Verity Vintage Studio

Green Early '40s House Dress

I liked this fabric so much I ended up accumulating 3 different dress lengths of it. I used one of the three for this fun early 1940s dress.

 

The pattern was a recent addition. I'm always looking for button front dresses with interesting or unique details, since I wear so many of them and a lot of patterns can look alike. This one had some pretty neck detail, and a skirt with front pleats. 

 

It did not take long to make - nothing too difficult here.

 

I just love the pretty 1930s print! It is a quilting cotton, but has a surprisingly large print for a quilting cotton - and is so very retro. 

 

The plain neck is comfortable for everyday wear, but also makes a good backdrop for collars. I have a lot of vintage ones, so I can switch out the look easily, but ended up making a new one from a free pattern pdf I downloaded from Wildflower Designs. 

 

The pattern shows one with facing and interfacing, but I decided to use this delicate embroidered dot fabric and just do a single layer, hemming the edges instead. 

 

It was very bright out when we were trying to get pictures of this dress, so I'm not very pleased with how I look in the photos, but at least it is documented. After all, we can't look glamorous all the time - and the ladies of yesteryear did not always look perfectly put together either, despite the ads and movies that depict them as such. :-)

 

The dress fit is not perfect, but is certainly wearable. I would make some minor tweaks if I do it again.

 

I liked a chance to use these green vintage glass buttons from my stash as well.

 

I made the last minute decision that it needed a bit of sleeve trim, so added some rickrack under a decorative sleeve band, just half of it showing through. I love the delicate little points it provides - one of my favorite ways to use 1/2" rickrack.

 

The dress was simple to make and wear, so there is not much to tell! I look forward to styling it with different collars in the future.

 

One of my favorite green house dresses made a long while ago is on its last leg, so this may be a replacement. After all, I can't have an entirely blue wardrobe. :-) 

all photos by Elsie's Adventuring, as usual

Mini Makeover: Decorating a Thrifted Blouse 1950s Style

Today's post is the last one of the photos I took while on vacation in Oregon in August. It's hardly worth calling a makeover, but I decided to go ahead and share the process even though it's a simple one, in case you need some easy inspiration for how to make a modern wardrobe more authentic.

 

It started with this striped cotton blouse that I found at the thrift store. It's a nice fabric and perfect for everyday. Also it had some cute details! But it looked too shirt-like for me, so I decided to dress it up.

 

It had a classic collar and yoke, both common elements in vintage styles, and while most vintage blouses are darted or tucked to be more fitted at the waist, the tuck-in style does exist. Also the cuffs were already cute!

 

So I took advantage of the double top stitching lines and made them more noticeable with some hand work. Just 2 colors of embroidery floss - running stitch around cuffs and collar edge, and some little bound bows on each pocket and sleeve. 

 

To make the bows, I just stitched long straight stitches back and forth, then bound it around the center with a contrast color. 

 

Just for fun, I reversed the colors for one bow only. This was inspired by all the quirky random novelty sweaters I saw on Pinterest.  But of course you could make them all match, or go with another style of embroidery entirely. There were so many possible options!

 

I also did a running stitch on the back yoke, to make the yoke more noticeable. 

 

I wore it the morning we did our train ride, and the train made such a lovely backdrop! I wish I had an old train car like this close by for photo shoots, but we can't have everything. :-) 

It's a nice casual 1940s or 1950s style that can easily cross back to modern if desired. Here I paired it with a skirt I made a while ago from a 1940s pattern, and of course my favorite white casual shoes from Rocket Originals. 

 

It's amazing how much more feminine the blouse is now with just the simple addition of some easy freehand embroidery. Someday I'd like to do something more elaborate, but for now this works just fine.

Though I remember now I had also intended to swap out the buttons for something nicer and totally forgot! But that's another great way to change a garment's style or make it more feminine, as well. 

 

So if you are looking for a cost-effective way to add more vintage to your closet, keep an eye out for classic styles at the thrift store - and add some little touches yourself. It's a great way to build your vintage wardrobe, make it entirely unique, and budget friendly too!