1950s Magnolia Dress

I made this dress back in July and never got photos of it, so it was another one I brought along on our recent Oregon coast vacation in order to take pictures there. It was too windy to take many pictures on the shore, but the fading flowers beside the house we were staying in made a nice backdrop too. 

 

Of course I realize now the flowers on my dress aren't actually magnolia blossoms, but I had already made a habit of thinking of it as my magnolia dress so that's what I call it anyway. It actually was made from a thrifted sheet - a favorite of mine to work with if I can find one nice enough! The sturdy cotton/poly fabric doesn't wrinkle, wears well, and it's so wide there is no problem fitting a circle skirt onto it. This one was particularly nice since it features a large print (hard to find!) and it's a good color for me that's not blue. ;-)

 

I combined two patterns for this dress - the bodice is the one from this dress pattern, but I changed it up with some dense pin tucks on each side, just for some subtle decoration. I chose it because I wanted one that fit me well, and was basic enough that I could decorate it a bit.

 

The pin tucks took up about 1/2" from the bodice width. I think I cut the side seams a bit wider to allow some extra room. If you were going to do a lot of pin tucks, you might want to do them first on your fabric and then cut out the pattern pieces. But these few weren't enough to concern me.

 

The skirt was a circle skirt from a different pattern, and I actually pinched some of the fullness out when I was cutting it out so it's not quite a full circle. You'd never know though! It is still super wide and swooshy. 

 

I was not wearing it with a crinoline for these pictures, and you can see how well the skirt still stands out. I cheated and went the narrow-top-stitched-hem route for this one, and it's not even noticeable. 

 

Partly because of taking time to do the pin tucks, I also was a bit more careful with the construction of this dress. And it paid off, since I actually won a best of show award at our local county fair - which surprised me greatly!

 

I chose a textured white fabric from my scrap drawer for the collar, and ended up adding white sleeve bands as well. It just seemed to look better to have that busy print broken up a bit more.

 

It was pretty straightforward to make, and I don't recall any issues I had with the pattern combination  or construction. The only thing that didn't quite turn out right was the collar doesn't lay perfectly. I think I could have solved it with under stitching, so I will remember that for next time.

 

I found the perfect white lattice buttons from my stash. The belt is modern, gloves are vintage, and the carved rose bead necklace and bracelet set are from the 1950s - I found them at my local thrift store for grand total of $1. There is a pair of earrings too, but I have not converted them to pierced yet. And my favorite dressy wedges from Rocket Originals rounded out the look. 

 

I had intended this for a house dress, ended up wearing it to church, and now it's sort an in-between dress. I like to have several "nice" everyday dresses (separate from the well-worn cotton frocks in constant rotation) that I can wear when shopping, or maybe just a day that I feel like dressing up a bit more at home.

 

This one is very classic 1950s. And I was so pleased with how it turned out that it made me happy to have an extra special backdrop to take pictures of it.

 

Comments

[Kathy]

I think this dress is spectacular!

[Lynne]

I love everything about this dress. It fits well and is eye-catching. I can imagine it must give you a lift every time you wear it. Congratulations for making a winning dress for the fair.