Verity Vintage Studio

1940s Perfectly Plum Dress

Another fall sewing project was crossed off the list a few weeks ago! When I made my gray gingham dress earlier this year, I realized it would be a perfect pattern to make again as a fall version with a solid color fabric at some point, but had no immediate plan. That changed when I found a gorgeous wool/rayon fabric on sale at JoAnn in such a nice plum color with a subtle pattern and boucle texture.

 

I had been pretty good at not buying new fabric this year for the most part, but JoAnn's coupons and this fabric tempted me too much. I did only get 2 1/2 yards of it, and it was barely enough! Especially because I forgot I wanted 3/4 sleeves and cut short sleeves out first. Recutting the sleeves took the very last bit of fabric, and I had to piece the belt!

 

This is my very favorite kind of solid fabric. I am usually drawn to prints, despite the vast amount of patterns that look better in solid fabric, but a solid like this excites my sewing and design ideas just as much.

 

Since this was the second time around for this pattern, I was hoping to fix the fit issues. Some of them I did, but I went overkill in shortening the bodice and it ended up way too short. Such a bother! Without a belt the dress almost looks empire waisted. The belt helps put the waist where it belongs, but the waist seam will still peek out above it occasionally. I'm still bummed since I expected this time I would have been able to fix the problem!

 

Otherwise the construction went easily. Doing it the second time helped a lot since I had already figured out how to do the darts. It's a good thing, too, since it was practically impossible to see the seams in this fabric if ripping out was necessary.

 

As I expected, the unique dart placement and construction adds such a fun, subtle touch of class and quintessential 1940s style to this dress. The large matte black buttons finish it off nicely.

 

Despite the dark color, the darts show up rather well. They also give it a square-shouldered silhouette without the need for shoulder pads. They don't lay quite as well as the gray version, since this fabric is thicker, but I had fairly good success with making them behave.

 

I consider it a perfect autumn classic, simple and classy. It's the type of dress that is interesting but understated enough to allow accessories to shine.

 

I dressed it up a bit more than my usual look for this photo shoot, with a black velvet-feather wreathed hat, beaded satin clutch, and rhinestone pin. I didn't have a more formal background to go with it, but this dress could easily be a day dress too depending on how it is accessorized. 

 

This wool blend drapes so nicely. I wish I could find more in other colors! It is one of my very few purchases of apparel fabric from JoAnn that isn't cotton, and so far I am pleased with it.

 

Like many other classics, I expect this dress will become a fall and winter staple. I'm pleased with how well this pattern coordinated with the fabric to create my initial idea in real life - it feels very period correct!

My One and Only True Vintage Suit

This stunning 1950s suit has a long story behind it.

 

A few months after I was married, I went shopping with my friend Gina from Beauty from Ashes and she took me to a very nice vintage clothing consignment store where I spotted this beautiful suit on the rack. Just for fun, I tried on the jacket and it fit perfectly. I looked like I stepped out of the 1950s.

I sighed over it. The price was pretty decent for a suit with this many lovely details and in such good condition and it was on sale!

 

But I didn't have that much money to spend, so I regretfully left it behind after we were done admiring it. I gushed about it to my husband about it on the way home, and then forgot about it. Unbeknownst to me, my husband asked Gina to go back and pick it up, which she did, and kept it at her house for him.

 

Fast forward several months to my birthday, when my husband presented me with the suit, which I recognized instantly. I was flabbergasted and beyond thrilled and so excited. It was the most thoughtful and special gift ever!!!

 

BUT I was 5 months pregnant by this time and there was no way I could get the jacket shut. :-)

I had to put it away for a while... Late last fall I was able to fit into the jacket, and tried to get photos of it with a different me-made skirt, but the photos were taken hastily in full sunlight with a blinding white snow background, so they did not turn out well. This was too special of a piece to do a careless photo shoot, so I never shared those photos. 

But finally I rounded up all my accessories and coordinated schedules with my sister to do a proper photo shoot. The suit doesn't fit quite as well as when I originally tried it on, but by this time I'm able to fit into the skirt, though it's very tight. It's a good thing the jacket lapels are so long! :-)

 

Just look at that perfect trim 1950s silhouette! *sigh*

 

I don't think I'll ever actually wear it out and about as a 2 piece, because the skirt is just too snug and short for active real life even if I lose some more weight - but wearing it long enough to pose for pictures worked fine. 

 

I've never seen a decorated slit like this before. Usually they are kick pleats, not slits, and this one has a random tiny seed bead cluster at one corner. So interesting!

 

The jacket fits me better and I can pair with other skirts when I want to give it an outing. It's the most beautiful smooth gabardine fabric, and the details are incredible. Look at how the front piece is cut to come down and form the decoration, which also features the shaping darts, all in one piece. I sure would love to get my hands on the pattern for this!

 

Then the shaped collar mirrors the scalloped details. I added a vintage lace jabot underneath to fill in the neck, but a crossed scarf or round-necked undershirt would work too.

 

The buttons too are so pretty! I just love how simple and classy this is, and yet how much detail was packed in. People certainly knew how to make beautiful and flattering clothing back then!

 

It's a great reminder of the high standard when sewing vintage clothes to get them to look era-perfect. But there's just something special about wearing an actual piece and stepping back in time that I rarely feel when I wear one of my own creations.

 

The color is an interesting lavender-leaning shade of brown. I'm sure it would go well with other colors, but for some reason navy blue seemed to be the right color for accessories. I wonder what the original owner wore it with?

 

The back has simple princess lines.

 

I have a very small collection of true vintage clothes. Maybe someday I can afford to expand that collection, but for now I'm just tickled that I own this gorgeous piece of history, thanks to the collaboration of my sweet husband and friend.

If I only own one vintage suit, at least it's a humdinger! :-)

Early 1940s Harvest Dinner Dress

This early 1940s dress was a bit of a (pleasant) surprise in several ways! I'd had this mini green rayon plaid suiting on my shelf for years, and never got around to making it up. Each autumn and winter other fabrics would end up higher on the queue. This year I decided I really wanted to use it, so was paging through my pattern catalog when I took a closer look at this pattern - Hollywood 413, an Ann Sheridan style - and realized that the skirt details were kind of cute, and it was simple enough to not be unsuitable for a print.

 

It was a pattern I had bought in a lot of others and was missing its envelope. I had printed out a photo of the front cover so I would know what it looked like, but it didn't have a back sketch, so I actually had no idea until I had started to cut it out that the back was so unique. If I had noticed that before, you bet it would have been higher on my to make list!

 

The other issue with no envelope meant I had no idea of what size it was, since it was an unprinted pattern. I found a similar style of dress in my size and matched up some of the pattern pieces. Thankfully they were really close, so I could assume it was my size - lucky break! I did add a little extra on the side seams and back skirt seam when cutting it out, on the principle that I can always cut some off, but can't add some on after it's cut out.

 

After that, construction was a breeze. There were a ton of tiny dart tucks across the back and on the frot, but the nice thing with this fabric is that I could end them all on the same line of plaid so that I could be sure they would be even.

Once the bodice was put together, I basted on the the skirt, and tried it on. The back was too long and it pouched out, so I ripped out the basting threads and cut an inch or so off the back bodice, and also cut a little off the arm holes since they were too tight and moved down the front dart tucks since they ended at an odd place on the bust. Other than that, it went together without issues.

 

And I absolutely love it! I have full range of motion with that awesome fullness in the back, yet it fits well so there is no unsightly blousing. The front details are so nice, yet the back is just as nice, so you get lots of back pictures this time! :-)

 

The skirt is tailored so it looks slim, yet has a nice fullness and length. The flared front small inset panels are so cute, especially with the belt tabs (which of course could be omitted if desired).

 

After a quick search on Pinterest, I saw that collars so often were white even if there was no other contrast, so I did the collar in white rayon, and added black buttons from my stash.

 

The rayon behaved beautifully and drapes nicely. I really have come to love rayon suiting, since it is denser and heavier than lighter rayons. It is sturdier and less fragile, launders just fine, and is as easy to work with as cotton, but hangs better.

 

The green and black fabric is perfect to style with different colors of accessories. I think it will be lovely during the holidays with red added in, and is versatile enough for summer as well (hence the short sleeves to keep it more transitional) but for more of an autumn feel this time I paired it with my coral grape earrings and a large vintage wooden grape dress clip I haven't worn before.

I made it in time to wear it to our church's harvest dinner (sort of a blend between a Thanksgiving dinner and a Veteran's Day celebration) so that's where the title comes from.

 

My favorite vintage heels got an outing as well, before the weather turns wet and slick.

 

The pretty leaf colors are no longer on the trees, but this thick carpet is almost as nice for autumn photos. :-)

 

I can't believe I let this pattern languish so long in my stash without finding how cute it is and how much I love it. Now I want to make another version in a solid color!

 

It's one of my favorite pre-war dresses to date.

1950s Gingerbread Skirt + Another Sweater Set

My, it's been a while since I posted a 1950s project. For some reason this year I have mostly gravitated towards the 1930s and 1940s when I am drawn to a fabric or pair it with a pattern.

 

I picked up 2 yards of a brown vintage polka dot polyester knit at the local thrift store a few weeks ago. I'm pretty sure it's from the 1970s, and I'm not usually a fan of 1970s polyester. At all. But this one was polka dot, and I DO have a weakness for that print. Plus it was just a couple of dollars, so into my cart it went (along with some nicer pieces of fabric which I have plans for already!)

One good thing about this type of fabric (along with the fact that it doesn't fray) is that it is easy care and can take a lot of wear-and-tear, so I decided to whip up an everyday skirt.

 

Because the fabric looks 1970s, I wanted to make the skirt as obviously different in decade as possible, so instead of going with a simple A line skirt or something similar, I chose a side buttoning skirt off of a 1950s dress pattern I have, and added a large pocket with a scalloped decorative flap from a house dress pattern from the same decade.

 

I like the flare, and the pocket does really help make it look 1950s, I think.

 

Because this fabric doesn't press well, I double top stitched the pocket, and just did a narrow top stitched hem. 

 

The top few buttons actually are functional buttons, but the rest are sewn on through both layers. No need to make extra buttonholes I'll never use! The top button (which you can't see here) is also sewn on for decoration, after a long struggle to try to get the thick waistband under my buttonhole foot. I ended up defeated and closed the waistband with a hook and eye.

 

The corduroy I used for the pocket flap is a little whiter than the off-white dots in the print, but I realized that too late to care; and anyway, since it's an everyday skirt I wasn't taking too many pains with it. I had a bit of trouble figuring out how the pocket was supposed to be placed and slanted, but ended up with something I liked. The whole thing took only a few hours to make.

 

It IS nice, I admit, to use a fabric with a bit of stretch in it. The extra give in fit makes it very comfortable to wear. I will have to get used to making sure my pocket is empty, though, before I wash the skirt - because I am not used to wearing clothes with pockets!

I have a few brown skirts that I wear a lot, but this one is a different shade. A friend called it "gingerbread" colored, and that's exactly what shade it is! Which makes it ideal for fall fashion.

 

It is also the perfect style to wear with my other Rocket Original's 1950s reproduction sweater set! This is my favorite - the rich claret color is so, so pretty. I think it will pair well with a lot of skirt colors, and looks very autumnal as well as potentially perfect for the holidays. 

 

It's the same in fit, quality, and style as the gray version I showed you earlier - but in a different color combo, which I just love.

 

The light colored arrows are more noticeable than the black ones, I think. I enjoy the way they interact when the cardigan is worn.

 

We have enjoyed a spectacular, long autumn here, and when I was hanging up laundry one day I noticed the beautiful, thick carpet of yellow leaves  in my back yard. I wanted to take advantage of them while they lasted.

They are the perfect backdrop to the burgundy of the sweater set, and the overall fall colors of this outfit. 

 

My hair was on its 2nd day of curl set, but behaved pretty well. I actually enjoyed the longer, looser style of the more relaxed curls, for the most part.

 

I will be interested to find out how versatile these pieces are when worn with other separates, this fall and winter. I love making and wearing dresses, but often gravitate toward separates for everyday wear.

 

So I think my first experiment with 1970s knit has turned out fairly successful. I doubt I will repeat it often, but expect to get a lot of wear out of this sturdy skirt. Which in trade for a few dollars and hours of time, should be a good investment.