Replicating Biba's pink gingham dress

Back when this blog was just a twinkle in my eye (approx 10 min before registering it) I had planned on focusing on only reproducing iconic 60's dresses and other garments. But after a moment of panic about possibly being in trouble for breaching Intellectual property rules or being dubbed a lazy copy cat by other vintage lovers, I put that idea at the bottom on my 'blog post ideas' list

But now I've finally gotten over my initial worries and have decided to try replicating a dress which seems to no longer exist except in books and memories. 

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Opp shop a loo-la

I haven't woke up early enough on a Saturday in awhile to be able to go to the opp shop, which closes at 12. (Yes I sometimes sleep till 12, what of it?)

But today I had to go to the post office (which also closes at 12) so I on my way back I popped into the ole' reliable opp shop for some goodies!  

Sometimes I read all those clever crafty blogs and wonder where they come up with all their DIY ideas, I think they get them from books like this... 

How awesome is that 3D bird? There's lots of other nice ideas in there! 

This swirl painted bangle and a neat little tin. I love to collect tins and other box-type things. 

When I spotted this scarf I thought it was a new-ish reproduction from a chain store, but the label says Rayon and made in Japan, to me that says 70s, so yay! 

This opp shop I go to, isn't often that forthcoming with fab clothes, but I took a quick peek at the jacket rack and found this 80s Liz Claiborne wool boucle blazer. And in my size! Awesome! 

I also took my chance at the fabric box and pulled out almost all the contents until I found this purple stretch velvet. There's only about 1/2 a meter there so I might get a flippy miniskirt out of it if I'm lucky

In that same box I found a half finished blouse. It's almost finished so why not get it right? And then in the craft box I found a zip-loc bag with with some of the other parts of the top! 

Great! So now I can finish it...

And then to cap it off, I found the actual pattern (Butterick 4631) in the patterns box! All 3 parts separated and now brought back together. Yay!

And last but not least, in the record crate which is normally full of musicals and classical stuff, I found this record

I didn't actually know who Buffy Sainte Marie is, but she looked a little like Vix from Vintage Vixen and I liked her dress so into my shopping basket she went. 

Turns out Buffy Sainte Marie is a well known Canadian First Nations singer/songwriter. She wrote 'Universal Soldier' which became a hit for Donovan and had many other songs covered by other well known singers and spent her formative years in the Greenwich Village alongside other Canadian musicians Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchel

I'm not sure which one was the best score today - the record or the half-finished top!

None the less, for a total of $15 it was a good day!

Are you planning on visiting your local oppy this weekend?

Cat xo

Tin Lady

Yesterday evening I went to a Christmas party for the company who books our corporate travel for work. They always organise a themed party - last year was The Great Gatsby which was lots of fun, but this year the theme was The Wizard of Oz! 

I had a feeling that most people would dress either as Dorothy or the Wicked Witch of the West, so I went through my wardrobe to see what I had that was on theme. 

Social pointed shoes from ASOS

I decided these shiny silver shoes would do the trick for dress as the Tin Man or in my case, Tin Lady. 

I had also ordered some grey fabric to make a shift dress, and a sparkly red brooch for the Tin Mans heart, but unfortunately they never arrived in time... 

I know I shouldn't have counted on the delivery taking the same about of time as normal (1 week)  but you know... I sort of forgot about Thanksgiving and how the US mail goes on holidays too! 

Speaking of Thanksgiving - the restaurant at work served up a menu with all the traditional Thanksgiving foods, as well as Pumpkin pie and candied yams. 

The yams were... interesting. Are they supposed to be really sweet? It was certainly a confusing taste for me - marshmallows and sweet potato - good on their own, but together I could only manage one bite. 

Please tell me! Are they actually really good when made by your mum and not by some grumpy chef in an industrial kitchen?

Ok back on track... 

Being a lover of craft and brooch-less, I decided to make myself one from fimo and painted it with some cheap-o clear nail polish so it would be shiny

I paired it with a grey marle t-shirt and a mini skirt which I made myself awhile ago. This is the pattern I used for this skirt. 

This shirt and one other top are the only grey I own so I guess the outfit turned out ok!

And I also painted my nails to match with a sweet little heart as well

Me, Dorothy Gale and some fairy floss

In the end, I was right about there being multiple Dorothy's and Witches. All were in really excellent costumes and quite close to the movie originals. One of the Dorothy's had even made her own dress as well! 

It was a pretty fun night all in all. Do you have any upcoming parties that include a theme or that your currently sourcing an outfit for?

Take care my pretties! (and your little dogs too!!!!)
  Cat xo

Tutorial - Peter Pan collar and cuffs

Are you ready for the first tutorial DIY for the 4 little DIYs for 4 little dresses series?

First up is a simple favourite - Peter pan collar and cuffs. The idea of this tutorial is to teach you how to modify an existing dress. Either one you've bought new or second hand or something you've had in your wardrobe for so long and needs a new lease of life. 

Ideally this tutorial is being done on a dress or top that already has facings or finishes, which you can unpick and layer the collar between, but not all garments are made in this way and can be tricky to resew - so were going to sew the new pieces on and press them so that they are neatly hidden away. 

I'm in pieces, bits and pieces

Some of the happenings in the atelier, aka the dining table 

The weekend is so close! 

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers, and happy Black Friday online sales to everyone else 

Cat xo

Title courtesy of Bits and Pieces by the Dave Clark Five

4 little DIYs for 4 little dresses

Happy Monday to you all! 

I'm so excited to finally get this idea started! For the past few weeks I've been busily sewing away 4 somewhat identical dresses for this special post series

Inspired by The Great British Sewing Bees segment in which contestants are all given the same garment and are challenged to do them up with fabric, trim and other decorative bits to create different looks. In much the same vein  I'm going to take 4 long sleeved shift dresses and do them up with the following embellishments to give them more of a 60's look and feel.

• Peter Pan Collar and matching cuffs

• Pin tuck bib with lace trim

• Ruffle lace collar jabot and cuffs

• Band collar and cuffs

The idea of this series is to give you the ability to fine tune your modern purchases or those dowdy tired garments in your wardrobe. While its lovely to buy new things, its also important to recycle and buy second-hand. So if that means taking the time to do some sewing to improve the look, silhouette or style of a dress, then it will make you feel useful and clever in the end, and you'll have an individual and special item all of your own! 

For most of these tutorials you will need a sewing machine, but I will also have some ideas for those of you with only a needle and thread.

All of these techniques can be applied to new dresses, second hand finds or something you've made yourself. For those of you who don't sew currently this would be a great starting point! Modifying clothing is a great way to introduce yourself to sewing and get to understand sewing terms and techniques.

The decorative elements for this project should all be easy to source at your local fabric store. You can even try op-shops and online to find genuine vintage or one off bits

Lace, ribbon, button kits, trim and plain cotton

In tangent with these posts I'll also be offering some insight into the foundations of the styles and how they became popular

Well I'll leave you with that little teaser for now - I hope you'll come back for the first post later this week! 

Cat xo

House of Merivale

While the 60's may belong to swinging London, attracting many Aussies to venture to the motherland to experience the excitement, fashion and music on offer, a few clever antipodeans decided to stay at home and start their own swinging Sydney.

One such pair were Merivale and John Hemmes. 

The names Merivale and Hemmes now are more commonly known for the Merivale Group of bars and hotels, and their entrepreneurial son Justin Hemmes. You don't need to go too far in Sydney to find a venue owned by Merivale, one of the most popular being The Ivy nightclub on George Street along with delicious restaurants such as Mr Wong, Mrs G's and Ash St Cellar

But before they were in the Hospitality and entertainment industry, the Hemmes' were more well known for their fashion boutique - House of Merivale

Merivale and John Hemmes