails the next. Nothing wrong with a bit of variety!
I wonder if perhaps we are picking up dresses made to size for ladies with a large bust? Ladies come in all different sizes! so we must just be picking up their particular dresses. Much the same as someone who got my clothes would find the hips much wider than normal
DeletePS. sorry for taking ages to reply!
Love that dress! The gradation sizing in the print is fabulous! xo
ReplyDeleteI didn't actually notice that until you mentioned it! The squares change size wow!
DeleteI have a fondness for ELO too - I remember my older siblings listening to it when I was very young! I will admit I did love Culture Club in the 80's – which I am occasionally mocked for :-)
ReplyDeleteThe dress is fab - loving the print. Could the proportions in vintage clothes may be due to the undergarments they wore at the time? Pointier bras and corset style knickers??
Culture club! Well i was a massive Hanson fan so i have that hanging over my head!
DeleteMy boyfriend suggested the undergarments predicament - but i think i may have just picked up a dress made by a lady with a generous bust!
And a wee apology for taking ages to reply =)
Lovely 70s dress! I find that too with a lot of vintage dresses, especially ones that have been handmade. I got a red 70s handmade dress not too long ago and it fit like that one on me. How strange. You should definitely post pictures of you modelling the dress - it has such a great print! And good record finds too, glad you finally got the Donovan LP. It's nice to finally get a record you've been after for a while. ELO can be good to listen to. Sometimes I like to go astray from my usual route of 60's and 70's music and listen to some of the music from the 90's that I heard whilst growing up, like some of The Offspring or Silverchair. Other times I'll listen to Billie Holiday, a bit of Glenn Miller or sometimes I'll love to have a listen to Chopin or Liszt.
ReplyDeleteThanks! yes, i think ive decided that this was made perhaps by a lady with a larger bust, i on the other hand have bigger hips than what is proportionate to my bust,, so it just shows we are not all the same shape. Many lovely sizes for many lovely ladies!
Delete90s music i love! - they were playing it at the work Christmas party and i was having such a good little dance! We are certainly not a snobs to good music!
Oh and yes to a before and after!
DeleteThat is a gorgeous dress!
ReplyDeleteThanks! im excited for the day i get to wear it!
DeleteThat dress is gorgeous, I'm sure you can work your magic and make it wearable in no time knowing your considerable talents. The Donovan cover is so groovy and worthy of a frame.
ReplyDeleteELO were locals (from Birmingham). They were a bit old fashioned to us teens back in the day, they appealed more to our parents' generation - but I'm learning to appreciate them now! xxx
This is my favourite Donovan cover! He currently has pride of place on top of the record player with his lovely gaze and art nouveau decoration.
DeleteELO - yes i guess they were sort of disco-y and the string instruments might have been a bit uncool? I think i would have been embarrassed to like them then, but yeah now i love them!
I love ELO! I "borrowed" that record from my parents last time I visited home...
ReplyDeletehehe i love "borrowing" things from my parents...
DeleteI love the dress, what a great find! I'm always having to take the bust in on vintage dresses, the proportions can definitely be odd sometimes!
ReplyDeletethanks! its certainly a bright happy dress! Handmade especially needs adjustments, but that sort of is the point of handmade. to make them to that they fit!
DeleteSuch a sweet frock! Hurrah for ease! Old sizings can be odd!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I love a bit of ELO!!! Reminds me of a netball trip to Wollongong when I was 13 for some reason!!! XXX
Netball and ELO! How random. we used to sing chants on the way back from Netball and annoy the boys who we also had to share the bus with who were coming back from footy. the bus picked us up first so we always got the back seat!
DeleteLove the song and love your frock! The print is fantastic too, very 60s/70s. I wonder why vintage patterns would be drafted the opposite pear-shaped way? I wonder if it is because they were wearing stiff 'bullet' bras that made the bust larger/pointier?
ReplyDeleteWell i think by the 70s bullet bras were gone? I think this dress was a hand made to size dress by a lady with a larger bust. That, or it was worn by a man. you know, broad shoulders, small hips... heheehe
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